Crime in Galax, Virginia

Galax's crime rate

There were 284 crimes reported in Galax, Virginia in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,494 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Galax compare?

Galax has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Galax's overall crime rate is 143% higher than the overall crime rate in Virginia. Statewide, there were 157,966 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,851 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Galax, however, property crimes account for about 90% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Galax than it is nationwide. There were 255 property crimes in Galax in 2019, or 4,035 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Galax. There were 226 larcenies reported in Galax in 2019, or 3,576 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 17 break-ins reported in Galax in 2019, or 269 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Galax, meanwhile, there were 12 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 190 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Galax, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 10% share of all reported crime.

At 459 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Galax is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Galax reported a total of 29 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Galax. There were 16 aggravated assaults reported in Galax in 2019, or 253 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is similar, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There was just one robbery reported in Galax in 2019, a rate of 16 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 12 rapes reported in Galax in 2019, or 190 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Galax.

Galax compared to other cities in Virginia

Galax has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Virginia. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.