Chittenden County Crime & Safety

Chittenden County has a total crime rate of 3215.5 per 100,000 residents, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. This includes both violent crimes (261.4 per 100K) and property crimes (2954.1 per 100K).

Chittenden County has a safety score of 6/100, rated "High Crime". A higher safety score indicates lower crime rates relative to other counties nationwide. It ranks #14 out of 14 counties in Vermont for safety (1 = safest).

As the state's most populous county, Chittenden's crime rate of 3,215.5 is more than double the Vermont state average. Its safety score of 94.9 sits below the state average of 97.8.

Property crime is the primary concern at 2,954.1 per 100,000, which is higher than the national average of 2,015.7. Violent crime remains relatively low at 261.4, well below the U.S. average of 369.8.

Crime data for Chittenden County comes from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Local law enforcement agencies submit data on violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) to the FBI. Rates are calculated per 100,000 residents to allow fair comparison between counties of different sizes. The safety score (0-100) is derived from these rates, with higher scores indicating safer counties.

Chittenden County has a safety score of 6/100, which is below the Vermont average of 46/100. Many counties with above-average crime rates invest in community policing, crime prevention programs, neighborhood watch initiatives, and social services aimed at reducing crime over time.