Photo: Peter Dutton from Forest Hills, Queens, USA · CC BY 2.0Per resident, South Portland records less violent crime than 76% of U.S. towns
Among its 3 neighbors with figures, 2 record less crime per resident. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put South Portland at B (#54 of 78 graded towns in Maine): close to the middle of U.S. towns. Out of every 1,000 residents, 0.8 violent crime and 11.9 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 1.2 and 13.6 in the rest of Maine.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of ME” is every other Maine 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 Portland
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Maine towns on South Portland’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Cape Elizabeth (A+), Scarborough (B+), Portland (C). Neighbors ↓
Among Maine towns, closer to the middle
Maine’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so South Portland’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 31% of the 78 Maine towns we grade, against 59% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
South Portland is home to Southern Maine Community College, with 5,470 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 8% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
South Portland has 24,097 jobs based in town for 27,007 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 South Portland’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds South Portland’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (11.9) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) 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 | South Portland | Rest of Maine | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South Portland’s police reported 61 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.2 in the rest of Maine and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | South Portland property | Rest of Maine property | South Portland violent | Rest of Maine violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.9 | 15.4 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
| 2023 | 11.5 | 14.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| 2024 | 13.7 | 14.6 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| 2025 | 10.6 | 12.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
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 Maine.
Crime in South Portland 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 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
301 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.
15 violent and 286 property, as reported to the FBI by South Portland’s police.
Five people died in crashes on South Portland’s roads in 2019–2023
South Portland had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died; 1 was a pedestrian. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
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 Portland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Portland | B | 0.8 | 11.9 |
| Portland | C | 2.5 | 20.4 |
| Cape Elizabeth | A+ | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Scarborough | B+ | 0.6 | 10.5 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Maine towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Portland | B | 0.8 | 11.9 |
| Brunswick | B | 0.8 | 10.4 |
| Auburn | C | 2.0 | 22.7 |
| Sanford | C | 1.8 | 24.9 |
| Biddeford | C− | 3.0 | 24.3 |
| Bangor | D | 1.9 | 40.2 |
The five graded Maine towns closest to South Portland’s population (27,007), 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 Portland. 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 South Portland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (27,099 in 2025); our figure for South Portland is 27,007 (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 Portland
Is South Portland, ME safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Portland reports less crime per resident than 59% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #54 of 78 in Maine. Its police reported 0.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.2 in the rest of Maine and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in South Portland?
0.8 violent and 11.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Maine reports 1.2 and 13.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in South Portland in 2025?
South Portland’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 Portland safer than Portland?
Portland reports more crime per resident than South Portland: Portland grades C for safety and South Portland B. Portland’s police reported 2.5 violent and 20.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Portland?
South Portland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Portland”. 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 South Portland.
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.