Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0Winter Haven reports more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Winter Haven’s police in 2023–2025, it grades C for safety: #69 of 128 graded towns in Florida.
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 Winter Haven
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 8 Florida towns on Winter Haven’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Lake Alfred (B+), Auburndale (C), Lake Wales (C). Cypress Gardens, Inwood, Alturas and Jan Phyl Village are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Dundee has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Florida towns, closer to the middle
Florida’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Winter Haven’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 46% of the 128 Florida towns we grade, against 33% 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 Winter Haven’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 (2.8) 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 (15.7) 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 is falling
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 Florida.
Show as a table
| Year | Winter Haven property | Rest of Florida property | Winter Haven violent | Rest of Florida violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16.4 | 22.2 | 3.2 | 4.5 |
| 2023 | 16.9 | 19.3 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | 15.5 | 18.4 | 2.4 | 3.5 |
| 2025 | 14.7 | 14.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Violent crime, by year and by type
Winter Haven’s police reported 494 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.4 in the rest of Florida and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Winter Haven | Rest of Florida | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 15 property crimes reported
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
1,086 crimes reported in 2025
168 violent and 918 property, as reported to the FBI by Winter Haven’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
42 people died in crashes on Winter Haven’s roads in 2019–2023
Winter Haven had 38 fatal crashes in five years, in which 42 people died; 4 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists.
That is 15.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Florida towns of 25,000–100,000 people (9.7, 147 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.
Winter Haven and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Haven | C | 2.8 | 15.7 |
| Cypress Gardens | — | — | — |
| Inwood | — | — | — |
| Lake Alfred | B+ | 0.8 | 9.7 |
| Alturas | — | — | — |
| Lake Wales | C | 3.2 | 16.8 |
| Dundee | — | — | — |
| Auburndale | C | 2.0 | 19.3 |
| Jan Phyl Village | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Cypress Gardens, Inwood, Alturas and Jan Phyl Village are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Dundee has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Florida towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Haven | C | 2.8 | 15.7 |
| Jupiter | A | 0.7 | 3.7 |
| Wellington | B | 1.2 | 8.7 |
| Palm Beach Gardens | B− | 0.9 | 15.4 |
| Sarasota | C+ | 3.1 | 10.1 |
| Apopka | C− | 4.2 | 22.1 |
The five graded Florida towns closest to Winter Haven’s population (62,313), by grade.
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 Winter Haven. 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 Winter Haven’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (62,578 in 2025); our figure for Winter Haven is 62,313 (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 Winter Haven
Is Winter Haven, FL safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Winter Haven reports more crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #69 of 128 in Florida. Its police reported 2.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.4 in the rest of Florida and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Winter Haven?
2.8 violent and 15.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Florida reports 3.4 and 17.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Winter Haven?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Winter Haven in 2025?
Winter Haven’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.2 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Winter Haven safer than Lake Alfred?
Lake Alfred reports less crime per resident than Winter Haven: Lake Alfred grades B+ for safety and Winter Haven C. Lake Alfred’s police reported 0.8 violent and 9.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Winter Haven?
Winter Haven’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Winter Haven”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Winter Haven.
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.