Photo: TheCatalyst31 with modifications by Kbh3rd · CC BY-SA 3.0Independence reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Independence’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #134 of 172 graded towns in Missouri, and #187 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Independence
2 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Missouri towns on Independence’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Lee's Summit (C), Blue Springs (C), Sugar Creek (D), Kansas City (D−). Blue Summit is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Independence’s police reported 7 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 6.9 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of Missouri (11.6) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of Missouri
51.1 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (58 reported in 2025), below the rest of Missouri (74.7) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Independence reports less crime per resident than 42% (#187). Places like 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 Independence’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime is rising
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 Missouri.
Show as a table
| Year | Independence property | Rest of Missouri property | Independence violent | Rest of Missouri violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.1 | 31.8 | 5.3 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 13.3 | 29.3 | 2.0 | 6.0 |
| 2024 | 35.2 | 26.7 | 5.7 | 6.0 |
| 2025 | 29.7 | 22.6 | 5.5 | 5.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 30 property crimes reported
And about 6 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.
Homicides and robberies
Independence’s police reported 7 homicides, 58 robberies and 670 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Missouri and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Independence | Rest of Missouri | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.9 | 15.0 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 5.8 | 13.4 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 9.1 | 11.2 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 5.8 | 10.1 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Independence | Rest of Missouri | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 75.0 | 84.4 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 29.9 | 80.9 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 75.7 | 79.2 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 47.8 | 64.1 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
4,276 crimes reported in 2025
670 violent and 3,606 property, as reported to the FBI by Independence’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
91 people died in crashes on Independence’s roads in 2019–2023
Independence had 86 fatal crashes in five years, in which 91 people died; 19 were pedestrians and 8 were cyclists. 10 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 14.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Missouri towns of 100,000+ people (15.4, 6 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.
Independence and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | D | 4.4 | 26.1 |
| Blue Springs | C | 2.2 | 21.7 |
| Kansas City | D− | 14.6 | 45.3 |
| Sugar Creek | D | 3.0 | 32.5 |
| Lee's Summit | C | 1.4 | 21.4 |
| Blue Summit | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Blue Summit is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
Missouri towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | D | 4.4 | 26.1 |
| O'Fallon | A− | 0.8 | 5.7 |
| St. Charles | B | 1.7 | 8.9 |
| Columbia | C− | 3.6 | 22.3 |
| St. Joseph | D | 6.6 | 37.2 |
| Springfield | D− | 11.9 | 40.4 |
The five graded Missouri towns closest to Independence’s population (121,675), by grade.
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 Independence. 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 Independence’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (121,329 in 2025); our figure for Independence is 121,675 (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 Independence
Is Independence, MO safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Independence reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #134 of 172 in Missouri. Its police reported 4.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.8 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Independence?
4.4 violent and 26.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Missouri reports 5.8 and 26.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Independence?
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Independence in 2025?
Independence’s police reported 7 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 5.8 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Independence safer than Blue Springs?
Blue Springs reports less crime per resident than Independence: Blue Springs grades C for safety and Independence D. Blue Springs’s police reported 2.2 violent and 21.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Independence?
Independence’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Independence”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Independence.
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.