Photo: ElkRiverCommunications · CC BY-SA 4.0The crimes the grade counts fell 31% per resident in Elk River from 2023 to 2025
The yearly rates were 0.9 violent crime and 9.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 3.0 and 20.3 in the rest of Minnesota. By contrast, each of the two towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident. Overall, Elk River grades B+ for safety (#60 of 166 graded towns in Minnesota): less crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MN” is every other Minnesota 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 Elk River
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 Minnesota towns on Elk River’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Dayton (A), Ramsey (A). Otsego, Big Lake Township, Livonia Township and Nowthen have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. 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 Elk River’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; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Elk River property | Rest of Minnesota property | Elk River violent | Rest of Minnesota violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.0 | 24.9 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 10.6 | 21.9 | 0.9 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 10.1 | 20.7 | 0.9 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 7.1 | 18.3 | 0.9 | 2.7 |
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 Minnesota.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Elk River | Rest of Minnesota | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Elk River’s police reported 73 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Minnesota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Elk River 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 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
224 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.
24 violent and 200 property, as reported to the FBI by Elk River’s police.
Eight people died in crashes on Elk River’s roads in 2019–2023
Elk River had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which eight people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for Minnesota towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (4.2 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Elk River’s size would see about 6 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Elk River’s own rate (6.0) 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.
Elk River and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk River | B+ | 0.9 | 9.3 |
| Otsego | — | — | — |
| Big Lake Township | — | — | — |
| Ramsey | A | 0.5 | 4.8 |
| Livonia Township | — | — | — |
| Nowthen | — | — | — |
| Dayton | A | 0.4 | 4.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Otsego, Big Lake Township, Livonia Township and Nowthen have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Minnesota towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk River | B+ | 0.9 | 9.3 |
| Chaska | A− | 0.8 | 5.9 |
| Owatonna | B | 1.8 | 7.8 |
| Prior Lake | B | 1.2 | 11.0 |
| Austin | C+ | 2.0 | 16.5 |
| Winona | C | 1.7 | 22.2 |
The five graded Minnesota towns closest to Elk River’s population (27,896), 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 Elk River. 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 Elk River’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (28,039 in 2025); our figure for Elk River is 27,896 (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 Elk River
Is Elk River, MN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Elk River reports less crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #60 of 166 in Minnesota. Its police reported 0.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.0 in the rest of Minnesota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Elk River?
0.9 violent and 9.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Minnesota reports 3.0 and 20.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Elk River in 2025?
Elk River’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Elk River safer than Ramsey?
Ramsey reports less crime per resident than Elk River: Ramsey grades A for safety and Elk River B+. Ramsey’s police reported 0.5 violent and 4.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Elk River?
Elk River’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Elk River”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Elk River.
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.