Ulster reports less violent crime than most U.S. towns, but more property crime
Overall, Ulster grades C+ for safety (#167 of 236 graded towns in New York): more crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
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 Ulster
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 New York towns on Ulster’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Rosendale (A+), Saugerties (A−), Kingston (C). Esopus, Hurley, Red Hook and Rhinebeck have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Ulster’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Ulster’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Ulster’s police reported 27 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.0 in the rest of New York and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Ulster | Rest of New York | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.6 | 5.6 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.2 | 5.1 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.8 | 5.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.1 | 4.9 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 19 property crimes reported
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
Reported crime is steady
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.
Show as a table
| Year | Ulster property | Rest of New York property | Ulster violent | Rest of New York violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.3 | 20.0 | 0.6 | 5.6 |
| 2023 | 22.8 | 22.2 | 0.2 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 19.4 | 21.3 | 0.8 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | 18.6 | 19.7 | 1.1 | 4.9 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
249 crimes reported in 2025
14 violent and 235 property, as reported to the FBI by Ulster’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
Nine people died in crashes on Ulster’s roads in 2019–2023
Ulster had 9 fatal crashes in five years, in which nine people died; 3 were pedestrians. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is more than 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 Ulster’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Ulster’s own rate (14.2) 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.
Ulster and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Esopus, Hurley, Red Hook and Rhinebeck have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
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 Ulster. 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 Ulster’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (12,646 in 2025); our figure for Ulster is 12,646 (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 Ulster
Is Ulster, NY safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Ulster reports more crime per resident than 61% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #167 of 236 in New York. Its police reported 0.7 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 Ulster?
0.7 violent and 20.3 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.
Is crime going up or down in Ulster?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
Is Ulster safer than Kingston?
Kingston reports more crime per resident than Ulster: Kingston grades C for safety and Ulster C+. Kingston’s police reported 3.0 violent and 14.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Ulster?
Ulster’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Ulster Town”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Ulster.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.