Mary's City of David · Photo: FotoGuy 49057 · CC BY 2.0Benton Township records more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
It has more violent crime than 100% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 99%. What’s more, for every 1,000 residents, 17.2 violent crimes and 58.9 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the rest of Michigan, the figures are 5.4 and 17.4. Scored on crimes Benton Township’s police reported across 2023 to 2025, the town lands on D− for safety: #263 of 266 graded towns in Michigan.
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 Benton Township
Benton Township reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 5 Michigan towns on Benton Township’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Benton Harbor (D−). Bainbridge Township, Royalton Township, Hagar Township and Sodus Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A college town
Benton Township is home to Lake Michigan College, with 2,188 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 3% 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
Benton Township has 9,473 jobs based in town for 14,228 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Benton Township’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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Benton Township | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16.8 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 15.5 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 18.8 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 17.2 | 5.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Benton Township’s police reported 724 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 17.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Benton Township 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 17 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Benton Township property | Rest of Michigan property | Benton Township violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 58.2 | 18.6 | 16.8 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 57.6 | 19.3 | 15.5 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 64.5 | 17.3 | 18.8 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 54.6 | 15.5 | 17.2 | 5.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Michigan.
1,008 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.
241 violent and 767 property, as reported to the FBI by Benton Township’s police.
12 people died in crashes on Benton Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Benton Township had 12 fatal crashes in five years, in which 12 people died; 6 were pedestrians. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 16.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Michigan towns of 5,000–25,000 people (6.8, 309 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.
Benton Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | D− | 17.2 | 58.9 |
| Benton Harbor | D− | 20.9 | 39.8 |
| Bainbridge Township | — | — | — |
| Royalton Township | — | — | — |
| Hagar Township | — | — | — |
| Sodus Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bainbridge Township, Royalton Township, Hagar Township and Sodus Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | D− | 17.2 | 58.9 |
| Springfield Township | A | 0.6 | 3.4 |
| Lincoln Township | B+ | 1.0 | 8.5 |
| Coldwater | C | 2.9 | 14.8 |
| Fraser | C | 2.3 | 17.6 |
| Owosso | C− | 6.1 | 13.1 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Benton Township’s population (14,228), 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 Benton Township. 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 Benton Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (14,040 in 2025); our figure for Benton Township is 14,228 (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 Benton Township
Is Benton Township, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Benton Township reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #263 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 17.2 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 Benton Township?
17.2 violent and 58.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Michigan reports 5.4 and 17.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Benton Township safer than Benton Harbor?
Benton Harbor reports more crime per resident than Benton Township: Benton Harbor grades D− for safety and Benton Township D−. Benton Harbor’s police reported 20.9 violent and 39.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Benton Township?
Benton Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Benton Township”. 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 Benton Township.
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.