Watford City records more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns
That puts it at C− for safety, judged on crimes Watford City’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #11 of 16 graded towns in North Dakota. Out of every 1,000 residents, 3.5 violent crimes and 20.9 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.2 and 23.2 in the rest of North Dakota.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of ND” is every other North Dakota 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’s behind Watford 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 (3.5) 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.
Crime in Watford 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 4 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 | Watford City | Rest of North Dakota | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Watford City’s police reported 62 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of North Dakota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Watford City property | Rest of North Dakota property | Watford City violent | Rest of North Dakota violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.3 | 26.7 | 5.1 | 3.5 |
| 2023 | 27.5 | 25.9 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 16.1 | 23.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| 2025 | 19.5 | 20.1 | 3.9 | 2.8 |
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 North Dakota.
145 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.
24 violent and 121 property, as reported to the FBI by Watford City’s police.
Two people died in crashes on Watford City’s roads in 2019–2023
Watford City had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for North Dakota towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Watford City’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Watford City’s own rate (6.6) 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.
Watford City and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watford City | C− | 3.5 | 20.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
North Dakota towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watford City | C− | 3.5 | 20.9 |
| Lincoln | A− | 0.6 | 4.8 |
| Valley City | B | 0.9 | 10.7 |
| Grafton | B | 1.3 | 9.9 |
| Wahpeton | C+ | 2.1 | 16.4 |
The five graded North Dakota towns closest to Watford City’s population (6,378), 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 Watford 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 Watford City’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (6,201 in 2025); our figure for Watford City is 6,378 (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 Watford City
Is Watford City, ND safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Watford City reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #11 of 16 in North Dakota. Its police reported 3.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of North Dakota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Watford City?
3.5 violent and 20.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Dakota reports 3.2 and 23.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Who polices Watford City?
Watford City’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Watford City”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Watford 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.