Fireboat No.1 · Photo: Mike Lane · CC BY-SA 3.0Crime per resident in Tacoma runs higher than in almost every U.S. town
Its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes Tacoma’s police reported over 2023 to 2025: #128 of 130 graded towns in Washington, and #317 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. What’s more, in a usual year, 10.5 violent crimes and 56.1 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Washington, 3.7 and 30.9. The graded rate fell 44% from 2023 to 2025. Next door, 3 of 4 towns with figures record less crime per resident.
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 Tacoma
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Washington towns on Tacoma’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: University Place (C), Federal Way (D), Lakewood (D), Fife (D−). Midland, Fife Heights, Parkland and Vashon are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Tacoma’s police reported 22 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 11.1 per 100,000 residents a year, 2.8 times the rest of Washington (4.0) and 1.9 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 2.3 times the rest of Washington
204 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (357 reported in 2025), 2.3 times the rest of Washington (88.5) and 2.6 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, Tacoma reports less crime per resident than 2% (#317). 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 Tacoma’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 | Tacoma property | Rest of Washington property | Tacoma violent | Rest of Washington violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 85.4 | 41.7 | 16.1 | 4.2 |
| 2023 | 73.6 | 35.9 | 12.4 | 4.1 |
| 2024 | 56.0 | 31.8 | 10.6 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 39.4 | 25.2 | 8.6 | 3.3 |
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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Tacoma | Rest of Washington | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.7 | 5.2 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 13.9 | 5.0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 9.8 | 4.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 9.5 | 2.8 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Tacoma | Rest of Washington | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 341 | 110 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 275 | 106 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 184 | 91.0 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 155 | 68.3 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Tacoma’s police reported 22 homicides, 357 robberies and 1,984 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.
Crime in Tacoma 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.
11,057 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.
1,984 violent and 9,073 property, as reported to the FBI by Tacoma’s police.
128 people died in crashes on Tacoma’s roads in 2019–2023
Tacoma had 114 fatal crashes in five years, in which 128 people died; 21 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 22 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 11.5 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.
Tacoma and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | D− | 10.5 | 56.1 |
| University Place | C | 2.4 | 20.3 |
| Midland | — | — | — |
| Fife | D− | 11.7 | 64.6 |
| Fife Heights | — | — | — |
| Lakewood | D | 6.4 | 37.4 |
| Parkland | — | — | — |
| Vashon | — | — | — |
| Federal Way | D | 5.1 | 41.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Midland, Fife Heights, Parkland and Vashon are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Washington towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | D− | 10.5 | 56.1 |
| Bellevue | C− | 1.3 | 29.8 |
| Kent | D | 4.4 | 36.4 |
| Vancouver | D | 5.9 | 35.8 |
| Spokane | D− | 6.6 | 48.7 |
The five graded Washington towns closest to Tacoma’s population (229,816), 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 Tacoma. 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 Tacoma’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (230,369 in 2025); our figure for Tacoma is 229,816 (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 Tacoma
Is Tacoma, WA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Tacoma reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #128 of 130 in Washington. Its police reported 10.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Washington and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Tacoma?
10.5 violent and 56.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Washington reports 3.7 and 30.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Tacoma in 2025?
Tacoma’s police reported 22 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 9.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Tacoma safer than University Place?
University Place reports less crime per resident than Tacoma: University Place grades C for safety and Tacoma D−. University Place’s police reported 2.4 violent and 20.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Tacoma?
Tacoma’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Tacoma”. 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 Tacoma.
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.