Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainIndianapolis reports more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Indianapolis’ police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #89 of 91 graded towns in Indiana State, and #264 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IN” is every other Indiana State 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 Indianapolis
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Indiana State towns on Indianapolis’ borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Zionsville (A+), Lawrence (C). Pike Township, Lawrence Township, Brown Township, Franklin Township, Perry Township and Decatur Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Indianapolis’ police reported 104 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 16.8 per 100,000 residents a year, 3.5 times the rest of Indiana State (4.8) and 3.0 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 4.2 times the rest of Indiana State
134 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (776 reported in 2025), 4.2 times the rest of Indiana State (32.2) 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, Indianapolis reports less crime per resident than 19% (#264). Places like it ↓
A job center
Indianapolis has 581,906 jobs based in town for 910,638 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 Indianapolis’ 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 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 Indiana State.
Show as a table
| Year | Indianapolis property | Rest of Indiana State property | Indianapolis violent | Rest of Indiana State violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.8 | 19.4 | 10.3 | 2.8 |
| 2023 | 36.2 | 18.0 | 10.3 | 3.3 |
| 2024 | 33.4 | 16.3 | 8.8 | 3.3 |
| 2025 | 20.6 | 13.3 | 5.8 | 2.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Homicides and robberies
Indianapolis’ police reported 104 homicides, 776 robberies and 5,214 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Indiana State and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Indianapolis | Rest of Indiana State | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 23.5 | 5.5 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 18.9 | 5.5 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 20.0 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 11.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Indianapolis | Rest of Indiana State | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 183 | 40.4 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 174 | 36.6 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 143 | 33.6 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 85.9 | 26.4 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 21 property crimes reported
And about 6 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.
23,809 crimes reported in 2025
5,214 violent and 18,595 property, as reported to the FBI by Indianapolis’ police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
160 of the 637 people who died in crashes on Indianapolis’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Indianapolis had 607 fatal crashes in five years, in which 637 people died. 22 of those killed were cyclists. 102 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 14.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Indiana State towns of 100,000+ people (9.3, 15 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Indianapolis has the 27th lowest rate.
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.
Indianapolis and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | D | 8.3 | 30.0 |
| Lawrence | C | 2.9 | 17.2 |
| Pike Township | — | — | — |
| Zionsville | A+ | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Lawrence Township | — | — | — |
| Brown Township | — | — | — |
| Franklin Township | — | — | — |
| Perry Township | — | — | — |
| Decatur Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Pike Township, Lawrence Township, Brown Township, Franklin Township, Perry Township and Decatur Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
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 Indianapolis. 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 Indianapolis’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (903,574 in 2025); our figure for Indianapolis is 910,638 (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 Indianapolis
Is Indianapolis, IN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Indianapolis reports more crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #89 of 91 in Indiana State. Its police reported 8.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.1 in the rest of Indiana State and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Indianapolis?
8.3 violent and 30.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Indiana State reports 3.1 and 15.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Indianapolis?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Indianapolis in 2025?
Indianapolis’s police reported 104 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 11.5 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Indianapolis safer than Lawrence?
Lawrence reports less crime per resident than Indianapolis: Lawrence grades C for safety and Indianapolis D. Lawrence’s police reported 2.9 violent and 17.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Indianapolis?
Indianapolis’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Indianapolis”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Indianapolis.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.