Photo: Civilengtiger · CC BY-SA 4.0Crime per resident in Helena runs lower than in 85% of U.S. towns
Recorded violent crime ran at 0.6 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 4.4, against 4.7 and 21.4 in the rest of Alabama. Its Safety Grade is A, on crimes Helena’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #4 of 130 graded towns in Alabama. Violent crime here is lower than in 80% of U.S. towns; property crime, lower than in 83%.
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 Helena
Helena reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 4 Alabama towns on Helena’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Hoover (B), Pelham (B), Alabaster (B−), Bessemer (D−). Neighbors ↓
Among Alabama towns, higher
Alabama’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Helena’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 97% of the 130 Alabama towns we grade, against 85% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Helena’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 lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Helena | Rest of Alabama | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.0 | 5.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.4 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.7 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Helena’s police reported 42 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.7 in the rest of Alabama and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Helena per 1,000 residents
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.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Helena property | Rest of Alabama property | Helena violent | Rest of Alabama violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.6 | 25.0 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 2023 | 5.3 | 22.4 | 0.4 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 4.4 | 21.9 | 0.7 | 4.8 |
| 2025 | 3.4 | 20.0 | 0.7 | 4.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Alabama.
92 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
16 violent and 76 property, as reported to the FBI by Helena’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Helena’s roads in 2019–2023
Helena had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died.
That is fewer than is typical for Alabama towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (9.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Helena’s size would see about 10 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Helena’s own rate (3.7) is context, not a ranking.
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.
Helena and its neighbors
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Alabama towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helena | A | 0.6 | 4.4 |
| Mountain Brook | A− | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| Albertville | C | 2.5 | 16.4 |
| Oxford | C− | 1.8 | 26.1 |
| Cullman | C− | 2.2 | 26.7 |
| Anniston | D− | 8.3 | 43.3 |
The five graded Alabama towns closest to Helena’s population (23,388), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
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 Helena. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Helena’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (22,486 in 2025); our figure for Helena is 23,388 (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 Helena
Is Helena, AL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Helena reports less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade and #4 of 130 in Alabama. Its police reported 0.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.7 in the rest of Alabama and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Helena?
0.6 violent and 4.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Alabama reports 4.7 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Helena safer than Hoover?
Hoover reports more crime per resident than Helena: Hoover grades B for safety and Helena A. Hoover’s police reported 0.7 violent and 12.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Helena?
Helena’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Helena”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Helena.
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.