Photo: ILoveCortlandNewYork · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, Cortland records more property crime than nine in ten U.S. towns
Violence and property crime split as 2.7 violent crimes and 29.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 5.0 and 21.0 in the rest of New York. The crimes the grade counts fell 10% per resident from 2023 to 2025. In sum, crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025 put Cortland at C− (#205 of 236 graded towns in New York): more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns.
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 Cortland
A college town
Cortland is home to State University of New York at Cortland, with 6,168 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 24% 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 ↓
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 Cortland’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 (2.7) 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 Cortland 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Cortland property | Rest of New York property | Cortland violent | Rest of New York violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 37.1 | 19.9 | 2.6 | 5.6 |
| 2023 | 29.7 | 22.2 | 3.5 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 29.5 | 21.2 | 2.3 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | 27.7 | 19.7 | 2.4 | 4.9 |
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 New York.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Cortland | Rest of New York | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.6 | 5.6 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Cortland’s police reported 140 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of New York and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
524 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.
41 violent and 483 property, as reported to the FBI by Cortland’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Cortland’s roads in 2019–2023
Cortland had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for New York towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Cortland’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Cortland’s own rate (3.4) 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.
Cortland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland | C− | 2.7 | 29.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
New York towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland | C− | 2.7 | 29.0 |
| Bedford | A+ | 0.2 | 2.1 |
| Whitestown | A+ | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| Rye | A+ | 0.1 | 2.7 |
| Scarsdale | A | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| Oswego | D | 2.9 | 30.5 |
The five graded New York towns closest to Cortland’s population (17,394), 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 Cortland. 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 Cortland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (17,445 in 2025); our figure for Cortland is 17,394 (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 Cortland
Is Cortland, NY safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cortland reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #205 of 236 in New York. Its police reported 2.7 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 Cortland?
2.7 violent and 29.0 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.
Who polices Cortland?
Cortland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cortland”. 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 Cortland.
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.