Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Virginia?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Virginia with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 27 cities in the Old Dominion with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Virginia
What city has the highest murder rate in Virginia? The city with the highest murder rate in Virginia is Petersburg with 68.8 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Virginia with highest number of murders? The city in Virginia with the highest number of murders is Richmond with 62 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Virginia ranked. There were ‘only’ 27 cities in Virginia where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 36 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Old Dominion check out:
- Best Places To Live In Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In Virginia
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Virginia For 2025
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Population: 33,424
Murders: 23 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 68.8 (Most)
More on Petersburg: Data
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Population: 96,649
Murders: 39 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 40.4 (2nd Most)
More on Portsmouth: Data
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Population: 5,375
Murders: 2 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 37.2 (3rd Most)
More on Emporia: Data
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Population: 96,925
Murders: 28 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.9 (4th Most)
More on Roanoke: Data
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Population: 230,789
Murders: 62 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 26.9 (5th Most)
More on Richmond: Data
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Population: 22,958
Murders: 6 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 26.1 (6th Most)
More on Hopewell: Data
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Population: 183,600
Murders: 46 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 25.1 (7th Most)
More on Newport News: Data
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Population: 9,027
Murders: 2 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.2 (8th Most)
More on Smithfield: Data
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Population: 13,861
Murders: 3 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.6 (9th Most)
More on Martinsville: Data
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Population: 138,533
Murders: 27 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.5 (10th Most)
More on Hampton: Data
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Virginia
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Virginia for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 27 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Petersburg. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Virginia. We updated the list for 2025.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Virginia For 2025
If you’re looking at the places in Virginia with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Virginia are Petersburg, Portsmouth, Emporia, Roanoke, Richmond, Hopewell, Newport News, Smithfield, Martinsville, and Hampton.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia
- Fastest Growing Cities In Virginia
- Safest Places In Virginia
- Best Cities For Singles In Virginia
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
Murder Rates By City In Virginia
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petersburg, VA | 33424 | 23 | 68.81 |
| 2 | Portsmouth, VA | 96649 | 39 | 40.35 |
| 3 | Emporia, VA | 5375 | 2 | 37.21 |
| 4 | Roanoke, VA | 96925 | 28 | 28.89 |
| 5 | Richmond, VA | 230789 | 62 | 26.86 |
| 6 | Hopewell, VA | 22958 | 6 | 26.13 |
| 7 | Newport News, VA | 183600 | 46 | 25.05 |
| 8 | Smithfield, VA | 9027 | 2 | 22.16 |
| 9 | Martinsville, VA | 13861 | 3 | 21.64 |
| 10 | Hampton, VA | 138533 | 27 | 19.49 |
| 11 | Norfolk, VA | 230849 | 43 | 18.63 |
| 12 | Galax, VA | 6744 | 1 | 14.83 |
| 13 | Danville, VA | 42091 | 6 | 14.25 |
| 14 | Strasburg, VA | 7277 | 1 | 13.74 |
| 15 | Charlottesville, VA | 44874 | 6 | 13.37 |
| 16 | South Boston, VA | 7822 | 1 | 12.78 |
| 17 | Manassas Park, VA | 16493 | 2 | 12.13 |
| 18 | Franklin, VA | 8304 | 1 | 12.04 |
| 19 | Suffolk, VA | 100598 | 11 | 10.93 |
| 20 | Fredericksburg, VA | 29170 | 2 | 6.86 |
| 21 | Fairfax City, VA | 25193 | 1 | 3.97 |
| 22 | Lynchburg, VA | 79509 | 3 | 3.77 |
| 23 | Virginia Beach, VA | 453991 | 17 | 3.74 |
| 24 | Chesapeake, VA | 254051 | 9 | 3.54 |
| 25 | Blacksburg, VA | 46052 | 1 | 2.17 |
| 26 | Harrisonburg, VA | 50928 | 1 | 1.96 |
| 27 | Alexandria, VA | 153897 | 2 | 1.3 |
richmond always has about double or more the murders of norfolk. they had way more than 36. this is very inaccurate. please fact check and redo
It’s FBI data. I’d say that’s pretty accurate where are you suggesting has more accurate crime statistics?
I agree. Richmond is clearly not reported. Idk if it is purposefully or not but I have zero confidence in this report as one of the major cities is not reported. And I live in the Richmond Metro Area.
Richmond had over 60 in 2018. And 2019 is not over and over 53. Think the writer is clearly dumbfounded. This is not FBI data rebecca not at all. According to chris and blind rebecca richmond had zero murders in a entire year. Guess someone is trying to sell houses in richmond’s blackwell neighborhood or east end oak grove afton ave Fairfield highland park etc. Well than again if its on the internet it must be true.
This is clearly the dumbest thing ever seen. Every city they have up is safer than Richmond that didn’t even make the list. Come on. Stop the lies