Crime
Chesapeake's crime rate by year
Police in Chesapeake, VA reported about 320 violent crimes per 100,000 people they serve in 2025 (U.S.: 329), down from a high of 665 in 2002, and 4.3 murders in 2025 (U.S.: 4.3), down from a high of 11.2 in 1994. That was the 75th highest violent crime rate of the 89 biggest U.S. cities whose police reported a full year. Rates count only crimes police reported to the FBI.
Violent crime rate, 2025
320
per 100,000 people (U.S.: 329)
Murder rate, 2025
4.3
per 100,000 people (U.S.: 4.3)
Among big cities
75th
highest violent crime rate of 89
How Chesapeake ranks among U.S. cities of 100,000 or more
- In 2025, Chesapeake had the 141st highest murder rate of 313 cities, 4.3 per 100,000 people. See every city
- In 2025, Chesapeake had the 198th highest violent crime rate of 313 cities, 320 per 100,000 people. See every city
Among the cities whose police reported a full year to the FBI. 1st is the highest.
Is murder down in Chesapeake?
- From 2024 to 2025, Chesapeake's murder rate fell 8.2% (U.S.: fell 16.5%), 61st of 79 big cities from the biggest fall. See every big city
Rent, home values and income in Chesapeake
Medians from the Census Bureau's 5-year survey ending in 2024, next to Virginia and the U.S., and Chesapeake's rank among the 332 U.S. cities of 100,000 people or more (1st is the highest).
| Median | Chesapeake | Virginia | U.S. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent a month | $1,586 ±39 | $1,579 | $1,413 | 164th of 332 |
| Median home value | $378,400 ±5,621 | $383,700 | $332,700 | 175th of 332 |
| Median household income a year | $95,373 ±2,728 | $93,170 | $80,734 | 89th of 332 |
Rent includes utilities; home value is what owners estimate their homes would sell for. Five-year figures trail the latest prices, and each city's has a margin of error (±).
Violent crime rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Murder rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Property crime, car theft, burglary and robbery
Per 100,000 people, in the FBI's newest year, next to the U.S. rate and Chesapeake's rank among the big cities (1st is the highest).
| Crime | Chesapeake | U.S. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crime, 2025 | 1,480 | 1,552 | 78th of 89 |
| Car theft, 2025 | 97 | 200 | 84th of 89 |
| Burglary, 2025 | 116 | 195 | 83rd of 89 |
| Robbery, 2025 | 30 | 50 | 85th of 89 |
Property crime rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Car theft rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Burglary rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Robbery rate in Chesapeake and the U.S., each year
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
No figure for Chesapeake in 2000–2001: its police didn't report a full year to the FBI. The line breaks there.
Violent crime and murder each year
Crimes per 100,000 people, as police reported them to the FBI, newest first.
| Year | Violent, Chesapeake | Violent, U.S. | Murder, Chesapeake | Murder, U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 320.2 | 329.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| 2024 | 345.6 | 363.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 423.5 | 385.6 | 3.5 | 6.1 |
| 2022 | 422.1 | 398.2 | 9.9 | 6.9 |
| 2021 | 469.5 | 360.9 | 10.0 | 6.9 |
| 2020 | 421.7 | 399.3 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| 2019 | 466.1 | 381.0 | 2.9 | 5.2 |
| 2018 | 409.0 | 384.8 | 2.9 | 5.2 |
| 2017 | 426.0 | 397.5 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| 2016 | 412.1 | 399.5 | 5.9 | 5.4 |
| 2015 | 413.6 | 384.6 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| 2014 | 429.7 | 373.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| 2013 | 321.4 | 378.2 | 3.5 | 4.6 |
| 2012 | 369.6 | 390.7 | 5.3 | 4.8 |
| 2011 | 398.5 | 390.1 | 5.3 | 4.8 |
| 2010 | 394.7 | 408.1 | 4.1 | 4.8 |
| 2009 | 391.0 | 436.8 | 5.4 | 5.1 |
| 2008 | 459.2 | 463.7 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
| 2007 | 440.2 | 477.9 | 5.4 | 5.8 |
| 2006 | 436.8 | 486.9 | 3.2 | 5.9 |
| 2005 | 512.8 | 483.0 | 6.4 | 5.9 |
| 2004 | 521.8 | 478.6 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| 2003 | 599.6 | 493.7 | 2.4 | 5.9 |
| 2002 | 665.1 | 512.9 | 2.9 | 5.9 |
| 1999 | 525.3 | 545.8 | 5.0 | 5.9 |
| 1998 | 430.9 | 603.8 | 2.0 | 6.6 |
| 1997 | 441.3 | 644.9 | 5.9 | 7.2 |
| 1996 | 437.0 | 658.8 | 7.1 | 7.8 |
| 1995 | 450.1 | 720.6 | 5.5 | 8.7 |
| 1994 | 484.4 | 740.4 | 11.2 | 9.2 |
| 1993 | 466.4 | 764.1 | 7.7 | 9.8 |
| 1992 | 547.1 | 785.4 | 5.7 | 9.7 |
| 1991 | 573.8 | 798.1 | 7.1 | 10.3 |
| 1990 | 479.0 | 749.8 | 4.6 | 9.7 |
| 1989 | 384.4 | 680.5 | 9.3 | 8.9 |
| 1988 | 371.6 | 630.2 | 8.4 | 8.5 |
| 1987 | 393.8 | 624.9 | 5.1 | 8.4 |
| 1986 | 404.1 | 633.6 | 7.7 | 8.7 |
| 1985 | 319.0 | 570.3 | 10.2 | 8.1 |
Property crime, car theft, burglary and robbery each year
Crimes per 100,000 people in Chesapeake, with the U.S. rate after each, newest first.
| Year | Property crime, Chesapeake | Property crime, U.S. | Car theft, Chesapeake | Car theft, U.S. | Burglary, Chesapeake | Burglary, U.S. | Robbery, Chesapeake | Robbery, U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,480 | 1,552 | 97 | 200 | 116 | 195 | 30 | 50 |
| 2024 | 1,761 | 1,767 | 114 | 258 | 187 | 232 | 45 | 62 |
| 2023 | 1,855 | 1,951 | 183 | 326 | 170 | 254 | 45 | 68 |
| 2022 | 2,030 | 1,999 | 155 | 290 | 163 | 276 | 41 | 70 |
| 2021 | 1,739 | 1,762 | 157 | 240 | 132 | 264 | 33 | 54 |
| 2020 | 1,818 | 1,955 | 136 | 247 | 160 | 309 | 45 | 74 |
| 2019 | 2,293 | 2,109 | 160 | 221 | 210 | 334 | 57 | 83 |
| 2018 | 2,172 | 2,207 | 130 | 231 | 246 | 373 | 58 | 87 |
| 2017 | 2,297 | 2,372 | 107 | 239 | 277 | 427 | 83 | 99 |
| 2016 | 2,559 | 2,469 | 136 | 240 | 316 | 467 | 91 | 104 |
| 2015 | 2,524 | 2,495 | 147 | 223 | 386 | 490 | 84 | 103 |
| 2014 | 2,774 | 2,592 | 125 | 217 | 436 | 538 | 77 | 103 |
| 2013 | 2,715 | 2,759 | 123 | 224 | 468 | 611 | 67 | 111 |
| 2012 | 2,809 | 2,881 | 125 | 232 | 458 | 673 | 89 | 115 |
| 2011 | 3,218 | 2,926 | 149 | 232 | 552 | 702 | 110 | 115 |
| 2010 | 3,418 | 2,963 | 177 | 241 | 536 | 702 | 124 | 121 |
| 2009 | 3,537 | 3,077 | 194 | 264 | 600 | 722 | 106 | 136 |
| 2008 | 3,223 | 3,252 | 204 | 321 | 576 | 738 | 172 | 149 |
| 2007 | 3,248 | 3,316 | 219 | 372 | 561 | 731 | 146 | 152 |
| 2006 | 3,131 | 3,397 | 207 | 410 | 608 | 740 | 126 | 154 |
| 2005 | 3,626 | 3,518 | 247 | 434 | 655 | 741 | 137 | 147 |
| 2004 | 3,639 | 3,599 | 293 | 437 | 609 | 741 | 139 | 142 |
| 2003 | 3,151 | 3,704 | 285 | 455 | 593 | 757 | 147 | 150 |
| 2002 | 3,618 | 3,738 | 296 | 453 | 701 | 762 | 157 | 154 |
| 1999 | 3,569 | 3,873 | 420 | 446 | 709 | 790 | 164 | 160 |
| 1998 | 3,873 | 4,213 | 318 | 493 | 812 | 895 | 192 | 180 |
| 1997 | 4,172 | 4,495 | 292 | 542 | 881 | 952 | 173 | 203 |
| 1996 | 4,225 | 4,553 | 290 | 554 | 831 | 954 | 154 | 219 |
| 1995 | 4,306 | 4,797 | 326 | 596 | 810 | 1,025 | 196 | 239 |
| 1994 | 4,715 | 4,752 | 383 | 615 | 914 | 1,053 | 195 | 251 |
| 1993 | 4,246 | 4,814 | 291 | 628 | 957 | 1,108 | 194 | 269 |
| 1992 | 5,166 | 5,089 | 482 | 661 | 1,128 | 1,200 | 217 | 279 |
| 1991 | 4,942 | 5,388 | 479 | 699 | 1,048 | 1,297 | 213 | 292 |
| 1990 | 4,409 | 5,227 | 528 | 677 | 1,021 | 1,253 | 179 | 267 |
| 1989 | 4,456 | 5,212 | 403 | 649 | 1,080 | 1,298 | 152 | 243 |
| 1988 | 4,571 | 5,046 | 349 | 596 | 1,285 | 1,283 | 157 | 222 |
| 1987 | 4,471 | 5,090 | 223 | 544 | 1,299 | 1,356 | 147 | 221 |
| 1986 | 3,846 | 5,015 | 183 | 522 | 1,332 | 1,373 | 145 | 234 |
| 1985 | 3,738 | 4,780 | 198 | 473 | 1,146 | 1,310 | 100 | 216 |
For local news sites, community pages and classes: paste this code to show a small box of Chesapeake's latest violent crime and murder rates next to the U.S., with the source and a “Data by Chartly” credit. It's free and updates itself when the FBI publishes a new year. See the box. Need it without the credit? Join the Chartly Pro waitlist.
Source and notes
FBI Crime Data Explorer, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (Public domain (U.S. government work); source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program).
Rent, home value and income: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Public domain (U.S. government work). This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.)
These are the crimes the Chesapeake police reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program, per 100,000 people the department serves. Violent crime is murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; murder includes nonnegligent manslaughter. Property crime is burglary, theft and car theft. A year counts only when the department reported violent crimes in all 12 months, and not when its rate is far out of line with the years either side (under a quarter, or over 1.75 times, of both), which means it sent only part of its reports or some twice. In 2021 the FBI took only reports from its newer system (NIBRS), and many departments hadn't switched yet, so that year is often missing or less certain. NIBRS counts every crime in an incident, not just the most serious, so a jump or drop when a department switched can come from the change in counting rather than in crime. The FBI widened its definition of rape in 2013. A city's rate depends on where its borders fall, so compare cities with care. The U.S. rates count only the agencies that reported, so they differ a little from the FBI's national estimates.