Loomis Historic District · Photo: Dlong417 · CC BY-SA 3.0Per resident, Merriam records more crime than 96% of U.S. towns
The Safety Grade comes out at D−, drawn from crimes Merriam’s police reported through 2023 to 2025: #77 of 80 graded towns in Kansas. Still, each year brought 4.5 violent crimes and 52.7 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (4.8 and 22.2 in the rest of Kansas). The rate the grade counts dropped 26% from 2023 to 2025. Its two neighbors with figures both record less crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of KS” is every other Kansas 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 Merriam
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 Kansas towns on Merriam’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Shawnee (C+), Overland Park (C+). Neighbors ↓
A job center
Merriam has 11,972 jobs based in town for 11,509 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 Merriam’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Merriam property | Rest of Kansas property | Merriam violent | Rest of Kansas violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 56.6 | 24.1 | 6.9 | 4.9 |
| 2023 | 58.8 | 24.0 | 5.7 | 4.8 |
| 2024 | 55.9 | 20.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 44.2 | 22.7 | 3.6 | 5.5 |
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, 2022–2025, against the rest of Kansas.
Crime in Merriam 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 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Merriam | Rest of Kansas | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.9 | 4.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Merriam’s police reported 151 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 4.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of Kansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
558 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.
42 violent and 516 property, as reported to the FBI by Merriam’s police.
Nine people died in crashes on Merriam’s roads in 2019–2023
Merriam had 9 fatal crashes in five years, in which nine people died. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is more than is typical for Kansas towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Merriam’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Merriam’s own rate (16.2) is context, not a ranking.
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.
Merriam and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merriam | D− | 4.5 | 52.7 |
| Overland Park | C+ | 1.8 | 18.2 |
| Shawnee | C+ | 2.4 | 15.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Kansas towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merriam | D− | 4.5 | 52.7 |
| Lansing | B+ | 1.5 | 5.8 |
| Spring Hill | B+ | 1.6 | 6.3 |
| Atchison | C+ | 1.7 | 15.3 |
| Winfield | C− | 2.9 | 28.7 |
| Arkansas City | D | 4.8 | 24.6 |
The five graded Kansas towns closest to Merriam’s population (11,509), 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 Merriam. 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 Merriam’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (11,679 in 2025); our figure for Merriam is 11,509 (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 Merriam
Is Merriam, KS safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Merriam reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #77 of 80 in Kansas. Its police reported 4.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.8 in the rest of Kansas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Merriam?
4.5 violent and 52.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Kansas reports 4.8 and 22.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Merriam safer than Overland Park?
Overland Park reports less crime per resident than Merriam: Overland Park grades C+ for safety and Merriam D−. Overland Park’s police reported 1.8 violent and 18.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Merriam?
Merriam’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Merriam”. 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 Merriam.
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.