Berkeley reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported to the FBI by Berkeley’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MO” is every other Missouri 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 Berkeley
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 6 Missouri towns on Berkeley’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Woodson Terrace (D), Hazelwood (D), St. John (D), Ferguson (D−). Bel-Ridge and Cool Valley have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Berkeley has 22,985 jobs based in town for 8,026 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 Berkeley’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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Berkeley’s police reported 488 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 20.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.7 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Berkeley | Rest of Missouri | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 28.1 | 6.3 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 19.0 | 5.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 25.3 | 5.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 16.7 | 5.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 51 property crimes reported
And about 17 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
Reported crime is steady
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 Missouri.
Show as a table
| Year | Berkeley property | Rest of Missouri property | Berkeley violent | Rest of Missouri violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 77.5 | 31.7 | 28.1 | 6.3 |
| 2023 | 50.4 | 28.8 | 19.0 | 5.9 |
| 2024 | 64.7 | 26.9 | 25.3 | 5.9 |
| 2025 | 50.9 | 22.8 | 16.7 | 5.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
542 crimes reported in 2025
134 violent and 408 property, as reported to the FBI by Berkeley’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
26 people died in crashes on Berkeley’s roads in 2019–2023
Berkeley had 23 fatal crashes in five years, in which 26 people died; 10 were pedestrians. Most of these deaths (17 of 26) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is 64.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Missouri towns of 5,000–25,000 people (7.6, 123 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.
Berkeley and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | D− | 20.4 | 55.3 |
| Hazelwood | D | 5.5 | 24.2 |
| St. John | D | 6.7 | 21.1 |
| Woodson Terrace | D | 4.4 | 24.6 |
| Ferguson | D− | 8.5 | 34.5 |
| Bel-Ridge | — | — | — |
| Cool Valley | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bel-Ridge and Cool Valley have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
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 Berkeley. 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 Berkeley’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (8,018 in 2025); our figure for Berkeley is 8,026 (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 Berkeley
Is Berkeley, MO safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Berkeley reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 20.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.7 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Berkeley?
20.4 violent and 55.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Missouri reports 5.7 and 26.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Berkeley?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
Is Berkeley safer than Hazelwood?
Hazelwood reports less crime per resident than Berkeley: Hazelwood grades D for safety and Berkeley D−. Hazelwood’s police reported 5.5 violent and 24.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Berkeley?
Berkeley’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Berkeley”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Berkeley.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.