Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Birmingham reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported to the FBI by Birmingham’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #316 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of AL” is every other Alabama city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Birmingham
7 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Alabama towns on Birmingham’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Mountain Brook (A−), Vestavia Hills (A−), Hoover (B), Trussville (C+), Homewood (C), Irondale (C), Leeds (C−). Center Point has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Birmingham’s police reported 83 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 54.6 per 100,000 residents a year, 5.8 times the rest of Alabama (9.3) and 9.6 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 5.4 times the rest of Alabama
210 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (385 reported in 2025), 5.4 times the rest of Alabama (39.1) and 2.6 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Birmingham reports less crime per resident than 3% (#316). Places like it ↓
A job center
Birmingham has 179,234 jobs based in town for 195,893 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Birmingham’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Birmingham’s police reported 83 homicides, 385 robberies and 2,415 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Alabama and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Birmingham | Rest of Alabama | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 72.8 | 9.5 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 62.5 | 9.7 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 58.8 | 8.8 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 42.5 | 9.5 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Birmingham | Rest of Alabama | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 245 | 34.5 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 233 | 38.0 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 201 | 43.6 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 197 | 35.6 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 44 property crimes reported
And about 12 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Alabama.
Show as a table
| Year | Birmingham property | Rest of Alabama property | Birmingham violent | Rest of Alabama violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 41.7 | 23.5 | 16.8 | 4.4 |
| 2023 | 45.6 | 20.6 | 15.5 | 4.1 |
| 2024 | 40.3 | 20.5 | 12.5 | 4.3 |
| 2025 | 43.8 | 18.3 | 12.4 | 3.9 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
10,964 crimes reported in 2025
2,415 violent and 8,549 property, as reported to the FBI by Birmingham’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
232 people died in crashes on Birmingham’s roads in 2019–2023
Birmingham had 220 fatal crashes in five years, in which 232 people died; 53 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists. 56 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 23.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Alabama towns of 100,000+ people (14.4, 5 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Birmingham and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | D− | 13.4 | 43.2 |
| Irondale | C | 2.2 | 18.9 |
| Center Point | — | — | — |
| Homewood | C | 1.6 | 20.5 |
| Mountain Brook | A− | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| Trussville | C+ | 1.3 | 17.6 |
| Vestavia Hills | A− | 0.8 | 6.9 |
| Hoover | B | 0.7 | 12.4 |
| Leeds | C− | 3.3 | 23.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Center Point has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Alabama towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | D− | 13.4 | 43.2 |
| Huntsville | C | 3.4 | 18.0 |
| Montgomery | C− | 4.6 | 18.7 |
| Mobile | D | 7.4 | 18.6 |
| Tuscaloosa | D | 5.3 | 26.8 |
The five graded Alabama towns closest to Birmingham’s population (195,893), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Birmingham. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Birmingham’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (195,393 in 2025); our figure for Birmingham is 195,893 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Birmingham
Is Birmingham, AL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Birmingham reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 13.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.1 in the rest of Alabama and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Birmingham?
13.4 violent and 43.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Alabama reports 4.1 and 19.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Birmingham?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Birmingham in 2025?
Birmingham’s police reported 83 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 42.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Birmingham safer than Irondale?
Irondale reports less crime per resident than Birmingham: Irondale grades C for safety and Birmingham D−. Irondale’s police reported 2.2 violent and 18.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Birmingham?
Birmingham’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Birmingham”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Birmingham.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.