Reported crime per resident in Rainbow City fell 40% from 2023 to 2025
In a usual year, 1.0 violent crime and 10.2 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Alabama, 4.7 and 21.3. Overall, it grades B for safety (#17 of 130 graded towns in Alabama).
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 Rainbow City
Rainbow City reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 Alabama towns on Rainbow City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Gadsden (D). Steele reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Among Alabama towns, higher
Alabama’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Rainbow City’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 87% of the 130 Alabama towns we grade, against 62% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
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 Rainbow City’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; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Rainbow City property | Rest of Alabama property | Rainbow City violent | Rest of Alabama violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.5 | 24.9 | 1.1 | 5.4 |
| 2023 | 13.4 | 22.3 | 1.3 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 9.3 | 21.8 | 0.9 | 4.8 |
| 2025 | 8.0 | 20.0 | 0.8 | 4.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Rainbow City | Rest of Alabama | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.1 | 5.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Rainbow City’s police reported 30 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.0 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 Rainbow City 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.
91 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.
8 violent and 83 property, as reported to the FBI by Rainbow City’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Rainbow City’s roads in 2019–2023
Rainbow City had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died.
That is about what 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 Rainbow City’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Rainbow City’s own rate (7.8) 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.
Rainbow City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow City | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Gadsden | D | 5.4 | 28.7 |
| Steele | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Steele reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Alabama towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow City | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Southside | A | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| Spanish Fort | B | 0.9 | 12.6 |
| Russellville | C+ | 1.3 | 19.4 |
| Sheffield | C | 3.9 | 16.4 |
| Valley | D | 3.8 | 37.2 |
The five graded Alabama towns closest to Rainbow City’s population (10,406), 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 Rainbow City. 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 Rainbow City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (10,384 in 2025); our figure for Rainbow City is 10,406 (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 Rainbow City
Is Rainbow City, AL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Rainbow City reports less crime per resident than 62% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #17 of 130 in Alabama. Its police reported 1.0 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 Rainbow City?
1.0 violent and 10.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Alabama reports 4.7 and 21.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Rainbow City safer than Gadsden?
Gadsden reports more crime per resident than Rainbow City: Gadsden grades D for safety and Rainbow City B. Gadsden’s police reported 5.4 violent and 28.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Rainbow City?
Rainbow City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Rainbow City”. 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 Rainbow City.
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.