St. Petersburg, FL vs West Palm Beach, FL: Crime Rate Comparison (2025)
A side-by-side look at reported crime in St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach, on the FBI-based Crime Index (0–100, higher = safer) for 2025.
West Palm Beach is the safer city
West Palm Beach scores 64/100 (grade C) versus 61/100 (grade C) for St. Petersburg — a 3-point gap. St. Petersburg's violent-crime rate is in line with West Palm Beach. Across the 8 offense categories, West Palm Beach has the lower rate in 4.
St. Petersburg, FL
Crime Index
- Population
- 269,098
- Violent / 100k
- 492
- Property / 100k
- 2,021
- In Florida
- #35 of 39
West Palm Beach, FL
SaferCrime Index
- Population
- 130,449
- Violent / 100k
- 491
- Property / 100k
- 1,492
- In Florida
- #33 of 39
Crime rates head-to-head
| Metric | St. Petersburg | West Palm Beach | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Index (higher = safer) | 61C | 64C | 73C |
| Violent crime /100k | 492 | 491 | 315 |
| Property crime /100k | 2,021 | 1,492 | 1,487 |
| Homicide /100k | 3.3 | 8.4 | 4.1 |
| Total reported /100k | 2,513 | 1,983 | 1,802 |
Grade shown per index band (88–100 = A … 0–29 = F). Rates are reported offenses per 100,000 residents.
By offense
Rate per 100,000 residents — the lower (safer) city is highlighted.
| Offense | St. Petersburg | West Palm Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 3.3 | 8.4 |
| Rape | 48.7 | 54.4 |
| Robbery | 65.8 | 85.9 |
| Aggravated assault | 375 | 343 |
| Burglary | 191 | 190 |
| Larceny-theft | 1,673 | 1,277 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 151 | 16.1 |
| Arson | 4.5 | 8.4 |
Crime trends
St. Petersburg
West Palm Beach
Frequently asked questions
Is St. Petersburg or West Palm Beach safer?
Which has more violent crime, St. Petersburg or West Palm Beach?
What are the odds of violent crime in St. Petersburg vs West Palm Beach?
No area has zero risk
A high Crime Index score means lower reported crime relative to other US cities — it is not a guarantee of safety. Reported crime is not the same as actual crime. Research on the gap between crime that occurs and crime that gets reported to police — often called the "dark figure" of crime — estimates that roughly 40% of violent crime and about a third of property crime go unreported each year. Every index built on official statistics, including this one, necessarily undercounts real crime. That gap is exactly why homicide — the offense with the smallest dark figure — anchors the calculation instead of a more commonly reported but less reliable category like theft.
Scores on this page reflect FBI-reported data for 2025. See the full methodology →
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