Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Reported crime per resident in Golden Valley rose 35% from 2023 to 2025
It has less violent crime than 76% of U.S. towns, and less property crime than 60%. Overall, Golden Valley grades B+ for safety (#57 of 166 graded towns in Minnesota): less crime per resident than 69% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. In a usual year, 0.7 violent crime and 8.7 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Minnesota, 3.0 and 20.3.
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 Golden Valley
Golden Valley reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 5 Minnesota towns on Golden Valley’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Plymouth (B+), Robbinsdale (C), Crystal (C−), St. Louis Park (C−), Minneapolis (D−). Neighbors ↓
A job center
Golden Valley has 32,485 jobs based in town for 21,325 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose 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 Golden Valley’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 | Golden Valley property | Rest of Minnesota property | Golden Valley violent | Rest of Minnesota violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 19.8 | 24.9 | 1.9 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 6.9 | 21.9 | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 9.9 | 20.7 | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 9.4 | 18.3 | 0.9 | 2.7 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose 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 | Golden Valley | Rest of Minnesota | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Golden Valley’s police reported 47 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.7 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 Golden Valley 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.
215 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.
18 violent and 197 property, as reported to the FBI by Golden Valley’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Golden Valley’s roads in 2019–2023
Golden Valley had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Minnesota towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Golden Valley’s size would see about 3 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Golden Valley’s own rate (2.8) 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.
Golden Valley and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Valley | B+ | 0.7 | 8.7 |
| St. Louis Park | C− | 1.5 | 32.2 |
| Minneapolis | D− | 11.0 | 49.6 |
| Crystal | C− | 2.9 | 21.9 |
| Robbinsdale | C | 3.6 | 16.7 |
| Plymouth | B+ | 0.6 | 9.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Minnesota towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Valley | B+ | 0.7 | 8.7 |
| Northfield | B− | 1.5 | 10.8 |
| Forest Lake | B− | 0.9 | 14.6 |
| New Hope | C+ | 1.3 | 18.8 |
| Willmar | C | 4.0 | 13.5 |
| West St. Paul | D | 2.1 | 40.9 |
The five graded Minnesota towns closest to Golden Valley’s population (21,325), 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 Golden Valley. 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 Golden Valley’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (20,970 in 2025); our figure for Golden Valley is 21,325 (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 Golden Valley
Is Golden Valley, MN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Golden Valley reports less crime per resident than 69% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #57 of 166 in Minnesota. Its police reported 0.7 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 Golden Valley?
0.7 violent and 8.7 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.
Is Golden Valley safer than St. Louis Park?
St. Louis Park reports more crime per resident than Golden Valley: St. Louis Park grades C− for safety and Golden Valley B+. St. Louis Park’s police reported 1.5 violent and 32.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Golden Valley?
Golden Valley’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Golden Valley”. 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 Golden Valley.
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.