Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident in Cottonwood fell 41% from 2023 to 2025
Both towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. Out of every 1,000 residents, 2.1 violent crimes and 11.5 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 4.4 and 18.7 in the rest of Arizona. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Cottonwood at B− (#21 of 55 graded towns in Arizona): close to the middle of U.S. towns.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of AZ” is every other Arizona 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 Cottonwood
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 Arizona towns on Cottonwood’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Clarkdale (A), Camp Verde (B−). Verde Village and Cornville are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Among Arizona towns, closer to the middle
Arizona’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Cottonwood’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 62% of the 55 Arizona towns we grade, against 47% 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 Cottonwood’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. Its violent rate (2.1) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (11.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Cottonwood property | Rest of Arizona property | Cottonwood violent | Rest of Arizona violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.4 | 22.3 | 3.4 | 4.9 |
| 2023 | 14.5 | 20.3 | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 11.7 | 19.5 | 2.2 | 4.6 |
| 2025 | 8.4 | 16.2 | 1.5 | 3.9 |
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 Arizona.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Cottonwood | Rest of Arizona | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Cottonwood’s police reported 83 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.1 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.4 in the rest of Arizona and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Cottonwood 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
131 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.
20 violent and 111 property, as reported to the FBI by Cottonwood’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on Cottonwood’s roads in 2019–2023
Cottonwood had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for Arizona towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (8.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Cottonwood’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Cottonwood’s own rate (11.1) 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.
Cottonwood and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood | B− | 2.1 | 11.5 |
| Verde Village | — | — | — |
| Clarkdale | A | 0.5 | 4.8 |
| Cornville | — | — | — |
| Camp Verde | B− | 1.5 | 11.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Verde Village and Cornville are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
Arizona towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood | B− | 2.1 | 11.5 |
| Chino Valley | A− | 1.0 | 4.3 |
| Somerton | A− | 1.1 | 4.1 |
| Paradise Valley | B+ | 0.6 | 9.5 |
| Douglas | B− | 0.9 | 13.9 |
| Show Low | D | 6.8 | 23.3 |
The five graded Arizona towns closest to Cottonwood’s population (12,709), 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 Cottonwood. 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 Cottonwood’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (13,156 in 2025); our figure for Cottonwood is 12,709 (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 Cottonwood
Is Cottonwood, AZ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cottonwood reports more crime per resident than 53% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #21 of 55 in Arizona. Its police reported 2.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.4 in the rest of Arizona and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Cottonwood?
2.1 violent and 11.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Arizona reports 4.4 and 18.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Cottonwood safer than Clarkdale?
Clarkdale reports less crime per resident than Cottonwood: Clarkdale grades A for safety and Cottonwood B−. Clarkdale’s police reported 0.5 violent and 4.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Cottonwood?
Cottonwood’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cottonwood”. 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 Cottonwood.
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.