Photo: Scott Palmer · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, South Bend records more crime than nine in ten U.S. towns
Violent crime here is higher than in 97% of U.S. towns; property crime, higher than in 74%. Add to that, from 2023 to 2025, crimes South Bend’s police reported put it at D for safety: #86 of 91 graded towns in Indiana, and #230 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Behind the grade sit 8.7 violent crimes and 18.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 4.2 and 19.1 in the rest of Indiana. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 61% from 2023 to 2025.
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 South Bend
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 Indiana towns on South Bend’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Mishawaka (C−). Ardmore, Gilmer Park and Notre Dame are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Portage Township and Penn Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
South Bend’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 4.5 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of Indiana (7.7) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: above the rest of Indiana
68.3 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (35 reported in 2025), above the rest of Indiana (55.2) 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, South Bend reports less crime per resident than 29% (#230). Places like 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 South Bend’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 | South Bend property | Rest of Indiana property | South Bend violent | Rest of Indiana violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 25.3 | 22.1 | 12.1 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 20.4 | 20.2 | 9.7 | 4.4 |
| 2025 | 10.2 | 15.1 | 4.5 | 3.4 |
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 Indiana.
Crime in South Bend 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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | South Bend | Rest of Indiana | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 10.7 | 8.5 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 2.9 | 8.8 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | South Bend | Rest of Indiana | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 104 | 67.2 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 67.7 | 58.5 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 33.7 | 40.2 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
South Bend’s police reported 0 homicides, 35 robberies and 470 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Indiana and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
1,531 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.
470 violent and 1,061 property, as reported to the FBI by South Bend’s police.
45 people died in crashes on South Bend’s roads in 2019–2023
South Bend had 42 fatal crashes in five years, in which 45 people died; 7 were pedestrians and 3 were cyclists. 5 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 8.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Indiana towns of 100,000+ people (9.3, 15 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.
South Bend and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend | D | 8.7 | 18.6 |
| Ardmore | — | — | — |
| Gilmer Park | — | — | — |
| Mishawaka | C− | 2.6 | 24.1 |
| Notre Dame | — | — | — |
| Portage Township | — | — | — |
| Penn Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Ardmore, Gilmer Park and Notre Dame are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Portage Township and Penn Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Indiana towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend | D | 8.7 | 18.6 |
| Noblesville | A− | 0.9 | 5.2 |
| Fishers | A− | 0.8 | 5.8 |
| Carmel | A− | 0.6 | 7.8 |
| Bloomington | C− | 3.2 | 23.7 |
| Evansville | D− | 11.5 | 34.5 |
The five graded Indiana towns closest to South Bend’s population (103,201), 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 South Bend. 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 South Bend’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (103,804 in 2025); our figure for South Bend is 103,201 (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 South Bend
Is South Bend, IN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Bend reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #86 of 91 in Indiana. Its police reported 8.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.2 in the rest of Indiana and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in South Bend?
8.7 violent and 18.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Indiana reports 4.2 and 19.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in South Bend in 2025?
South Bend’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is South Bend safer than Mishawaka?
Mishawaka reports less crime per resident than South Bend: Mishawaka grades C− for safety and South Bend D. Mishawaka’s police reported 2.6 violent and 24.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Bend?
South Bend’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Bend”. 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 South Bend.
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.