Beverly Theater · Photo: Gavreh · CC BY-SA 3.0University City has more property crime per resident than 73% of U.S. towns
Counting crimes University City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades C for safety: #103 of 172 graded towns in Missouri. Behind the grade sit 3.0 violent crimes and 18.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 5.8 and 26.3 in the rest of Missouri. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 22% from 2023 to 2025.
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 University City
3 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 Missouri towns on University City’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Ladue (B+), Clayton (B+), Olivette (B), Overland (D), Pagedale (D−), Vinita Park (D−). Wellston has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Missouri towns, closer to the middle
Missouri’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so University City’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 40% of the 172 Missouri towns we grade, against 28% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
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 University City’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. Its violent rate (3.0) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) 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 | University City property | Rest of Missouri property | University City violent | Rest of Missouri violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 21.6 | 31.9 | 2.2 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 22.1 | 28.9 | 2.7 | 5.9 |
| 2024 | 15.7 | 27.1 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
| 2025 | 16.3 | 22.9 | 3.2 | 5.5 |
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 Missouri.
Crime in University City 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 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | University City | Rest of Missouri | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.2 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
University City’s police reported 302 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.8 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
664 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.
109 violent and 555 property, as reported to the FBI by University City’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on University City’s roads in 2019–2023
University City had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for Missouri towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (6.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of University City’s size would see about 12 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so University City’s own rate (4.0) 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.
University City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| University City | C | 3.0 | 18.0 |
| Pagedale | D− | 18.4 | 33.1 |
| Clayton | B+ | 0.8 | 9.1 |
| Vinita Park | D− | 12.4 | 52.9 |
| Ladue | B+ | 0.7 | 8.2 |
| Wellston | — | — | — |
| Olivette | B | 0.8 | 10.1 |
| Overland | D | 5.4 | 21.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Wellston has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Missouri towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| University City | C | 3.0 | 18.0 |
| Ballwin | A− | 0.6 | 5.2 |
| Kirkwood | C+ | 1.7 | 14.0 |
| Liberty | C+ | 1.5 | 15.4 |
| Cape Girardeau | D | 5.7 | 22.5 |
| Raytown | D | 7.6 | 34.6 |
The five graded Missouri towns closest to University City’s population (34,657), 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 University City. 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 University City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (34,147 in 2025); our figure for University City is 34,657 (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 University City
Is University City, MO safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, University City reports more crime per resident than 72% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #103 of 172 in Missouri. Its police reported 3.0 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 University City?
3.0 violent and 18.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Missouri reports 5.8 and 26.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in University City in 2025?
University City’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is University City safer than Pagedale?
Pagedale reports more crime per resident than University City: Pagedale grades D− for safety and University City C. Pagedale’s police reported 18.4 violent and 33.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices University City?
University City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “University City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in University City.
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.