Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0Portage has more violent crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns
Overall, Portage grades B− for safety (#53 of 91 graded towns in Indiana): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Behind the grade sit 2.4 violent crimes and 11.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 4.3 and 19.2 in the rest of Indiana.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of IN” is every other Indiana 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 Portage
Portage reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 7 Indiana towns on Portage’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Gary (D−). Burns Harbor, Portage Township, Ogden Dunes, Westchester Township and Calumet Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Chesterton reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Portage’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Portage’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (2.4) 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Portage | Rest of Indiana | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Portage’s police reported 274 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Indiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Portage 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 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Portage property | Rest of Indiana property | Portage violent | Rest of Indiana violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.4 | 23.3 | 1.6 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 10.6 | 22.3 | 2.2 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 11.1 | 20.3 | 2.4 | 4.6 |
| 2025 | 11.3 | 15.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Indiana.
534 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.
97 violent and 437 property, as reported to the FBI by Portage’s police.
20 people died in crashes on Portage’s roads in 2019–2023
Portage had 20 fatal crashes in five years, in which 20 people died; 4 were pedestrians. 8 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 10.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Indiana towns of 25,000–100,000 people (8.1, 86 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.
Portage and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | B− | 2.4 | 11.0 |
| Burns Harbor | — | — | — |
| Portage Township | — | — | — |
| Ogden Dunes | — | — | — |
| Westchester Township | — | — | — |
| Calumet Township | — | — | — |
| Gary | D− | 12.1 | 30.5 |
| Chesterton | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Burns Harbor, Portage Township, Ogden Dunes, Westchester Township and Calumet Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Chesterton reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024.
Indiana towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | B− | 2.4 | 11.0 |
| Crown Point | A− | 0.7 | 5.0 |
| Valparaiso | B+ | 1.0 | 8.6 |
| Plainfield | C+ | 1.8 | 14.9 |
| Goshen | C | 2.1 | 22.5 |
| New Albany | C− | 2.8 | 25.1 |
The five graded Indiana towns closest to Portage’s population (38,634), 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 Portage. 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 Portage’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (38,731 in 2025); our figure for Portage is 38,634 (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 Portage
Is Portage, IN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Portage reports more crime per resident than 54% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #53 of 91 in Indiana. Its police reported 2.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Indiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Portage?
2.4 violent and 11.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Indiana reports 4.3 and 19.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Portage in 2025?
Portage’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Portage safer than Gary?
Gary reports more crime per resident than Portage: Gary grades D− for safety and Portage B−. Gary’s police reported 12.1 violent and 30.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Portage?
Portage’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Portage”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Portage.
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.