Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki ([email protected]) · CC BY 3.0Blytheville has more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns
From 2023 to 2025, crimes Blytheville’s police reported put it at D− for safety: #97 of 105 graded towns in Arkansas. Behind the grade sit 10.8 violent crimes and 39.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 6.8 and 24.6 in the rest of Arkansas. Per resident, the graded rate barely moved from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of AR” is every other Arkansas 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 Blytheville
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 1 Arkansas towns on Blytheville’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Gosnell (C+). Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose 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 Blytheville’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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Blytheville | Rest of Arkansas | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.7 | 7.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 13.6 | 6.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 11.6 | 6.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Blytheville’s police reported 397 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 10.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.8 in the rest of Arkansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Blytheville 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 12 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Blytheville property | Rest of Arkansas property | Blytheville violent | Rest of Arkansas violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 41.1 | 31.2 | 9.7 | 7.8 |
| 2023 | 37.9 | 28.8 | 7.1 | 7.5 |
| 2024 | 44.2 | 24.6 | 13.6 | 6.8 |
| 2025 | 35.0 | 20.4 | 11.6 | 6.2 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Arkansas.
565 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.
141 violent and 424 property, as reported to the FBI by Blytheville’s police.
10 people died in crashes on Blytheville’s roads in 2019–2023
Blytheville had 9 fatal crashes in five years, in which 10 people died; 2 were pedestrians. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 15.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Arkansas towns of 5,000–25,000 people (10.1, 52 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.
Blytheville and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blytheville | D− | 10.8 | 39.0 |
| Gosnell | C+ | 3.6 | 10.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Arkansas towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blytheville | D− | 10.8 | 39.0 |
| Lowell | B | 2.3 | 6.2 |
| Pea Ridge | B− | 3.1 | 5.0 |
| Mountain Home | C− | 2.7 | 23.0 |
| Batesville | C− | 5.4 | 15.1 |
| Forrest City | D− | 14.6 | 31.2 |
The five graded Arkansas towns closest to Blytheville’s population (12,227), 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 Blytheville. 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 Blytheville’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,123 in 2025); our figure for Blytheville is 12,227 (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 Blytheville
Is Blytheville, AR safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Blytheville reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #97 of 105 in Arkansas. Its police reported 10.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 6.8 in the rest of Arkansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Blytheville?
10.8 violent and 39.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Arkansas reports 6.8 and 24.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Blytheville safer than Gosnell?
Gosnell reports less crime per resident than Blytheville: Gosnell grades C+ for safety and Blytheville D−. Gosnell’s police reported 3.6 violent and 10.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Blytheville?
Blytheville’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Blytheville”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Blytheville.
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.