Crime in Houghton Lake: the figures, without a grade
Widen the search to 25 miles and 4 graded towns turn up. Houghton Lake has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Roscommon County. The Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Houghton Lake alone, and no Safety Grade. The closest graded town is Denton Township, 4 miles away, at A−.
What stands out about safety in Houghton Lake
Policed by the county
Houghton Lake is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Houghton Lake. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Michigan towns with their own police figures are Denton Township (A−, 4 mi), Gerrish Township (B+, 12 mi), Richfield Township (A, 15 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Houghton Lake. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Roscommon County without police of their own, which include Houghton Lake.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Roscommon County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Michigan towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denton Township | A− | 4 mi | 1.2 | 4.7 |
| Gerrish Township | B+ | 12 mi | 1.5 | 5.3 |
| Richfield Township | A | 15 mi | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Grayling | C+ | 25 mi | 2.7 | 14.2 |
| West Branch | B+ | 25 mi | 0.7 | 8.5 |
| Gladwin | C− | 25 mi | 4.8 | 18.5 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Houghton Lake. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Houghton Lake.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Three people died in crashes on Houghton Lake’s roads in 2019–2023
Houghton Lake had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
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 Houghton Lake’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Houghton Lake’s own rate (10.4) 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.
Houghton Lake and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 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.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- 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 Houghton Lake
Is Houghton Lake, MI safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Houghton Lake. The nearest Michigan towns with a grade are Denton Township (A−, 4 mi), Gerrish Township (B+, 12 mi), Richfield Township (A, 15 mi).
Who polices Houghton Lake?
The Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office. Houghton Lake is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Roscommon County without police of their own.
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 Houghton Lake.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 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.