Photo: Humbles Art · CC BY-SA 3.0Benton Harbor reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported by Benton Harbor’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #263 of 266 graded towns in Michigan. What’s more, among its 3 neighbors with figures, 2 record less crime per resident. Recorded violent crimes ran at 20.9 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 39.8, against 5.4 and 17.4 in the rest of 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 Harbor
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 3 Michigan towns on Benton Harbor’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: St. Joseph Township (B), St. Joseph (C), Benton Township (D−). Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Benton Harbor’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 Harbor | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26.4 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 23.0 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 18.7 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 21.1 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Benton Harbor’s police reported 554 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 20.9 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 Harbor 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 21 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 Harbor property | Rest of Michigan property | Benton Harbor violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 37.1 | 18.7 | 26.4 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 36.5 | 19.4 | 23.0 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 55.0 | 17.3 | 18.7 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 28.0 | 15.6 | 21.1 | 5.1 |
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.
431 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.
185 violent and 246 property, as reported to the FBI by Benton Harbor’s police.
Four people died in crashes on Benton Harbor’s roads in 2019–2023
Benton Harbor had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which four people died; 3 were pedestrians.
That is about what is typical for Michigan towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (6.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Benton Harbor’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Benton Harbor’s own rate (8.9) 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.
Benton Harbor and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Harbor | D− | 20.9 | 39.8 |
| Benton Township | D− | 17.2 | 58.9 |
| St. Joseph | C | 3.0 | 13.9 |
| St. Joseph Township | B | 1.7 | 7.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Harbor | D− | 20.9 | 39.8 |
| Tecumseh | A− | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Richfield Township | A− | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Northfield Township | B+ | 1.1 | 6.5 |
| Saline | B | 1.8 | 8.7 |
| Big Rapids | C | 4.5 | 13.5 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Benton Harbor’s population (8,803), 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 Harbor. 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 Harbor’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (8,788 in 2025); our figure for Benton Harbor is 8,803 (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 Harbor
Is Benton Harbor, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Benton Harbor reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #263 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 20.9 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 Harbor?
20.9 violent and 39.8 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 Harbor safer than Benton Township?
Benton Township reports more crime per resident than Benton Harbor: Benton Township grades D− for safety and Benton Harbor D−. Benton Township’s police reported 17.2 violent and 58.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Benton Harbor?
Benton Harbor’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Benton Harbor”. 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 Harbor.
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.