Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.
Raw data sources:
18,000 local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
Date(s) & Update Frequency:
Reflects 2024 calendar year; released from FBI in October 2025 (latest available). Updated annually.
Where is 2025 data?
Methodology:
Our nationwide meta-analysis overcomes the issues inherent in any crime database, including non-reporting and reporting errors. This is possible by associating the 9.4 million reported crimes in the U.S, including over 2 million geocoded point locations….
Read more about Scout's Crime Data
Preston is safer than the majority of cities, towns, and villages in America (71%) and also has a lower crime rate than 84% of the communities in Maryland, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI crime data. How risky is that? Your chance of becoming a victim in Preston is one in 229 based on the total crime rate (violent and property crimes, combined). In America overall, your chance of becoming a victim of crime is 1 in 47.
However, when you compare Preston to other communities of similar population, then Preston crime rate (violent and property crimes combined) is quite a bit higher than average. Regardless of how Preston does relative to all communities in America of all sizes, when NeighborhoodScout compared it to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Preston does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Preston.
NeighborhoodScout's research shows that Preston's violent crime rate is 1 per one thousand inhabitants, which is about average for all communities in America, across all population sizes. Violent crimes that are tracked and included in this rate are armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape (not statutory), and murder and non-negligent manslaughter. Roughly similar to the national average, our analysis shows that your chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Preston is one in 688.
NeighborhoodScout's analysis of property crime reveals that the property crime rate in Preston is below average to all cities and towns in the nation. This means that you are less likely to become a victim of arson, motor vehicle theft, larceny, or burglary in Preston than in most communities in America. Your chance of becoming a victim of property crime if you live here? Just one in 344.
Preston Crime
Data
FAQ on NeighborhoodScout's Crime Data
NeighborhoodScout® provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. Crime risk indices are nationally comparable on a 1 – 100 scale, where 100 means safer than 100% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Crime risk data are updated annually. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies – municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScout’s proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S.
