Photo: LibertyNALE · CC BY-SA 4.0Waterford has less violent crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns
Overall, Waterford grades B for safety (#47 of 90 graded towns in Connecticut): less crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Annual rates stand at 0.2 violent crime and 13.8 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 1.5 and 15.1 in the rest of Connecticut. Of the 4 towns on its borders with figures, 3 record less crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of CT” is every other Connecticut city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Waterford
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Connecticut towns on Waterford’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Ledyard (A), East Lyme (A), Groton (B+), New London (C+). Montville reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Among Connecticut towns, closer to the middle
Connecticut’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Waterford’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 48% of the 90 Connecticut towns we grade, against 60% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Waterford’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Waterford’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (13.8) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Waterford | Rest of Connecticut | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Waterford’s police reported 12 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.5 in the rest of Connecticut and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Waterford per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And fewer than 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Waterford property | Rest of Connecticut property | Waterford violent | Rest of Connecticut violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 10.8 | 16.8 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 12.9 | 17.2 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | 16.8 | 15.5 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| 2025 | 11.7 | 12.6 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Connecticut.
238 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
5 violent and 233 property, as reported to the FBI by Waterford’s police.
Five people died in crashes on Waterford’s roads in 2019–2023
Waterford had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died; 1 was a pedestrian. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Connecticut towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (7.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Waterford’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Waterford’s own rate (5.1) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Waterford and its neighbors
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Montville reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Connecticut towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | B | 0.2 | 13.8 |
| Monroe | A | 0.2 | 5.1 |
| New Canaan | A | 0.1 | 6.3 |
| Wilton | A | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| Rocky Hill | B | 0.7 | 13.7 |
| Berlin | B− | 0.7 | 16.4 |
The five graded Connecticut towns closest to Waterford’s population (20,435), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Waterford. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Waterford’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (19,996 in 2025); our figure for Waterford is 20,435 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Waterford
Is Waterford, CT safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Waterford reports less crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #47 of 90 in Connecticut. Its police reported 0.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.5 in the rest of Connecticut and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Waterford?
0.2 violent and 13.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Connecticut reports 1.5 and 15.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Waterford safer than New London?
New London reports more crime per resident than Waterford: New London grades C+ for safety and Waterford B. New London’s police reported 2.0 violent and 13.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Waterford?
Waterford’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Waterford”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Waterford.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.