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2016-06-11 11 03 54 View west along Maryland State Route 132 (Bel Air Avenue) at Howard Street in Aberdeen, Harford County, MarylandPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
D
Safety in Aberdeen · FBI data, 2023–2025

Aberdeen reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns

On crimes reported to the FBI by Aberdeen’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #34 of 52 graded towns in Maryland.

Violent crime
6.0
per 1,000 a year · Below rest of MD (8.4)
U.S. (FBI national estimate) 3.6
Property crime
19.5
per 1,000 a year · Well below rest of MD (29.4)
U.S. (FBI national estimate) 17.6
Crimes reported
1,400
331 violent · 1,069 property
2023–2025
Trend
▼ Falling
2023 to 2025
beyond ordinary swings

Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MD” is every other Maryland 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 · In brief

What stands out about safety in Aberdeen

1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime

Of the 3 Maryland towns on Aberdeen’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Havre de Grace (B−). Perryman and Aberdeen Proving Ground are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓

Among Maryland towns, closer to the middle

Maryland’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Aberdeen’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 35% of the 52 Maryland towns we grade, against 13% 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.

Safety Grade

What’s behind Aberdeen’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.

Where Aberdeen sits
D Violent 6.0C− Property 19.5
All U.S. towns we grade (7,426)Less crime than 13%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Maryland towns we grade (52)Less crime than 35% · #34 of 52
Places of 5,000–25,000 people (3,282)Less crime than 12%
A fairly firm grade. Built on 1,400 reported crimes over three years. Ordinary swings could put Aberdeen anywhere from D to C−.

How TownRatings grades safety →

Trend

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 Maryland.

Show as a table
YearAberdeen propertyRest of Maryland propertyAberdeen violentRest of Maryland violent
202221.327.56.110.9
202322.930.88.39.0
202420.330.46.08.9
202515.627.24.07.4

Crimes per 1,000 residents

Violent crime

Violent crime, by year and by type

Aberdeen’s police reported 331 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 6.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.4 in the rest of Maryland and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.

1,000 neighbors · one year

For every 1,000 residents, about 16 property crimes reported

And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.

Property crime (15.6)Violent crime (4)Everyone else

Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025

Aberdeen4.0
Rest of MD7.4
U.S. (FBI)3.3

Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025

Aberdeen15.6
Rest of MD27.2
U.S. (FBI)15.5

Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.

What gets reported

374 crimes reported in 2025

77 violent and 297 property, as reported to the FBI by Aberdeen’s police.

2025 offenses reported

Larceny / theft245
Burglary34
Vehicle theft18
Aggravated assault57
Robbery13
Rape6
Homicide1
Arson4
77
violent crimes
297
property crimes

Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.

On the roads

Seven people died in crashes on Aberdeen’s roads in 2019–2023

Aberdeen had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 3 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists.

That is about what is typical for Maryland towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Aberdeen’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Aberdeen’s own rate (8.1) is context, not a ranking.

7
people died in crashes, 2019–2023
3
pedestrians among them
2
cyclists among them
8.1
per 100,000 a year · Maryland towns of 5,000–25,000: 5.7

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.

Next door

Aberdeen and its neighbors

How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.

A rangeB rangeC rangeD rangeNot graded
TownGradeViolentProperty
AberdeenD6.019.5
Perryman———
Havre de GraceB−1.212.6
Aberdeen Proving Ground———

Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Perryman and Aberdeen Proving Ground are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.

Maryland towns of a similar size

TownGradeViolentProperty
AberdeenD6.019.5
WestminsterC2.418.2
EastonC−4.318.5
CumberlandD4.640.2
Takoma ParkD−4.753.7
ElktonD−9.147.7

The five graded Maryland towns closest to Aberdeen’s population (18,374), by grade.

How to read these numbers

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 Aberdeen. 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 Aberdeen’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
  • Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (19,047 in 2025); our figure for Aberdeen is 18,374 (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 Aberdeen

Is Aberdeen, MD safe?

On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Aberdeen reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #34 of 52 in Maryland. Its police reported 6.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 8.4 in the rest of Maryland and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.

What is the crime rate in Aberdeen?

6.0 violent and 19.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Maryland reports 8.4 and 29.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.

Is crime going up or down in Aberdeen?

Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.

Is Aberdeen safer than Havre de Grace?

Havre de Grace reports less crime per resident than Aberdeen: Havre de Grace grades B− for safety and Aberdeen D. Havre de Grace’s police reported 1.2 violent and 12.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.

Who polices Aberdeen?

Aberdeen’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Aberdeen”. Its figures are the ones on this page.

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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.