Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Recorded crime in Portsmouth is close to typical for U.S. towns
Each of the two towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Portsmouth at B− (#109 of 124 graded towns in New Hampshire): close to the middle of U.S. towns. Per 1,000 residents a year, 1.8 violent crimes and 11.5 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 1.1 and 8.8 in the rest of New Hampshire.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of NH” is every other New Hampshire 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 Portsmouth
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 New Hampshire towns on Portsmouth’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Rye (A+), Greenland (B+). Neighbors ↓
Among New Hampshire towns, closer to the middle
New Hampshire’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Portsmouth’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 12% of the 124 New Hampshire towns we grade, against 50% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A job center
Portsmouth has 35,852 jobs based in town for 23,028 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Portsmouth’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; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (1.8) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (11.5) 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 | Portsmouth | Rest of New Hampshire | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Portsmouth’s police reported 123 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.1 in the rest of New Hampshire and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Portsmouth 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 2 violent crimes, 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 | Portsmouth property | Rest of New Hampshire property | Portsmouth violent | Rest of New Hampshire violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.5 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| 2023 | 10.4 | 9.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| 2024 | 12.8 | 9.1 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| 2025 | 11.3 | 8.2 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
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 New Hampshire.
309 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.
47 violent and 262 property, as reported to the FBI by Portsmouth’s police.
Six people died in crashes on Portsmouth’s roads in 2019–2023
Portsmouth had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which six people died. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for New Hampshire towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (6.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Portsmouth’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Portsmouth’s own rate (5.3) 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.
Portsmouth and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | B− | 1.8 | 11.5 |
| Rye | A+ | 0.1 | 3.2 |
| Greenland | B+ | 0.2 | 10.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New Hampshire towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | B− | 1.8 | 11.5 |
| Goffstown | A | 0.5 | 4.6 |
| Londonderry | A− | 0.6 | 4.8 |
| Bedford | A− | 0.3 | 7.4 |
| Hudson | B | 0.8 | 11.2 |
| Keene | C | 1.6 | 22.3 |
The five graded New Hampshire towns closest to Portsmouth’s population (23,028), 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 Portsmouth. 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 Portsmouth’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,157 in 2025); our figure for Portsmouth is 23,028 (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 Portsmouth
Is Portsmouth, NH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Portsmouth reports less crime per resident than 50% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #109 of 124 in New Hampshire. Its police reported 1.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.1 in the rest of New Hampshire and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Portsmouth?
1.8 violent and 11.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New Hampshire reports 1.1 and 8.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Portsmouth safer than Rye?
Rye reports less crime per resident than Portsmouth: Rye grades A+ for safety and Portsmouth B−. Rye’s police reported 0.1 violent and 3.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Portsmouth?
Portsmouth’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Portsmouth”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Portsmouth.
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.