Photo: Roastedbeanz1 · CC BY 4.0Waveland has less violence than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
Its letter overall is C+ (#20 of 45 graded towns in Mississippi): more crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, from crimes its police reported through 2023 to 2025. Typical years here bring 0.5 violent crime plus 20.7 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.8 plus 21.6 in the rest of Mississippi.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MS” is every other Mississippi 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 Waveland
Waveland reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 1 Mississippi towns on Waveland’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Bay St. Louis (C). Neighbors ↓
Among Mississippi towns, closer to the middle
Mississippi’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Waveland’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 56% of the 45 Mississippi towns we grade, against 40% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Waveland’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Waveland’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Waveland | Rest of Mississippi | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Waveland’s police reported 10 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.8 in the rest of Mississippi and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Waveland 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 fewer than 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Waveland property | Rest of Mississippi property | Waveland violent | Rest of Mississippi violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.6 | 25.2 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
| 2023 | 16.0 | 24.6 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| 2024 | 26.4 | 22.0 | 0.7 | 2.6 |
| 2025 | 19.7 | 19.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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 Mississippi.
141 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.
3 violent and 138 property, as reported to the FBI by Waveland’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Waveland’s roads in 2019–2023
Waveland had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for Mississippi towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (11.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Waveland’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Waveland’s own rate (8.5) 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.
Waveland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveland | C+ | 0.5 | 20.7 |
| Bay St. Louis | C | 1.0 | 23.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Mississippi towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveland | C+ | 0.5 | 20.7 |
| Pass Christian | B+ | 0.1 | 12.9 |
| Richland | B | 1.2 | 10.1 |
| Kosciusko | C+ | 1.5 | 16.1 |
| Philadelphia | D | 4.4 | 27.9 |
| Batesville | D | 3.2 | 37.7 |
The five graded Mississippi towns closest to Waveland’s population (7,042), 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 Waveland. 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 Waveland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (7,005 in 2025); our figure for Waveland is 7,042 (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 Waveland
Is Waveland, MS safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Waveland reports more crime per resident than 60% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #20 of 45 in Mississippi. Its police reported 0.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.8 in the rest of Mississippi and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Waveland?
0.5 violent and 20.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Mississippi reports 2.8 and 21.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Waveland safer than Bay St. Louis?
Bay St. Louis reports more crime per resident than Waveland: Bay St. Louis grades C for safety and Waveland C+. Bay St. Louis’s police reported 1.0 violent and 23.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Waveland?
Waveland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Waveland”. 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 Waveland.
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.