Apparently there are more dangerous things in Washington than taking an elevator to the top of the Space Needle and/or getting caught on the Puget Sound during a storm: there are dangerous cities.
Yes, we have broken down the top ten most dangerous cities in Washington for 2020 and you can view them below.
Why did we produce this list? Well, we’re trying to help one navigate these dangerous cities when trying to make an informed decision on what city they should call home. To compile our list, we looked at violent crimes and property crimes in cities with a population of 5,000. That left us with 114 cities. The type of danger we’re talking about gets people on KOMO 4 at six. Folks, the cities that made our list have robberies happening in broad daylight, car jackings, and daily shootings. There are neighborhoods in these cities that you shouldn’t drive thru, ever, and there are areas that you definitely shouldn’t be in after dark.
We’re not saying that there aren’t little pockets of goodness in these Washington cities. There are neighborhoods and shopping centers in these cities that are working hard to make life easier. And it’s not entirely Washington’s fault that they have questionable cities. They are the 13th largest state in terms of population. As with most situations, there’s bound to be problems with that many people.
To see where these Washington cities with more issues than The Olympian are located, take a look below at our most dangerous cities in The Evergreen State for 2020.
What are the circumstances that make these Washington cities this way? Maybe not enough jobs, low wages, drugs, gangs, and in Washington’s case, their mediocre NFL team?
We’re not entirely sure. But one thing we are sure about is that the number one most dangerous city in Washington for 2020 is Tukwila.
So, if you don’t really leave your house, a dangerous city should mean nothing to you. Maybe you should consider holing up in one of our top 10 most dangerous cities in Washington for 2020.
To make the best choice, take a look at the list below. If you don’t see a what you’re looking for there, head to the bottom.
Learn more about the safest places in Washington.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.
For more Washington reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Washington
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Washington
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Washington
Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Washington
The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Washington For 2020
Coming in first place in both violent and overall crime, the suburban city of Tukwila is far and away the most dangerous place in Washington.
Just south of Seattle, Tukwila residents face a 1 in 137 chance of being the victim of a violent crime and staggeringly high 1 in 6.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime.
While violent crime is on a downward trend in the Hazelnut City, property crime has been steadily rising every year.
Spokane is the 2nd largest city in Washington, and also just so happens to be the 2nd most dangerous city in the state.
Both violent and property crimes have been increasing at a troubling speed over the past few years.
While the 1 in 14.1 chance of being a property crime victim here might not seem so bad, I’d say it’s still not a number to celebrate.
Property crime is terrible, violent crime is also on the rise, and the local DA office and judges who run the justice system play “catch & release” without ever punishing any criminals..
I’m honestly surprised that Spokane didn’t hit #1 and Fife did.
Tacoma’s danger level ranks as the 3rd most dangerous city in the state.
About 30 miles southwest of Seattle and 30 miles northeast of Olympia, this coastal city was strangely named one of the most walkable cities in 2006.
However residents of the City of Destiny, as it’s nicknamed, might disagree, what with the 1 in 115 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in 2018, and the ever-growing numbers of both categories of crime.
Tacoma has definitely gotten better since the 90’s-early 2,000’s. But living over here on the eastside, theres still alot of violence you see/hear everyday. including gunshots everynow and then. Its just not like it was growin up back then.
I love the Point Defiance park and everywhere else on the northend of Tacoma. Its beautiful and a great place to take my son. Owens beach is there also. Things to look out for- honestly nothin really anymore if your not associated with any gangs or crimes or walkin by yourself at 11oclock at night. Not sayin its always safe, but you really dont need to be lookin over your shoulder anymore
The westernmost city on Puget Sound and the seat of Mason County, Shelton’s property crime rankings definitely outweigh the violence.
In fact, Shelton is a stand out for being the first city on this list to be on a downwards trend for violent crimes, with the numbers dropping by from 2017-2018.
Property crimes have also seen a slight decrease, but a 1 in 15.5 chance is still enough to make Shelton a dangerous place.
Like many lower income small cities around the US. Families doing their best to get on. Crime is present for sure. Not much imagination on the part of local officials who could be taking advantage of the spectacular setting of the town. The water and the Olympic Mountains!
Homeless are almost non-existant even at the bus station. Way better experience that Seattle or Olympia and nowhere near as rough as Burien or Tacoma!
Seattle ranked 13th overall for property crime, while 4th for violent crime.
I agree with the person above me. However, I also slightly disagree. Seattle smells like s**t and is full of hobos and junkies now.
Some of my favorite places are the farmers market, the Irish pub, the EMP, the waterfront, the parks, and the Seattle Zoo.
Aberdeen ranks 6th overall for dangerous places in Washington.
In 2018, residents faced a 1 in 192 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Aberdeen’s violent crimes have risen 8% in recent years, meaning it’s on track to overtake the role of most dangerous city in Washington in the not too distant future.
I agree with your ranking of Aberdeen, I’ve lived in Aberdeen for about 66 years. Since high school in the 60s we’ve lost about 5,000 people and the economy is worse. Many homeless people are piling up their junk in front of businesses, the new mayor has raised taxes and now wants to accommodate these often dangerous people. It will only bring more bums into our area. The alleys are full of litter and drunks.
The cost of services are going up and up, and there is nothing to do for entertainment. I’ve waited all my life for it to get better here but this place is 1 step forward and 3 steps back.
Lakewood is Washington’s 20th biggest town and 7th most dangerous.
In recent years, the crime rate has changed dramatically in Lakewood, for better and for worse.
On the one hand, instances of violent crime dropped between 2017-2018, but on the other, a hike in property crime during this interval leaves Lakewood as the town with the 19th highest rate of property crime in Washington.
The 8th most dangerous city in Washington goes to Toppenish.
And much like a walk in a major city park, you need to watch for muggers and property theft as it ranks as having the highest rate of property theft in the Evergreen State. You had a 1 in 18.1 chance of being a victim of a property crime in 2018 in Toppenish.
It’s not totally clear why the property crime rate is so high. People live spread out, unemployment is relatively high — but not super high — and poverty isn’t as bad as in some other parts of the state.
/10
Population: 9,085
Rank Last Year: 64 (Up 55)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 363 (20th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,283 (9th most dangerous)
More on Airway Heights: Data
Airway Heights is another city that represents its county as one of the most dangerous places in Washington.
Coming in at 9th on our list, Airway Heights mixes (relatively) middle of the pack violent crime and property crime without (relatively) excelling in either one.
We say relative because while its crime rates are middle of the pack for the top ten, they are still high for Washington as a whole.
Centralia ranks 9th in violent crime, but 21st overall in property crime to place as the 10th most dangerous city in Washington.
To put that in perspective, you have a 1 in 21.8 chance of being a victim of a property crime in Centralia. That makes property crimes much more common in Centralia than the safest city, Sammamish.
The crime is surprisingly low. Yes theres drug activity but not enough to effect your day to day life. The school system is fairly decent, the teachers all care very much for the students and the schools are in the process of being remodeled the only issue I have seen is parents not being active enough in their childs education. The sports are what brings this town together, specifically the high schools football season, that is when the small town really becomes a community. Their is a local community college right in town as well. The housing market is fairly decent, homes that are for sale are fairly cheap but the rental market is very high for just the bare minimum apartments. There are a large selection of Low Income apartments and Affordable Housing apartments as well. There are many local resources for struggling families and the elderly such as WorkSource, Faith based Counseling and help held in and from the local churches, Community Action, and Housing Resource Center.
In my opinion the best places to visit when going to Centralia,WA is the Oly club on the downtown strip, the borst park off of Harrisons ave, and the yellow Big T BBQ off of Pearl St out towards the steam plant! The bad place however in my opinion are the downtown strip past 11 due to the homeless shelter then being closed, the shaefar parks woods area due to homeless people camping there as well, and the Hispanic trailer park off of long Road.
How Is Your Town In ?
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Washington for 2020?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets, a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in the country, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the JUST released 2018 data, specifically the 2018 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2020.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 114 cities in Washington.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 114 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Washington — Tukwila.
Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Washington.
Locking It All Up In Washington
The latest FBI crime data shows that Tukwila ranks as the most dangerous city in Washington for 2020.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Tukwila and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.
If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in Washington:
- Brier (Pop. 6,975)
- Connell (Pop. 5,765)
- Sammamish (Pop. 65,604)
For more Washington reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Washington
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Washington
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Washington
- 10 Safest Places In Washington
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Washington
Where Are The Most Dangerous Cities In Washington?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tukwila | 20,288 |
| 2 | Spokane | 218,222 |
| 3 | Tacoma | 215,687 |
| 4 | Shelton | 10,188 |
| 5 | Seattle | 742,759 |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 16,404 |
| 7 | Lakewood | 60,694 |
| 8 | Toppenish | 8,898 |
| 9 | Airway Heights | 9,085 |
| 10 | Centralia | 17,299 |
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