Glencove Hotel · Photo: garann · CC BY-SA 2.0The police behind Key Center’s crime figures
Key Center has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Pierce County. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Key Center alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest town with a Safety Grade is Gig Harbor, 7 miles away, graded C−. Out to 25 miles, the count of graded towns reaches 28.
What stands out about safety in Key Center
Policed by the county
Key Center is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Key Center. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Washington towns with their own police figures are Gig Harbor (C−, 7 mi), Ruston (D−, 11 mi), University Place (C, 12 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Key Center. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Pierce County without police of their own, which include Key Center.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Washington towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Harbor | C− | 7 mi | 2.4 | 29.6 |
| Ruston | D− | 11 mi | 11.6 | 50.3 |
| University Place | C | 12 mi | 2.4 | 20.3 |
| Fircrest | C | 13 mi | 2.8 | 15.4 |
| Steilacoom | B | 13 mi | 1.5 | 8.8 |
| Tacoma | D− | 14 mi | 10.5 | 56.1 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Key Center. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Key Center.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Five people died in crashes on Key Center’s roads in 2019–2023
Key Center had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died.
That is more than is typical for Washington towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (0.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Key Center’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Key Center’s own rate (28.2) 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.
Key Center and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | — | — | — |
| Stansberry Lake | — | — | — |
| Wauna | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Home, Stansberry Lake and Wauna are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
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.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- 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 Key Center
Is Key Center, WA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Key Center. The nearest Washington towns with a grade are Gig Harbor (C−, 7 mi), Ruston (D−, 11 mi), University Place (C, 12 mi).
Who polices Key Center?
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Key Center is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Pierce County without police of their own.
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 Key Center.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 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.