Saturno-Breen Truck Garden · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0College Place reports less violent crime than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
College Place grades B− for safety overall (#40 of 130 graded towns in Washington): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Behind the grade sit 0.8 violent crime and 16.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 4.0 and 32.1 in the rest of Washington.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WA” is every other Washington 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 College Place
College Place reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 Washington towns on College Place’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Walla Walla (C−). Garrett is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among Washington towns, closer to the middle
Washington’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so College Place’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 69% of the 130 Washington towns we grade, against 47% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
College Place is home to Walla Walla University, with 1,392 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 19% 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 College Place’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds College Place’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (16.7) 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 | College Place | Rest of Washington | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.7 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
College Place’s police reported 24 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in College Place 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 1 violent crime, 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 | College Place property | Rest of Washington property | College Place violent | Rest of Washington violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.3 | 43.7 | 0.7 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 16.8 | 37.6 | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 18.1 | 32.9 | 0.9 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 15.1 | 25.8 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
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 Washington.
158 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.
10 violent and 148 property, as reported to the FBI by College Place’s police.
Two people died in crashes on College Place’s roads in 2019–2023
College Place had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which two people died.
That is about what is typical for Washington towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of College Place’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so College Place’s own rate (4.1) 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.
College Place and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Place | B− | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| Garrett | — | — | — |
| Walla Walla | C− | 3.4 | 20.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Garrett is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
Washington towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Place | B− | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| Duvall | A+ | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| DuPont | B | 0.9 | 12.1 |
| Stanwood | B | 1.4 | 9.8 |
| Port Townsend | C+ | 2.9 | 13.5 |
| Othello | C | 2.5 | 21.4 |
The five graded Washington towns closest to College Place’s population (9,923), 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 College Place. 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 College Place’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (9,816 in 2025); our figure for College Place is 9,923 (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 College Place
Is College Place, WA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, College Place reports more crime per resident than 53% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #40 of 130 in Washington. Its police reported 0.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in College Place?
0.8 violent and 16.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Washington reports 4.0 and 32.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is College Place safer than Walla Walla?
Walla Walla reports more crime per resident than College Place: Walla Walla grades C− for safety and College Place B−. Walla Walla’s police reported 3.4 violent and 20.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices College Place?
College Place’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “College Place”. 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 College Place.
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.