Waterford Village Historic District · Photo: Fanfair · CC BY-SA 3.0More violent crime is recorded per resident in Waterford Township than in 67% of U.S. towns
Among its 7 neighbors with figures, 5 record less crime per resident. Weighing it all, Waterford Township earns B− for safety (#137 of 266 graded towns in Michigan), with close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported over 2023 to 2025. On top of that, for every 1,000 residents, 2.6 violent crimes and 7.5 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the rest of Michigan, the figures are 5.4 and 17.6. The crimes the grade counts fell 22% per resident from 2023 to 2025.
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 Waterford Township
5 of the 7 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 Michigan towns on Waterford Township’s borders, 7 have a Safety Grade: Orion Township (A), White Lake Township (A), Independence Township (A−), Sylvan Lake (A−), West Bloomfield Township (A−), Auburn Hills (C−), Pontiac (D). Neighbors ↓
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 Waterford Township’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Waterford Township’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (2.6) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Waterford Township property | Rest of Michigan property | Waterford Township violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.7 | 18.8 | 2.3 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 8.1 | 19.5 | 2.8 | 5.8 |
| 2024 | 8.3 | 17.5 | 2.8 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 6.2 | 15.7 | 2.3 | 5.1 |
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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Waterford Township | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.3 | 5.8 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.8 | 5.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.3 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Waterford Township’s police reported 544 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.6 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 Waterford 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
596 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.
160 violent and 436 property, as reported to the FBI by Waterford Township’s police.
27 people died in crashes on Waterford Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Waterford Township had 25 fatal crashes in five years, in which 27 people died; 6 were pedestrians.
That is 7.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Michigan towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.3, 77 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.
Waterford Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford Township | B− | 2.6 | 7.5 |
| West Bloomfield Township | A− | 1.0 | 5.1 |
| Independence Township | A− | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Pontiac | D | 9.6 | 16.4 |
| White Lake Township | A | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Auburn Hills | C− | 3.2 | 20.2 |
| Orion Township | A | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| Sylvan Lake | A− | 0.2 | 7.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford Township | B− | 2.6 | 7.5 |
| Rochester Hills | A− | 0.7 | 6.4 |
| Novi | B+ | 1.0 | 6.8 |
| Wyoming | C− | 4.7 | 22.2 |
| Southfield | D | 5.4 | 25.0 |
| Kalamazoo | D− | 12.0 | 35.0 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Waterford Township’s population (69,922), 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 Waterford Township. 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 Waterford Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (70,573 in 2025); our figure for Waterford Township is 69,922 (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 Waterford Township
Is Waterford Township, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Waterford Township reports less crime per resident than 51% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #137 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 2.6 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 Waterford Township?
2.6 violent and 7.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Michigan reports 5.4 and 17.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Waterford Township in 2025?
Waterford Township’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.8 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Waterford Township safer than West Bloomfield Township?
West Bloomfield Township reports less crime per resident than Waterford Township: West Bloomfield Township grades A− for safety and Waterford Township B−. West Bloomfield Township’s police reported 1.0 violent and 5.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Waterford Township?
Waterford Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Waterford Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Waterford 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.