McGregor Memorial Conference Center · Photo: Matt Joseph · CC BY-SA 4.0Few U.S. towns record more crime per resident than Detroit
The yearly rates were 18.2 violent crimes and 43.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 4.0 and 14.6 in the rest of Michigan. Counting crimes Detroit’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D− for safety: #263 of 266 graded towns in Michigan, and #323 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 18% from 2023 to 2025. By contrast, each of the 7 towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident.
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 Detroit
7 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Michigan towns on Detroit’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Grosse Pointe Park (B), Melvindale (C), Dearborn Heights (C), Dearborn (C), Lincoln Park (D), Redford Township (D), Harper Woods (D−). River Rouge has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Detroit’s police reported 165 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 32.4 per 100,000 residents a year, 9.3 times the rest of Michigan (3.5) and 5.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 6.1 times the rest of Michigan
184 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (935 reported in 2025), 6.1 times the rest of Michigan (30.4) and 2.3 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Detroit reports less crime per resident than 1% (#323). Places like 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 Detroit’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.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Detroit | Rest of Michigan | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 49.1 | 4.9 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 40.6 | 4.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 31.2 | 3.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 25.7 | 3.0 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Detroit | Rest of Michigan | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 223 | 34.4 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 226 | 35.5 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 184 | 30.0 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 146 | 25.8 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Detroit’s police reported 165 homicides, 935 robberies and 10,590 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Michigan and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Detroit property | Rest of Michigan property | Detroit violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 44.8 | 15.9 | 20.3 | 4.2 |
| 2023 | 47.3 | 16.4 | 20.5 | 4.2 |
| 2024 | 43.1 | 14.5 | 17.8 | 4.0 |
| 2025 | 38.8 | 13.0 | 16.5 | 3.8 |
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 Detroit 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.
35,520 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.
10,590 violent and 24,930 property, as reported to the FBI by Detroit’s police.
185 of the 701 people who died in crashes on Detroit’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Detroit had 647 fatal crashes in five years, in which 701 people died. 20 of those killed were cyclists. 99 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 22.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Michigan towns of 100,000+ people (7.7, 8 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Detroit has the 38th lowest rate.
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.
Detroit and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | D− | 18.2 | 43.0 |
| Dearborn | C | 2.8 | 19.5 |
| River Rouge | — | — | — |
| Grosse Pointe Park | B | 0.4 | 14.5 |
| Dearborn Heights | C | 4.2 | 13.6 |
| Melvindale | C | 3.7 | 12.5 |
| Redford Township | D | 6.1 | 20.6 |
| Harper Woods | D− | 6.5 | 45.6 |
| Lincoln Park | D | 6.3 | 17.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. River Rouge has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
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 Detroit. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Detroit’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (642,155 in 2025); our figure for Detroit is 649,095 (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 Detroit
Is Detroit, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Detroit reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #263 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 18.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.0 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Detroit?
18.2 violent and 43.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Michigan reports 4.0 and 14.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Detroit in 2025?
Detroit’s police reported 165 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 25.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Detroit safer than Dearborn?
Dearborn reports less crime per resident than Detroit: Dearborn grades C for safety and Detroit D−. Dearborn’s police reported 2.8 violent and 19.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Detroit?
Detroit’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Detroit”. 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 Detroit.
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.