Violent crime sits at or below the national benchmark. Property crime sits well above it. FBI Uniform Crime Report data for the 2024 calendar year shows the gap plainly: Lawrenceville recorded 101 violent crimes, or 324 per 100,000 residents, roughly 9.7 percent below the national figure, alongside 677 property crimes at 2,173 per 100,000, which runs higher than the national average. 

Larceny drives almost all of the gap. Theft is the most common offense in the city at an estimated 2,424.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, about 73 percent above the national rate for that category, and property crime at 3,352 per 100,000 far outpaces violent crime at 480 per 100,000. In practical terms, your risk in Lawrenceville is concentrated in package theft, vehicle break-ins, and entering auto cases, not in the offenses people usually picture when they hear the phrase high crime area. 

 

Violent Crime Versus Property Crime

Crime type Lawrenceville National comparison
Violent crime rate Roughly 324 to 480 incidents per 100,000 residents National figure sits near 359 to 380 per 100,000
Property crime rate Roughly 2,300 to 3,350 per 100,000 residents Runs above the national average
Larceny and theft Around 2,425 per 100,000, the most common offense Notably above the national rate for this category
Overall crime rate Reported between 18.8 and 26 incidents per 1,000 residents Depends heavily on source methodology

 

One provider tracking year-over-year change reported that the Lawrenceville crime index fell 33 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, and that the city’s index sits well below the United States average. Another source rates the city lower against communities of similar population. Both can be true, because they are measuring different things over different windows.

 

Why Lawrenceville’s Numbers Look Worse Than They Feel

Two structural factors inflate the per capita figures for a city like this one.

Daytime population

Lawrenceville is the county seat. Courts, county offices, a major hospital and a college pull tens of thousands of non-residents into the city on a weekday. Crime rates are calculated against the roughly 30,600 residents, not against the far larger population actually present. Any city with a large commuter and visitor base sees the same distortion.

Commercial density

Retail corridors generate retail theft, and retail theft is counted as property crime. Cities with big box shopping along a highway corridor consistently post higher property crime rates than bedroom communities with no commercial base. That is a reflection of the shopping centers, not of the residential streets.

 

Safety Varies by Neighborhood

Crime in Lawrenceville is not evenly distributed. One crime mapping service found that a resident’s annual chance of being a victim ranges from about 1 in 30 in the central neighborhoods to about 1 in 78 in the southeast part of the city. That is a difference of more than two and a half times inside the same city limits.

Residents generally consider the southeastern sections the safest. The established residential subdivisions with active homeowners associations, swim and tennis amenities, and interior street layouts tend to report fewer incidents than areas fronting the main commercial corridors. Resident sentiment surveys reflect the split. In one survey, 55 percent of respondents described the city as pretty safe with some concerns, and 38 percent described it as very safe with no concerns. In another, roughly half reported feeling comfortable walking alone at night while the other half did not.

 

How to Check a Specific Address

Before you sign a lease or make an offer, do this.

  • Pull the Gwinnett County Police Department incident data for the beat covering the address
  • Check a neighborhood-level crime map rather than a city-wide grade
  • Drive the street at three different times: a weekday morning, a weekday evening, and a weekend night
  • Ask two neighbors directly what they have experienced in the last year
  • Look at whether the street connects to a commercial corridor or sits inside a residential loop

 

Practical Prevention

Given that theft is the dominant offense, the countermeasures are unglamorous and effective.

  • Use a video doorbell and a package locker or delivery hold for anything valuable
  • Keep vehicles locked with nothing visible inside, since a large share of local vehicle break-ins involve unlocked cars
  • Install motion lighting on driveways and side entries
  • Join the neighborhood watch or the HOA communication channel, which is where local patterns surface first
  • Register with the Gwinnett County Police community programs available to residents

 

Who You Let Into Your Home

There is a security question people rarely think about during a move, and it is a real one. On moving day, you hand strangers unrestricted access to every room in your house, every closet, and every box you own. That is a larger exposure than a locked front door on an ordinary Tuesday.

Atlanta Moving Solutions built its hiring policy around that reality. The company only employs full-time movers who are background-checked before they are dispatched, rather than staffing jobs with day labor or subcontracted crews. New team members go through in-house technical training before their first move, a practice the company has maintained since it opened in 2004.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lawrenceville, GA safe to live in?

Lawrenceville is reasonably safe for residents, with violent crime at or near the national average and property crime above it. Safety varies significantly by neighborhood, so evaluating the specific street matters more than the citywide figure.

What is the most common crime in Lawrenceville, GA?

Larceny and theft is the most common offense, reported at roughly 2,425 incidents per 100,000 residents. Package theft, vehicle break-ins, and retail theft make up the majority of these reports.

Which parts of Lawrenceville have the lowest crime?

The southeastern sections of the city consistently report the lowest incident rates, with a resident’s chance of victimization roughly 1 in 78 there compared to about 1 in 30 in the central neighborhoods.

Is crime in Lawrenceville going up or down?

At least one tracking source reported the local crime index fell 33 percent in 2025 versus 2024. Trends vary by category, so checking current Gwinnett County Police data for your specific area is the reliable approach.

How does Lawrenceville compare to Atlanta for crime?

Lawrenceville reports substantially lower violent crime than the City of Atlanta. Property crime is closer between the two, driven largely by theft along Lawrenceville’s commercial corridors.