Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Portland sees less crime per resident than 62% of U.S. towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 1.4 violent crimes and 8.4 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 5.4 and 17.5 in the rest of Michigan. Add to that, the grade is B, built on crimes Portland’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #100 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 Portland
A job center
Portland has 3,717 jobs based in town for 3,770 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 Portland’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 lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Portland | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.6 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.5 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.1 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Portland’s police reported 16 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.4 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 Portland 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 2 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 | Portland property | Rest of Michigan property | Portland violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.9 | 18.7 | 2.3 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 12.6 | 19.4 | 1.6 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 4.0 | 17.4 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 8.5 | 15.6 | 2.1 | 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.
40 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.
8 violent and 32 property, as reported to the FBI by Portland’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Portland’s roads in 2019–2023
Portland had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died. Most of these deaths (1 of 2) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is about what is typical for Michigan towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (12.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Portland’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Portland’s own rate (10.6) 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.
Portland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | B | 1.4 | 8.4 |
| Danby Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Danby Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | B | 1.4 | 8.4 |
| Boyne City | A− | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| Williamston | B+ | 1.7 | 4.8 |
| Belleville | C+ | 2.7 | 10.0 |
| Imlay City | C+ | 2.9 | 12.1 |
| Plainwell | C+ | 2.9 | 12.5 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Portland’s population (3,770), 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 Portland. 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 Portland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (3,760 in 2025); our figure for Portland is 3,770 (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 Portland
Is Portland, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Portland reports less crime per resident than 62% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #100 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 1.4 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 Portland?
1.4 violent and 8.4 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.
Who polices Portland?
Portland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Portland”. 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 Portland.
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.