registered sex offenders live in Virginia — that's 1 in every 326 residents, or 30.7 per 10,000, 28% above the national average.
Registered sex offender counts for the 12 largest cities in Virginia, with each city's rate per 10,000 residents. Raw counts track population — the per-capita column is the fair comparison, and the spread is dramatic: Richmond's rate is 14× Virginia Beach's. Click a city for its full breakdown, or a column header to sort.
| # | City | Registered offenders | Population | Per 10,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | 226,525 | 243.9 | |
| 2 | Norfolk | 238,029 | 42.1 | |
| 3 | Virginia Beach | 459,444 | 17.2 | |
| 4 | Roanoke | 100,016 | 74.9 | |
| 5 | Newport News | 186,239 | 40.1 | |
| 6 | Chesapeake | 249,302 | 26.2 | |
| 7 | Hampton | 137,154 | 41.9 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 97,945 | 55.4 | |
| 9 | Alexandria | 159,463 | 24.8 | |
| 10 | Lynchburg | 79,017 | 45.2 | |
| 11 | Suffolk | 94,406 | 31.4 | |
| 12 | Harrisonburg | 51,811 | 36.1 |
Counts as of August 2026, compiled from official registry records. City populations from the 2020 U.S. Census. red = 1.5× the state rate or more · green = well below the state rate.
Every Virginia city we track has its own page with neighborhood-level numbers, risk levels, and recent registrations:
Statewide numbers only tell you so much — what matters is who lives near your home, your kids' school, or the places your family spends time. The free Predator Map app searches any U.S. address and shows every registered offender around it on an interactive map, with photos, offense details, and registered addresses from official government registries. You can also search the official Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry directly.
Sexually violent vs. non-violent tiers. Virginia classifies registrants by offense: sexually violent offenses mean lifetime registration with 90-day verification, others register for 15 years. The State Police publish all registrants, with the classification flagged.
Offense-specific proximity rules. Certain violent offenders whose victims were minors may not reside within 500 feet of schools or childcare, and related rules bar presence on school grounds — but Virginia has no blanket rule for all registrants.
Registration & verification. Registrants must keep their address, employment, and schooling current with the registry, and verify in person on a recurring schedule — more frequently for higher-risk or higher-tier registrants. Failure to register or verify is itself a crime and commonly appears as a listed offense on registry records.
Current risk-level breakdown in Virginia:
As of August 2026, there are 26,499 registered sex offenders in Virginia — about 30.7 for every 10,000 residents, 28% above the national average. Counts change as offenders register, move, or are removed from the registry.
Richmond has the most registered sex offenders in Virginia with 5,524. Raw counts track population, so the fairer comparison is per capita: adjusted for population, Richmond has the highest rate among major cities at 243.9 per 10,000 residents, while Virginia Beach has the lowest at 17.2.
Use the free Predator Map app to search any Virginia address and see registered offenders around it on a map, with photos and offense details from official registry records. You can also search the official Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry website directly.
Public registry websites only show what the state chooses to publish. Virginia publishes all registrants on the State Police site. Statistics on this page are compiled from aggregated official registry records, so they can differ from — and often exceed — what a manual search of the public site returns.
Offense-specific proximity rules. Certain violent offenders whose victims were minors may not reside within 500 feet of schools or childcare, and related rules bar presence on school grounds — but Virginia has no blanket rule for all registrants. Address-level monitoring matters more than assumptions about "safe" neighborhoods.
Statistics on this page are compiled from official state registry records and refreshed monthly. This page was last updated in August 2026. Always verify individual records with the official state registry.
Yes. Predator Map Pro monitors up to 5 addresses daily and sends push and email alerts when a registered offender moves in nearby, a new offender registers, or someone moves away.
Yes. Registry information is public record under federal and state law (Megan's Law), and anyone may search it to protect themselves and their family. What the law prohibits is using registry information to harass, threaten, or commit a crime against a registrant — misuse can be prosecuted.
Free search for any Virginia address — and daily monitoring with instant alerts when something changes.
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Methodology: Statistics are compiled from aggregated official state registry records and refreshed monthly. City figures count the city listed on each registry record. Per-capita rates use 2020 U.S. Census populations. Aggregated counts can exceed what public registry websites display because some classification levels are excluded from public searches. Figures are estimates and change daily as registries update — always verify individual records with the official state registry.