Photo: US Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified · Public domainReported crime per resident in Chesapeake fell 21% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Chesapeake grades C for safety (#50 of 84 graded towns in Virginia, and #114 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 74% 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 VA” is every other Virginia 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 Chesapeake
1 of the 4 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 Virginia towns on Chesapeake’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Virginia Beach (B−), Suffolk (C), Norfolk (D), Portsmouth (D−). Neighbors ↓
Among Virginia towns, closer to the middle
Virginia’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Chesapeake’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 40% of the 84 Virginia towns we grade, against 26% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Chesapeake’s police reported 11 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 4.2 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of Virginia (9.8) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of Virginia
40.0 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (77 reported in 2025), below the rest of Virginia (55.4) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Chesapeake reports less crime per resident than 65% (#114). Places like 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 Chesapeake’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 (3.6) 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 (16.8) 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.
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 Virginia.
Show as a table
| Year | Chesapeake property | Rest of Virginia property | Chesapeake violent | Rest of Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.1 | 25.7 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 2023 | 18.3 | 25.0 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | 17.4 | 23.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| 2025 | 14.6 | 20.7 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Homicides and robberies
Chesapeake’s police reported 11 homicides, 77 robberies and 817 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Virginia and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Chesapeake | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.9 | 13.1 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 3.5 | 12.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 4.7 | 9.5 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 4.3 | 7.6 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Chesapeake | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 41.0 | 67.2 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 45.3 | 61.0 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 44.7 | 54.1 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 30.0 | 51.3 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 15 property crimes reported
And about 3 violent crimes, 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.
4,578 crimes reported in 2025
817 violent and 3,761 property, as reported to the FBI by Chesapeake’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
84 people died in crashes on Chesapeake’s roads in 2019–2023
Chesapeake had 82 fatal crashes in five years, in which 84 people died; 12 were pedestrians and 6 were cyclists. 18 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 6.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Virginia towns of 100,000+ people (7.8, 8 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.
Chesapeake and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake | C | 3.6 | 16.8 |
| Portsmouth | D− | 7.8 | 38.9 |
| Virginia Beach | B− | 0.9 | 15.8 |
| Suffolk | C | 4.2 | 14.8 |
| Norfolk | D | 4.7 | 35.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake | C | 3.6 | 16.8 |
| Alexandria | C | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Hampton | C− | 2.7 | 29.1 |
| Richmond | D | 3.8 | 34.1 |
| Newport News | D | 8.0 | 24.0 |
The five graded Virginia towns closest to Chesapeake’s population (255,332), 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 Chesapeake. 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 Chesapeake’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (257,012 in 2025); our figure for Chesapeake is 255,332 (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 Chesapeake
Is Chesapeake, VA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Chesapeake reports more crime per resident than 74% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #50 of 84 in Virginia. Its police reported 3.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Chesapeake?
3.6 violent and 16.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Virginia reports 3.3 and 23.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Chesapeake?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Chesapeake in 2025?
Chesapeake’s police reported 11 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 4.3 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Chesapeake safer than Portsmouth?
Portsmouth reports more crime per resident than Chesapeake: Portsmouth grades D− for safety and Chesapeake C. Portsmouth’s police reported 7.8 violent and 38.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Chesapeake?
Chesapeake’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Chesapeake”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Chesapeake.
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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.