Alfred J. Comeau House · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0West Palm Beach has more violent crime per resident than nine in ten U.S. towns
Next door, 2 of 5 towns with figures record less crime per resident. Overall, West Palm Beach grades D for safety (#106 of 128 graded towns in Florida, and #184 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Out of every 1,000 residents, 5.9 violent crimes and 19.7 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.3 and 17.2 in the rest of Florida. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 35% from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of FL” is every other Florida 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 West Palm Beach
2 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 Florida towns on West Palm Beach’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Palm Beach (B−), Palm Beach Gardens (B−), Lake Worth Beach (D), Riviera Beach (D−), Mangonia Park (D−). Lake Clarke Shores has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
West Palm Beach’s police reported 11 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 8.2 per 100,000 residents a year, 1.7 times the rest of Florida (4.7) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 2.5 times the rest of Florida
133 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (112 reported in 2025), 2.5 times the rest of Florida (53.4) and 1.7 times 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, West Palm Beach reports less crime per resident than 43% (#184). Places like it ↓
A job center
West Palm Beach has 88,739 jobs based in town for 127,189 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 West Palm Beach’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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | West Palm Beach property | Rest of Florida property | West Palm Beach violent | Rest of Florida violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 23.2 | 19.2 | 7.0 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | 21.4 | 18.3 | 5.8 | 3.5 |
| 2025 | 14.8 | 14.3 | 4.9 | 3.0 |
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 Florida.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | West Palm Beach | Rest of Florida | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.2 | 5.7 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 7.9 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | West Palm Beach | Rest of Florida | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 155 | 59.7 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 159 | 55.3 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 85.9 | 45.8 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
West Palm Beach’s police reported 11 homicides, 112 robberies and 641 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Florida and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Crime in West Palm Beach 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 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
2,576 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.
641 violent and 1,935 property, as reported to the FBI by West Palm Beach’s police.
109 people died in crashes on West Palm Beach’s roads in 2019–2023
West Palm Beach had 104 fatal crashes in five years, in which 109 people died; 34 were pedestrians and 8 were cyclists. 26 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 17.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Florida towns of 100,000+ people (13.1, 27 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.
West Palm Beach and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Palm Beach | D | 5.9 | 19.7 |
| Riviera Beach | D− | 9.0 | 30.7 |
| Palm Beach Gardens | B− | 0.9 | 15.4 |
| Mangonia Park | D− | 10.7 | 52.8 |
| Palm Beach | B− | 1.3 | 13.0 |
| Lake Clarke Shores | — | — | — |
| Lake Worth Beach | D | 8.4 | 25.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Lake Clarke Shores has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Florida towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Palm Beach | D | 5.9 | 19.7 |
| Miramar | B | 1.4 | 8.3 |
| Coral Springs | B | 1.3 | 10.7 |
| Clearwater | C | 2.8 | 15.8 |
| Miami Gardens | C | 3.2 | 17.2 |
| Lakeland | C− | 3.8 | 17.3 |
The five graded Florida towns closest to West Palm Beach’s population (127,189), 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 West Palm Beach. 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 West Palm Beach’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (130,449 in 2025); our figure for West Palm Beach is 127,189 (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 West Palm Beach
Is West Palm Beach, FL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Palm Beach reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #106 of 128 in Florida. Its police reported 5.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of Florida and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in West Palm Beach?
5.9 violent and 19.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Florida reports 3.3 and 17.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in West Palm Beach in 2025?
West Palm Beach’s police reported 11 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 8.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is West Palm Beach safer than Riviera Beach?
Riviera Beach reports more crime per resident than West Palm Beach: Riviera Beach grades D− for safety and West Palm Beach D. Riviera Beach’s police reported 9.0 violent and 30.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Palm Beach?
West Palm Beach’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Palm Beach”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in West Palm Beach.
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.