Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0Reported crime per resident in Montpelier rose 55% from 2023 to 2025
Typical years here bring 2.9 violent crimes plus 23.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 plus 24.7 in the rest of Vermont. Across all the graded crimes, Montpelier lands on C− (#25 of 38 graded towns in Vermont): more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. On top of that, it has more violent crime than 70% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 83%.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of VT” is every other Vermont 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 Montpelier
Montpelier reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 3 Vermont towns on Montpelier’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Berlin (D−). East Montpelier and Middlesex have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Vermont towns, closer to the middle
Vermont’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Montpelier’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 34% of the 38 Vermont towns we grade, against 21% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Montpelier is home to Community College of Vermont, with 1,873 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 5% 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
Montpelier has 6,557 jobs based in town for 7,823 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is rising
Crime reported per resident rose 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 Montpelier’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 (2.9) 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 | Montpelier property | Rest of Vermont property | Montpelier violent | Rest of Vermont violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.4 | 26.7 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| 2023 | 19.9 | 28.0 | 1.9 | 2.7 |
| 2024 | 19.7 | 24.0 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
| 2025 | 30.2 | 22.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident rose from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Vermont.
Crime in Montpelier 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 3 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 | Montpelier | Rest of Vermont | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Montpelier’s police reported 68 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.7 in the rest of Vermont and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
265 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.
27 violent and 238 property, as reported to the FBI by Montpelier’s police.
One person died in crashes on Montpelier’s roads in 2019–2023
Montpelier had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for Vermont towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Montpelier’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Montpelier’s own rate (2.5) 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.
Montpelier and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montpelier | C− | 2.9 | 23.2 |
| Berlin | D− | 7.3 | 103.9 |
| East Montpelier | — | — | — |
| Middlesex | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. East Montpelier and Middlesex have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Vermont towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montpelier | C− | 2.9 | 23.2 |
| Shelburne | B− | 0.6 | 14.5 |
| St. Johnsbury | C− | 3.1 | 22.8 |
| Winooski | C− | 3.3 | 26.8 |
| Barre | D | 5.5 | 32.8 |
| St. Albans | D− | 8.3 | 82.4 |
The five graded Vermont towns closest to Montpelier’s population (7,823), 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 Montpelier. 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 Montpelier’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (7,877 in 2025); our figure for Montpelier is 7,823 (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 Montpelier
Is Montpelier, VT safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Montpelier reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #25 of 38 in Vermont. Its police reported 2.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.7 in the rest of Vermont and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Montpelier?
2.9 violent and 23.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Vermont reports 2.7 and 24.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Montpelier safer than Berlin?
Berlin reports more crime per resident than Montpelier: Berlin grades D− for safety and Montpelier C−. Berlin’s police reported 7.3 violent and 103.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Montpelier?
Montpelier’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Montpelier”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Montpelier.
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.