Federal Way records more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns
It has more violent crime than 89% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 96%. What’s more, on the record of crimes Federal Way’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it takes D for safety: #119 of 130 graded towns in Washington. The crimes the grade counts fell 50% per resident from 2023 to 2025. The yearly rates were 5.1 violent crimes and 41.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 4.0 and 31.9 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 Federal Way
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 Washington towns on Federal Way’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Des Moines (C−), Milton (C−), Auburn (D), Tacoma (D−). Lakeland South and Lakeland North are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
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 Federal Way’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Federal Way property | Rest of Washington property | Federal Way violent | Rest of Washington violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 52.5 | 43.5 | 5.5 | 4.7 |
| 2023 | 54.1 | 37.2 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| 2024 | 43.7 | 32.6 | 5.5 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 26.5 | 25.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 Washington.
Crime in Federal Way 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 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Federal Way | Rest of Washington | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Federal Way’s police reported 1,496 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
3,002 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.
350 violent and 2,652 property, as reported to the FBI by Federal Way’s police.
50 people died in crashes on Federal Way’s roads in 2019–2023
Federal Way had 46 fatal crashes in five years, in which 50 people died; 15 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 15 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 10.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Washington towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.0, 43 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.
Federal Way and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Way | D | 5.1 | 41.3 |
| Lakeland South | — | — | — |
| Lakeland North | — | — | — |
| Des Moines | C− | 2.8 | 28.6 |
| Milton | C− | 3.1 | 28.3 |
| Auburn | D | 4.8 | 39.0 |
| Tacoma | D− | 10.5 | 56.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Lakeland South and Lakeland North are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Washington towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Way | D | 5.1 | 41.3 |
| Kirkland | B− | 0.8 | 17.5 |
| Yakima | C− | 5.2 | 21.1 |
| Spokane Valley | D | 2.6 | 34.2 |
| Renton | D | 3.4 | 33.9 |
| Bellingham | D | 3.1 | 37.2 |
The five graded Washington towns closest to Federal Way’s population (99,729), 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 Federal Way. 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 Federal Way’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (100,076 in 2025); our figure for Federal Way is 99,729 (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 Federal Way
Is Federal Way, WA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Federal Way reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #119 of 130 in Washington. Its police reported 5.1 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 Federal Way?
5.1 violent and 41.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Washington reports 4.0 and 31.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Federal Way in 2025?
Federal Way’s police reported 8 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 8.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Federal Way safer than Des Moines?
Des Moines reports less crime per resident than Federal Way: Des Moines grades C− for safety and Federal Way D. Des Moines’s police reported 2.8 violent and 28.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Federal Way?
Federal Way’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Federal Way”. 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 Federal Way.
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.