Photo: Billybob2002 · CC BY 4.0Recorded crime in West Fargo is close to typical for U.S. towns
All told, West Fargo grades B− for safety (#6 of 16 graded towns in North Dakota): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Add to that, the local count comes to 1.8 violent crimes and 10.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 3.3 and 24.3 in the rest of North Dakota. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 25% from 2023 to 2025.
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 stands out about safety in West Fargo
West Fargo reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 3 North Dakota towns on West Fargo’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Fargo (D). Reed Township and Horace have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
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 West Fargo’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds West Fargo’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (1.8) 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 | West Fargo property | Rest of North Dakota property | West Fargo violent | Rest of North Dakota violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.9 | 27.8 | 1.8 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 13.1 | 27.0 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | 10.1 | 24.6 | 1.6 | 3.5 |
| 2025 | 9.5 | 21.1 | 1.8 | 2.9 |
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 North Dakota.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | West Fargo | Rest of North Dakota | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West Fargo’s police reported 223 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of North Dakota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in West Fargo 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
470 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.
76 violent and 394 property, as reported to the FBI by West Fargo’s police.
Three people died in crashes on West Fargo’s roads in 2019–2023
West Fargo had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for North Dakota towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (3.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of West Fargo’s size would see about 7 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West Fargo’s own rate (1.5) 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.
West Fargo and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Fargo | B− | 1.8 | 10.9 |
| Fargo | D | 4.6 | 36.0 |
| Reed Township | — | — | — |
| Horace | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Reed Township and Horace have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
North Dakota towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Fargo | B− | 1.8 | 10.9 |
| Minot | C | 3.3 | 13.4 |
| Dickinson | C | 2.5 | 17.0 |
| Grand Forks | C− | 3.0 | 22.8 |
| Mandan | C− | 3.0 | 27.2 |
| Williston | C− | 4.5 | 22.1 |
The five graded North Dakota towns closest to West Fargo’s population (41,175), 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 West Fargo. 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 West Fargo’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (41,577 in 2025); our figure for West Fargo is 41,175 (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 West Fargo
Is West Fargo, ND safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Fargo reports less crime per resident than 51% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #6 of 16 in North Dakota. Its police reported 1.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.3 in the rest of North Dakota and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in West Fargo?
1.8 violent and 10.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of North Dakota reports 3.3 and 24.3; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in West Fargo in 2025?
West Fargo’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is West Fargo safer than Fargo?
Fargo reports more crime per resident than West Fargo: Fargo grades D for safety and West Fargo B−. Fargo’s police reported 4.6 violent and 36.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Fargo?
West Fargo’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Fargo”. 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 West Fargo.
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.