Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Scottsdale has more property crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns
The graded rate fell 20% from 2023 to 2025. The yearly rates were 1.6 violent crimes and 19.4 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 4.5 and 18.6 in the rest of Arizona. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Scottsdale at C (#30 of 55 graded towns in Arizona, and #73 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns. Among its 3 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident.
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 Scottsdale
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 Arizona towns on Scottsdale’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Paradise Valley (B+), Tempe (D), Phoenix (D). Carefree, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Scottsdale’s police reported 6 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 1.1 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of Arizona (5.3) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of Arizona
20.9 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (37 reported in 2025), below the rest of Arizona (74.2) and below 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, Scottsdale reports less crime per resident than 78% (#73). Places like it ↓
A job center
Scottsdale has 200,319 jobs based in town for 243,006 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 Scottsdale’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Scottsdale’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Scottsdale | Rest of Arizona | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.4 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 0.4 | 4.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 2.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Scottsdale | Rest of Arizona | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 25.9 | 80.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 22.0 | 81.4 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 15.0 | 61.4 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Scottsdale’s police reported 6 homicides, 37 robberies and 426 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Arizona and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Scottsdale property | Rest of Arizona property | Scottsdale violent | Rest of Arizona violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 22.1 | 20.2 | 1.7 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 18.8 | 19.5 | 1.5 | 4.8 |
| 2025 | 17.3 | 16.2 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
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, 2023–2025, against the rest of Arizona.
Crime in Scottsdale 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.
4,712 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.
426 violent and 4,286 property, as reported to the FBI by Scottsdale’s police.
93 people died in crashes on Scottsdale’s roads in 2019–2023
Scottsdale had 91 fatal crashes in five years, in which 93 people died; 20 were pedestrians and 6 were cyclists.
That is 7.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Arizona towns of 100,000+ people (8.8, 14 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.
Scottsdale and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsdale | C | 1.6 | 19.4 |
| Phoenix | D | 7.6 | 22.8 |
| Carefree | — | — | — |
| Fountain Hills | — | — | — |
| Paradise Valley | B+ | 0.6 | 9.5 |
| Tempe | D | 4.6 | 30.5 |
| Cave Creek | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Carefree, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Arizona towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottsdale | C | 1.6 | 19.4 |
| Surprise | B | 1.0 | 9.6 |
| Gilbert | B | 1.2 | 9.2 |
| Chandler | B− | 1.4 | 13.9 |
| Peoria | C+ | 2.4 | 11.8 |
| Glendale | D | 5.0 | 26.2 |
The five graded Arizona towns closest to Scottsdale’s population (243,006), 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 Scottsdale. 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 Scottsdale’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (247,258 in 2025); our figure for Scottsdale is 243,006 (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 Scottsdale
Is Scottsdale, AZ safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Scottsdale reports more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #30 of 55 in Arizona. Its police reported 1.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.5 in the rest of Arizona and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Scottsdale?
1.6 violent and 19.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Arizona reports 4.5 and 18.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Scottsdale in 2025?
Scottsdale’s police reported 6 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Scottsdale safer than Phoenix?
Phoenix reports more crime per resident than Scottsdale: Phoenix grades D for safety and Scottsdale C. Phoenix’s police reported 7.6 violent and 22.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Scottsdale?
Scottsdale’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Scottsdale”. 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 Scottsdale.
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.