Photo: Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0More crimes per resident are recorded in Petersburg than in 95% of U.S. towns
Per 1,000 residents a year, 8.8 violent crimes and 30.6 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 3.3 and 22.5 in the rest of Virginia. A Safety Grade of D follows from crimes Petersburg’s police reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #81 of 84 graded towns in Virginia. Violent crime here is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 91%.
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 Petersburg
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 Virginia towns on Petersburg’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Colonial Heights (D). Ettrick and Matoaca are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Petersburg is home to Virginia State University, with 5,107 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 7% 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 ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Petersburg’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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Petersburg | Rest of Virginia | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 10.4 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 9.1 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Petersburg’s police reported 893 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 8.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Petersburg 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 9 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 | Petersburg property | Rest of Virginia property | Petersburg violent | Rest of Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 25.5 | 25.2 | 8.1 | 3.5 |
| 2023 | 33.8 | 24.3 | 6.9 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | 28.9 | 23.2 | 10.4 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 29.2 | 20.1 | 9.1 | 3.1 |
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 Virginia.
1,314 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.
311 violent and 1,003 property, as reported to the FBI by Petersburg’s police.
30 people died in crashes on Petersburg’s roads in 2019–2023
Petersburg had 27 fatal crashes in five years, in which 30 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 7 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 17.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Virginia towns of 25,000–100,000 people (3.9, 38 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.
Petersburg and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersburg | D | 8.8 | 30.6 |
| Ettrick | — | — | — |
| Colonial Heights | D | 4.2 | 33.3 |
| Matoaca | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Ettrick and Matoaca are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersburg | D | 8.8 | 30.6 |
| Staunton | B− | 1.6 | 14.3 |
| Winchester | C− | 2.6 | 23.3 |
| Fairfax | C− | 1.1 | 29.8 |
| Danville | D | 3.4 | 28.4 |
| Fredericksburg | D | 5.0 | 29.9 |
The five graded Virginia towns closest to Petersburg’s population (33,734), 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 Petersburg. 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 Petersburg’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (34,318 in 2025); our figure for Petersburg is 33,734 (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 Petersburg
Is Petersburg, VA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Petersburg reports more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #81 of 84 in Virginia. Its police reported 8.8 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 Petersburg?
8.8 violent and 30.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Virginia reports 3.3 and 22.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Petersburg in 2025?
Petersburg’s police reported 10 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 29.1 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Petersburg safer than Colonial Heights?
Colonial Heights reports less crime per resident than Petersburg: Colonial Heights grades D for safety and Petersburg D. Colonial Heights’s police reported 4.2 violent and 33.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Petersburg?
Petersburg’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Petersburg”. 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 Petersburg.
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.