Photo: Junnell at English Wikipedia · Public domainKent reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Kent’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #113 of 130 graded towns in Washington, and #233 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Kent
5 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Washington towns on Kent’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Maple Valley (B), Covington (C−), Des Moines (C−), Renton (D), SeaTac (D), Auburn (D), Tukwila (D−). Lake Morton-Berrydale is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Kent’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 6.2 per 100,000 residents a year, above the rest of Washington (4.3) and about the same as all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: above the rest of Washington
137 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (103 reported in 2025), above the rest of Washington (92.5) and 1.7 times 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, Kent reports less crime per resident than 28% (#233). 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 Kent’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 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 Washington.
Show as a table
| Year | Kent property | Rest of Washington property | Kent violent | Rest of Washington violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 55.3 | 43.3 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 50.9 | 37.2 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| 2024 | 37.7 | 32.7 | 4.9 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 21.0 | 25.9 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 21 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.
Homicides and robberies
Kent’s police reported 1 homicides, 103 robberies and 362 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Washington and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Kent | Rest of Washington | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 12.8 | 5.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Kent | Rest of Washington | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 157 | 119 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 194 | 112 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 144 | 93.9 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 75.4 | 72.1 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
3,224 crimes reported in 2025
362 violent and 2,862 property, as reported to the FBI by Kent’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
66 people died in crashes on Kent’s roads in 2019–2023
Kent had 65 fatal crashes in five years, in which 66 people died; 23 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 6 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Washington towns of 100,000+ people (7.0, 9 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.
Kent and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | D | 4.4 | 36.4 |
| Tukwila | D− | 7.7 | 143.0 |
| SeaTac | D | 3.7 | 36.0 |
| Des Moines | C− | 2.8 | 28.6 |
| Covington | C− | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| Auburn | D | 4.8 | 39.0 |
| Renton | D | 3.4 | 33.9 |
| Lake Morton-Berrydale | — | — | — |
| Maple Valley | B | 0.9 | 12.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Lake Morton-Berrydale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | D | 4.4 | 36.4 |
| Bellevue | C− | 1.3 | 29.8 |
| Yakima | C− | 5.2 | 21.1 |
| Everett | D | 3.0 | 32.8 |
| Spokane Valley | D | 2.6 | 34.2 |
| Federal Way | D | 5.1 | 41.3 |
The five graded Washington towns closest to Kent’s population (134,871), 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 Kent. 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 Kent’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (136,591 in 2025); our figure for Kent is 134,871 (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 Kent
Is Kent, WA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Kent reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #113 of 130 in Washington. Its police reported 4.4 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 Kent?
4.4 violent and 36.4 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.
Is crime going up or down in Kent?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Kent in 2025?
Kent’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Kent safer than Tukwila?
Tukwila reports more crime per resident than Kent: Tukwila grades D− for safety and Kent D. Tukwila’s police reported 7.7 violent and 143.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Kent?
Kent’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Kent”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Kent.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.