New River Gorge Bridge · Photo: JaGa · CC BY-SA 4.0Fayetteville sees less violence than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
Overall, Fayetteville grades C+ for safety (#10 of 29 graded towns in West Virginia): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. By contrast, typical years here bring 1.0 violent crime plus 17.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 4.1 plus 24.5 in the rest of West Virginia.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WV” is every other West Virginia 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 Fayetteville
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 1 West Virginia towns on Fayetteville’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Oak Hill (B−). Neighbors ↓
Among West Virginia towns, closer to the middle
West Virginia’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Fayetteville’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 66% of the 29 West Virginia towns we grade, against 44% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A job center
Fayetteville has 2,125 jobs based in town for 2,721 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Fayetteville’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Fayetteville’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (17.2) 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 | Fayetteville | Rest of West Virginia | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.7 | 5.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.8 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Fayetteville’s police reported 8 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.1 in the rest of West Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Fayetteville 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 | Fayetteville property | Rest of West Virginia property | Fayetteville violent | Rest of West Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 50.8 | 28.1 | 0.7 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 11.4 | 25.7 | 1.8 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 25.3 | 24.3 | 0.4 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 15.1 | 23.5 | 0.7 | 3.6 |
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 West Virginia.
43 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.
2 violent and 41 property, as reported to the FBI by Fayetteville’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Fayetteville’s roads in 2019–2023
Fayetteville had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for West Virginia towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (6.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Fayetteville’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Fayetteville’s own rate (21.3) 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.
Fayetteville and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville | C+ | 1.0 | 17.2 |
| Oak Hill | B− | 1.6 | 11.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
West Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville | C+ | 1.0 | 17.2 |
| Kenova | A− | 0.5 | 6.6 |
| Follansbee | B+ | 0.4 | 8.9 |
| Philippi | B | 2.4 | 6.4 |
| Summersville | C+ | 1.4 | 17.3 |
| Moorefield | D | 6.6 | 16.8 |
The five graded West Virginia towns closest to Fayetteville’s population (2,721), 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 Fayetteville. 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 Fayetteville’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (2,719 in 2025); our figure for Fayetteville is 2,721 (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 Fayetteville
Is Fayetteville, WV safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Fayetteville reports more crime per resident than 56% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #10 of 29 in West Virginia. Its police reported 1.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.1 in the rest of West Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Fayetteville?
1.0 violent and 17.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of West Virginia reports 4.1 and 24.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Fayetteville safer than Oak Hill?
Oak Hill reports less crime per resident than Fayetteville: Oak Hill grades B− for safety and Fayetteville C+. Oak Hill’s police reported 1.6 violent and 11.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Fayetteville?
Fayetteville’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Fayetteville”. 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 Fayetteville.
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.