The crime rate in Morgantown is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 29 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Morgantown is 1 in 35. Based on FBI crime data, Morgantown is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to West Virginia, Morgantown has a crime rate that is higher than 94% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.
Importantly, when you compare Morgantown to other communities of similar population, then Morgantown crime rate (violent and property crimes combined) is quite a bit higher than average. Regardless of how Morgantown does relative to all communities in America of all sizes, when NeighborhoodScout compared it to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Morgantown does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Morgantown.
From our analysis, we discovered that violent crime in Morgantown occurs at a rate higher than in most communities of all population sizes in America. The chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Morgantown; such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder; is 1 in 291. This equates to a rate of 3 per one thousand inhabitants.
Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that Morgantown experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.
NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Morgantown's rate for property crime is 26 per one thousand population. This makes Morgantown a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in Morgantown is one in 39.
FAQ on NeighborhoodScout's Crime Data
NeighborhoodScout® provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. Crime risk indices are nationally comparable on a 1 – 100 scale, where 100 means safer than 100% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Crime risk data are updated annually. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies – municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScout’s proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S.
Crime Data FAQs
More about NeighborhoodScout’s crime data methodology
total Crime Index
(100 is safest)
Morgantown Annual Crimes
| Violent | Property | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
Number of Crimes | 104 | 773 | 877 |
Crime Rate | 3.43 | 25.53 | 28.97 |
Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)
20151050
3.43
2.78
National Median: 4
Morgantown
West Virginia
Chances of Becoming a Victim of aViolentCrime
1 in291
inMorgantown
1 in360
inWest Virginia
Morgantown Violent Crimes
Population:30,277
| Murder | Rape | Robbery | Assault | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report Total | 7 | 36 | 8 | 53 |
| Rate per 1,000 | 0.23 | 1.19 | 0.26 | 1.75 |
United States Violent Crimes
Population:333,287,557
| Murder | Rape | Robbery | Assault | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report Total | 21,156 | 133,294 | 220,450 | 893,980 |
| Rate per 1,000 | 0.06 | 0.40 | 0.66 | 2.68 |
Property Crime
Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents)
1007550250
25.53
12.3
National Median: 20
Morgantown
West Virginia
Chances of Becoming a Victim of aPropertyCrime
1 in39
inMorgantown
1 in81
inWest Virginia
Property Crimes
Population:30,277
| burglary | theft | motor vehicle theft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Total | 57 | 685 | 31 |
| Rate per 1,000 | 1.88 | 22.62 | 1.02 |
United States Property Crimes
Population:333,287,557
| burglary | theft | motor vehicle theft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Total | 899,293 | 4,672,363 | 942,173 |
| Rate per 1,000 | 2.70 | 14.02 | 2.83 |
Morgantown Crimes Per Square Mile
200150100500
83
16
National Median: 27.0
Morgantown
West Virginia
