Photo: TonyTheTiger · CC BY-SA 3.0On property crime, Amherst has a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns
Among its 3 neighbors with figures, only one records less crime per resident. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Amherst at C (#177 of 236 graded towns in New York, and #75 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns. Violence and property crime split as 1.3 violent crimes and 20.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 5.0 and 21.0 in the rest of New York. Per resident, the graded rate barely moved from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of NY” is every other New York 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 Amherst
1 of the 3 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 8 New York towns on Amherst’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: North Tonawanda (B), Cheektowaga (D), Buffalo (D−). Pendleton, Wheatfield, Clarence and Williamsville have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Tonawanda reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Amherst’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 0.3 per 100,000 residents a year, below the rest of New York (3.5) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of New York
23.3 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (25 reported in 2025), below the rest of New York (134) 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, Amherst reports less crime per resident than 77% (#75). Places like it ↓
A college town
Amherst is home to the University at Buffalo, with 29,624 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 13% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Amherst has 90,313 jobs based in town for 130,442 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Amherst’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Amherst’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Amherst | Rest of New York | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 35.6 | 154 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 39.0 | 145 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 11.1 | 133 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 19.9 | 124 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Amherst’s police reported 1 homicides, 25 robberies and 176 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of New York and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Crime in Amherst 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 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 | Amherst property | Rest of New York property | Amherst violent | Rest of New York violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17.2 | 20.0 | 1.6 | 5.6 |
| 2023 | 20.1 | 22.3 | 1.6 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 20.6 | 21.3 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | 21.3 | 19.7 | 1.4 | 4.9 |
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 New York.
2,849 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.
176 violent and 2,673 property, as reported to the FBI by Amherst’s police.
23 people died in crashes on Amherst’s roads in 2019–2023
Amherst had 20 fatal crashes in five years, in which 23 people died; 3 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 3.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for New York towns of 100,000+ people (6.3, 16 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.
Amherst and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | C | 1.3 | 20.6 |
| Pendleton | — | — | — |
| Cheektowaga | D | 2.3 | 33.7 |
| Buffalo | D− | 7.3 | 37.9 |
| North Tonawanda | B | 1.5 | 10.6 |
| Tonawanda | — | — | — |
| Wheatfield | — | — | — |
| Clarence | — | — | — |
| Williamsville | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Pendleton, Wheatfield, Clarence and Williamsville have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Tonawanda reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
New York towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | C | 1.3 | 20.6 |
| Ramapo | A− | 0.7 | 5.8 |
| Greenburgh | B− | 0.7 | 14.4 |
| Greece | C+ | 1.5 | 19.1 |
| Albany | D | 8.8 | 29.6 |
| Syracuse | D− | 7.3 | 37.6 |
The five graded New York towns closest to Amherst’s population (130,442), 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 Amherst. 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 Amherst’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (125,750 in 2025); our figure for Amherst is 130,442 (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 Amherst
Is Amherst, NY safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Amherst reports more crime per resident than 66% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #177 of 236 in New York. Its police reported 1.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of New York and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Amherst?
1.3 violent and 20.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of New York reports 5.0 and 21.0; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Amherst in 2025?
Amherst’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.8 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Amherst safer than Cheektowaga?
Cheektowaga reports more crime per resident than Amherst: Cheektowaga grades D for safety and Amherst C. Cheektowaga’s police reported 2.3 violent and 33.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Amherst?
Amherst’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Amherst Town”. 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 Amherst.
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.