Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Bay City sees more violent crime per resident than nine in ten U.S. towns
The graded rate fell 20% from 2023 to 2025. Police counts work out at 5.6 violent crimes and 17.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the rest of Michigan they are 5.4 and 17.5. Taking everything together, Bay City scores C− (#217 of 266 graded towns in Michigan): more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, measured on crimes its police reported between 2023 and 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MI” is every other Michigan 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 Bay City
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 6 Michigan towns on Bay City’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Hampton Township (B−). Bangor Township, Portsmouth Township, Frankenlust Township and Monitor Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Essexville reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
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 Bay City’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 | Bay City property | Rest of Michigan property | Bay City violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.9 | 18.8 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 19.5 | 19.4 | 6.2 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 18.7 | 17.4 | 5.6 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
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 Michigan.
Crime in Bay City 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Bay City | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Bay City’s police reported 542 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
661 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.
162 violent and 499 property, as reported to the FBI by Bay City’s police.
Nine people died in crashes on Bay City’s roads in 2019–2023
Bay City had 9 fatal crashes in five years, in which nine people died; 6 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for Michigan towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Bay City’s size would see about 9 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Bay City’s own rate (5.6) 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.
Bay City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay City | C− | 5.6 | 17.9 |
| Bangor Township | — | — | — |
| Portsmouth Township | — | — | — |
| Frankenlust Township | — | — | — |
| Hampton Township | B− | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| Essexville | — | — | — |
| Monitor Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bangor Township, Portsmouth Township, Frankenlust Township and Monitor Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Essexville reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay City | C− | 5.6 | 17.9 |
| White Lake Township | A | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Northville Township | A− | 0.7 | 6.8 |
| Brownstown Township | B | 1.7 | 6.9 |
| Jackson | D− | 9.9 | 35.0 |
| Flint Township | D− | 9.3 | 41.0 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Bay City’s population (31,868), 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 Bay City. 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 Bay City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (31,954 in 2025); our figure for Bay City is 31,868 (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 Bay City
Is Bay City, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Bay City reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #217 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 5.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Bay City?
5.6 violent and 17.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Michigan reports 5.4 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Bay City in 2025?
Bay City’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.1 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Bay City safer than Hampton Township?
Hampton Township reports less crime per resident than Bay City: Hampton Township grades B− for safety and Bay City C−. Hampton Township’s police reported 1.8 violent and 9.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Bay City?
Bay City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Bay City”. 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 Bay City.
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.