West Haven Green Historic District · Photo: The original uploader was Polaron at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.5Reported crime per resident in West Haven fell 47% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, West Haven grades B for safety (#51 of 90 graded towns in Connecticut): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
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 West Haven
West Haven reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 4 Connecticut towns on West Haven’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Milford (C+), Orange (C−), New Haven (D). Woodmont has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Connecticut towns, closer to the middle
Connecticut’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so West Haven’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 43% of the 90 Connecticut towns we grade, against 56% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
West Haven is home to the University of New Haven, with 8,817 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 14% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind West Haven’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds West Haven’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (12.7) 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.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Connecticut.
Show as a table
| Year | West Haven property | Rest of Connecticut property | West Haven violent | Rest of Connecticut violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.7 | 16.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 17.0 | 17.1 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | 12.4 | 15.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| 2025 | 8.9 | 12.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Violent crime, by year and by type
West Haven’s police reported 143 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.5 in the rest of Connecticut and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | West Haven | Rest of Connecticut | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 9 property crimes reported
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
526 crimes reported in 2025
36 violent and 490 property, as reported to the FBI by West Haven’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
16 people died in crashes on West Haven’s roads in 2019–2023
West Haven had 16 fatal crashes in five years, in which 16 people died; 6 were pedestrians. 5 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 5.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Connecticut towns of 25,000–100,000 people (6.8, 47 towns).
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.
West Haven and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Haven | B | 0.9 | 12.7 |
| Milford | C+ | 1.0 | 20.8 |
| New Haven | D | 4.9 | 34.6 |
| Orange | C− | 0.5 | 38.0 |
| Woodmont | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Woodmont has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Connecticut towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Haven | B | 0.9 | 12.7 |
| Stratford | B− | 0.8 | 17.4 |
| East Hartford | C+ | 1.1 | 17.6 |
| Manchester | C+ | 1.2 | 18.9 |
| Meriden | C+ | 1.6 | 19.3 |
| Hamden | D | 3.8 | 27.6 |
The five graded Connecticut towns closest to West Haven’s population (55,351), by grade.
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 West Haven. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against West Haven’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (55,336 in 2025); our figure for West Haven is 55,351 (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 West Haven
Is West Haven, CT safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Haven reports less crime per resident than 56% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #51 of 90 in Connecticut. Its police reported 0.9 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 West Haven?
0.9 violent and 12.7 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 crime going up or down in West Haven?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in West Haven in 2025?
West Haven’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 7.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is West Haven safer than Milford?
Milford reports more crime per resident than West Haven: Milford grades C+ for safety and West Haven B. Milford’s police reported 1.0 violent and 20.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Haven?
West Haven’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Haven”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in West Haven.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.