Photo: Smash the Iron Cage · CC BY-SA 4.0Newport News records more crime per resident than nine in ten U.S. towns
For every 1,000 residents, 8.0 violent crimes and 24.0 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the rest of Virginia, the figures are 3.0 and 22.5. Measured on crimes Newport News’ police reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D: #79 of 84 graded towns in Virginia, and #245 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. By contrast, the crimes the grade counts fell 10% per resident from 2023 to 2025. 2 of the 3 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident.
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 Newport News
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Virginia towns on Newport News’ borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Suffolk (C), Hampton (C−), Portsmouth (D−). Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Newport News’ police reported 18 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 15.6 per 100,000 residents a year, 1.8 times the rest of Virginia (8.9) and 2.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 1.9 times the rest of Virginia
97.3 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (166 reported in 2025), 1.9 times the rest of Virginia (51.4) and above 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, Newport News reports less crime per resident than 25% (#245). 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 Newport News’ 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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Newport News | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16.9 | 12.6 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 25.1 | 10.6 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 12.0 | 8.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 9.8 | 7.2 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Newport News | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 96.2 | 63.0 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 116 | 56.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 85.0 | 51.2 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 90.8 | 46.9 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Newport News’ police reported 18 homicides, 166 robberies and 1,441 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.
Crime in Newport News 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 8 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Newport News property | Rest of Virginia property | Newport News violent | Rest of Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 23.0 | 25.3 | 6.1 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 25.2 | 24.4 | 8.8 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 24.2 | 23.2 | 7.4 | 3.0 |
| 2025 | 22.6 | 20.1 | 7.9 | 2.9 |
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 Virginia.
5,572 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.
1,441 violent and 4,131 property, as reported to the FBI by Newport News’ police.
83 people died in crashes on Newport News’s roads in 2019–2023
Newport News had 81 fatal crashes in five years, in which 83 people died; 22 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists. 19 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.0 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.
Newport News and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newport News | D | 8.0 | 24.0 |
| Hampton | C− | 2.7 | 29.1 |
| Suffolk | C | 4.2 | 14.8 |
| Portsmouth | D− | 7.8 | 38.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newport News | D | 8.0 | 24.0 |
| Alexandria | C | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Chesapeake | C | 3.6 | 16.8 |
| Richmond | D | 3.8 | 34.1 |
| Norfolk | D | 4.7 | 35.8 |
| Roanoke | D | 5.8 | 38.2 |
The five graded Virginia towns closest to Newport News’ population (183,230), 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 Newport News. 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 Newport News’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (182,798 in 2025); our figure for Newport News is 183,230 (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 Newport News
Is Newport News, VA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Newport News reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #79 of 84 in Virginia. Its police reported 8.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Newport News?
8.0 violent and 24.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Virginia reports 3.0 and 22.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Newport News in 2025?
Newport News’s police reported 18 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 9.8 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Newport News safer than Hampton?
Hampton reports less crime per resident than Newport News: Hampton grades C− for safety and Newport News D. Hampton’s police reported 2.7 violent and 29.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Newport News?
Newport News’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Newport News”. 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 Newport News.
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.