Portsmouth, VA Crime Statistics For 2023

Demographics | Crime | Cost Of Living
Updated: 2023-10-25

Crime Rate In Portsmouth, VA Summary

Crime in Portsmouth research summary. HomeSnacks has been using Saturday Night Science to report crime data in Portsmouth over the past eight years using the FBI crime explorer. Based on the most recently available data released October 17, 2023, we found the following about crime in Portsmouth:

  • There were 5,642 total crimes committed in Portsmouth the last reporting year.
  • On a rate basis, there were 5,757.0 total crimes per 100K people in Portsmouth.
  • The overall crime rate in Portsmouth is 147.70% above the national average.
  • Portsmouth ranks #144 safest out of 147 cities in Virginia.
  • Portsmouth ranks #9,561 safest out of 9,869 cities in the United States.

Because the crime rate is so low in America, we use "per 100,000 people" to make the number a bit easier to compare across locations visually. It's mathematically the same as doing per capita comparisons and isn't conveying that there are 100,000+ people in a location.

Additional research about crime in Virginia

Portsmouth Vs Virginia And National Crime Rates

According to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Portsmouth is 5,757.0 per 100,000 people. That's 147.70% higher than the national rate of 2,324.2 per 100,000 people and 245.75% higher than the Virginia total crime rate of 1,665.1 per 100,000 people.

Statistic Count
Raw
Portsmouth
/ 100k People
Virginia
/ 100k People
National
/ 100k People
Total Crimes Per 100K 5,642 5,757.0 1,665.1 2,324.2
Murder 47 48.0 6.1 6.3
Robbery 209 213.3 34.3 66.1
Aggravated Assault 554 565.3 141.7 268.2
Violent Crime 858 875.5 208.7 369.8
Burglary 421 429.6 133.5 269.8
Larceny 3,940 4,020.3 1,196.6 1,401.9
Car Theft 423 431.6 126.3 282.7
Property Crime 4,784 4,881.5 1,456.4 1,954.4

Portsmouth Crime Compared To Virginia Averages

Each category of crime indexed to the worst per capita in Virginia.
Data Source -- FBI UCR 2022.

Violent Crime Rates In Portsmouth

858
Violent Crimes
875.5
Violent Crimes / 100k People
136.75%
Above The National Average
  • There were 858 violent crimes in Portsmouth in the last reporting year.
  • The violent crime rate in Portsmouth is 875.5 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 114.2 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Portsmouth each year. That compares to a 1 in 479.3 chance statewide.
  • That's 136.75% higher than the national rate of 369.8 per 100,000 people.
  • 319.58% higher than the Virginia violent crime rate of 208.7 per 100,000 people.

Property Crime Rates In Portsmouth

4,784
Property Crimes
4,881.5
Property Crimes / 100k People
149.77%
Above The National Average
  • There were 4,784 property crimes in Portsmouth in the last reporting year.
  • The property crime rate in Portsmouth is 4,881.5 per 100,000 people.
  • You have a 1 in 20.5 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Portsmouth each year. That compares to a 1 in 0.0 chance nationally.
  • That's 149.77% higher than the national rate of 1,954.4 per 100,000 people.
  • And 235.17% higher than the Virginia property crime rate of 1,456.4 per 100,000 people.

Crime In Cities Around Portsmouth

City Population Count
Raw
Total Crime
/ 100k People
Property Crime
/ 100k People
Violent Crime
/ 100k People
Virginia Beach, VA 457,556 7,769 1,697.9 1,610.5 87.4
Chesapeake, VA 253,745 6,161 2,428.0 2,010.7 417.3
Norfolk, VA 233,419 13,012 5,574.5 4,871.9 702.6
Newport News, VA 183,903 5,354 2,911.3 2,301.8 609.6
Hampton, VA 138,843 4,410 3,176.2 2,906.2 270.1
Suffolk, VA 98,065 2,224 2,267.9 1,791.7 476.2
Poquoson, VA 12,738 82 643.7 478.9 164.9
Smithfield, VA 8,827 116 1,314.1 1,087.6 226.6

Portsmouth SnackAbility

5
/10
Overall SnackAbility
Jobs
6/10
Housing
8
Affordability
5
Diversity
9
Safety
3
Amenities
9
Education
7
Commute
8
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