Seattle Crime Rates And Crime Statistics (2022)


If you are thinking about visiting Seattle and have some qualms about the safety of the city, we got you covered.

Lets deep dive into the some statistics, look at crime rates and graphs and see how safe or dangerous Seattle really is.

Seattle’s Crime Statistics

Here’s a breakdown of all the crimes in the city for 2020 and 2021

2020

2021

Percent Change

Homicide

53

40

-25%

Rape

286

282

-1%

Robbery

1,488

1,749

18%

Aggravated Assault

2,656

3,290

24%

Burglary

10,437

9,783

-6%

Larceny/Theft

23,283

26,933

16%

Motor Vehicle Theft

4,933

5,311

8%

Arson

169

224

33%

TOTALS

43,305

47,612

10%

**All data is from the Seattle Police Department Crime Data**

Seattle’s Crime Rate

Violent Crime Rate

In 2021 Seattle reported 5,361 violent crimes and had a crime rate of 690.85 per 100,000 residents. Violent crime in the city increased 20 percent last year compared with 2020.

Seattle’ violent crime rate is 1.7x times greater than the national average.

Seattle has a similar violent crime rate to cities like Atlanta, Sacramento and Boston.

You have a 1 in 145 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Seattle.

Here’s a map showing you how violent crime has trended in Seattle over a 11 year period.

seattle crime rate

Seattle’s Murder Rate

In 2021, Seattle reported 40 murders and had a murder rate of 5.15 per 100,000 residents. Murders in the city decreased 25 percent last year compared with 2020.

Seattle’ murder rate is roughly 21% less than the national average.

Seattle has a similar homicide rate to cities like Portland, Fort Worth and San Antonio.

Here’s a map showing you how murders have trended over the last 11 years in Seattle

seattle murder rate

Seattle Property Crime Rate

In 2020 Seattle reported 42,251 property crimes and had a property crime rate of 5,444.72 per 100,000 residents. Property crimes in the city increased 8 percent last year compared with 2020.

Seattle’ property crime rate is 2.8x times greater the national average.

Seattle has a similar property crime rate to Oakland, St. Louis and Baton Rouge.

You have a 1 in 18 chance of becoming a victim of property crime in Seattle.

Here’s a map showing you how property crime has trended in Seattle over a 11 year period.

seattle property crime rate

Seattle’s crime rate vs other cities in Washington (2020)

Here’e how Seattle’ violent crime rate compared to other cities in Minnesota. Seattle had the 2nd highest crime rate of all the cities listed.

City

Population

Crime Rate (2020)

Tacoma

219,346

846.15

Seattle

737,015

608.26

Spokane

228,989

585.62

Vancouver

190,915

463.03

Kent

136,588

344.10

Everett

110,629

342.59

Federal Way

101,030

340.49

Spokane Valley

102,976

332.12

Renton

106,785

325.89

Bellevue

151,854

115.24

Seattle Crime Rate Comparison

Here’s a list of the top 20 most dangerous cities in the United States ranked by violent crime rates. Seattle’s crime rate is almost 4x less than Memphis, the most dangerous city on the list.

seattle crime rate vs most dangerous cities us

Facts about Seattle, WA

  • The population of Seattle in 2021 is roughly 776,000 and is the 18th most populous city in the United States.
  • The city covers a land area of 142 square miles.
  • The racial makeup of the city: 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 63.8% White, 7.3% African American, 0.5% Native American, 15.4% Asian, and 6.9% from two or more races.
  • The median income for a household in the city was $92,263. The per capita income for the city was $59,835.
  • 11.0% of the population live below the poverty line.
  • The median home value in Seattle is $740,000 in 2022.
  • In 2022, the average rent for a Seattle 2-bedroom apartment is $3,437
  • 94.8% of residents 25 and older is a high school graduate. 64.0% of residents 25 and older has a bachelors degree or higher.
  • 12.9% of residents identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Mariska Lee

Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit. She has been living the van life for 3 years and has not looked back since.

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