More crimes per resident are recorded in West Buechel than in 98% of U.S. towns
In a usual year, 3.9 violent crimes and 75.5 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Kentucky, 3.2 and 21.7. Its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes West Buechel’s police reported over 2023 to 2025. The rate the grade counts dropped 42% from 2023 to 2025. Violent crime here is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 100%.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of KY” is every other Kentucky 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 Buechel
A job center
West Buechel has 2,030 jobs based in town for 1,402 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. 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 Buechel’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | West Buechel property | Rest of Kentucky property | West Buechel violent | Rest of Kentucky violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 62.9 | 19.9 | 4.4 | 1.8 |
| 2023 | 90.9 | 24.2 | 5.2 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 84.3 | 21.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 52.2 | 19.9 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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 Kentucky.
Crime in West Buechel 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 about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | West Buechel | Rest of Kentucky | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West Buechel’s police reported 16 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Kentucky and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
78 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 73 property, as reported to the FBI by West Buechel’s police.
One person died in crashes on West Buechel’s roads in 2019–2023
West Buechel had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for Kentucky towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of West Buechel’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West Buechel’s own rate (12.5) 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.
West Buechel and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Buechel | D− | 3.9 | 75.5 |
| Watterson Park | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Watterson Park has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Kentucky towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Buechel | D− | 3.9 | 75.5 |
| Vanceburg | A+ | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| Burkesville | A+ | 0.2 | 1.4 |
| Irvington | A | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| Guthrie | B | 2.0 | 5.4 |
| Manchester | B | 1.6 | 9.2 |
The five graded Kentucky towns closest to West Buechel’s population (1,402), 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 West Buechel. 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 West Buechel’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (1,399 in 2025); our figure for West Buechel is 1,402 (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 Buechel
Is West Buechel, KY safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Buechel reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 3.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Kentucky and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in West Buechel?
3.9 violent and 75.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Kentucky reports 3.2 and 21.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Who polices West Buechel?
West Buechel’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Buechel”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in West Buechel.
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.