Charles P. Noyes Cottage · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident in White Bear Lake fell 37% from 2023 to 2025
Violent crime is lower than in 65% of U.S. towns; property crime, lower than in only 40%. In a usual year, 1.1 violent crimes and 13.8 incidents of property crime are logged per 1,000 inhabitants; in the rest of Minnesota, 3.0 and 20.2. Overall, it grades B− for safety (#91 of 166 graded towns in Minnesota).
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 White Bear Lake
White Bear Lake reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 4 Minnesota towns on White Bear Lake’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Maplewood (D). White Bear Township, Mahtomedi and Vadnais Heights have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A college town
White Bear Lake is home to Century College, with 5,483 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 5% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
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 White Bear Lake’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds White Bear Lake’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (13.8) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) 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 | White Bear Lake property | Rest of Minnesota property | White Bear Lake violent | Rest of Minnesota violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.4 | 24.9 | 0.7 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 17.2 | 21.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 13.2 | 20.7 | 0.9 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 10.9 | 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 | White Bear Lake | Rest of Minnesota | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 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
White Bear Lake’s police reported 76 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.1 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 White Bear Lake 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.
275 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.
22 violent and 253 property, as reported to the FBI by White Bear Lake’s police.
Three people died in crashes on White Bear Lake’s roads in 2019–2023
White Bear Lake had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died. Most of these deaths (2 of 3) 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 Minnesota towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of White Bear Lake’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so White Bear Lake’s own rate (2.5) 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.
White Bear Lake and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Bear Lake | B− | 1.1 | 13.8 |
| White Bear Township | — | — | — |
| Mahtomedi | — | — | — |
| Vadnais Heights | — | — | — |
| Maplewood | D | 4.0 | 27.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. White Bear Township, Mahtomedi and Vadnais Heights have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Minnesota towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Bear Lake | B− | 1.1 | 13.8 |
| Lino Lakes | A− | 0.4 | 6.1 |
| Champlin | B | 0.9 | 9.7 |
| Hastings | B | 1.2 | 10.0 |
| Columbia Heights | C | 2.9 | 17.7 |
| Crystal | C− | 2.9 | 21.9 |
The five graded Minnesota towns closest to White Bear Lake’s population (23,392), 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 White Bear Lake. 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 White Bear Lake’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,245 in 2025); our figure for White Bear Lake is 23,392 (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 White Bear Lake
Is White Bear Lake, MN safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, White Bear Lake reports less crime per resident than 51% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #91 of 166 in Minnesota. Its police reported 1.1 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 White Bear Lake?
1.1 violent and 13.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Minnesota reports 3.0 and 20.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is White Bear Lake safer than Maplewood?
Maplewood reports more crime per resident than White Bear Lake: Maplewood grades D for safety and White Bear Lake B−. Maplewood’s police reported 4.0 violent and 27.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices White Bear Lake?
White Bear Lake’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “White Bear Lake”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in White Bear Lake.
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.