South Burlington sees more crime per resident than nine in ten U.S. towns
Among its 6 neighbors with figures, 5 record less crime per resident. The grade is D, built on crimes South Burlington’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #34 of 38 graded towns in Vermont. For every 1,000 residents, 2.4 violent crimes and 48.1 incidents of property crime were logged a year; in the rest of Vermont, the figures are 2.7 and 23.2. The rate the grade counts dropped 14% from 2023 to 2025.
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 South Burlington
5 of the 6 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 Vermont towns on South Burlington’s borders, 6 have a Safety Grade: Shelburne (B−), Essex (B−), Colchester (C+), Winooski (C−), Williston (D), Burlington (D−). Essex Junction has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
South Burlington has 18,213 jobs based in town for 21,394 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. 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 South Burlington’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 (2.4) 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 | South Burlington property | Rest of Vermont property | South Burlington violent | Rest of Vermont violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 39.9 | 25.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| 2023 | 54.2 | 26.2 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| 2024 | 43.8 | 22.7 | 2.3 | 2.7 |
| 2025 | 46.4 | 20.6 | 2.3 | 2.7 |
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 Vermont.
Crime in South Burlington 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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | South Burlington | Rest of Vermont | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South Burlington’s police reported 154 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.7 in the rest of Vermont and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
1,077 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.
51 violent and 1,026 property, as reported to the FBI by South Burlington’s police.
Seven people died in crashes on South Burlington’s roads in 2019–2023
South Burlington had 6 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 2 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
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 South Burlington’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South Burlington’s own rate (6.7) 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.
South Burlington and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Burlington | D | 2.4 | 48.1 |
| Williston | D | 1.4 | 44.3 |
| Burlington | D− | 4.6 | 49.8 |
| Essex Junction | — | — | — |
| Essex | B− | 1.3 | 15.4 |
| Colchester | C+ | 2.0 | 16.9 |
| Shelburne | B− | 0.6 | 14.5 |
| Winooski | C− | 3.3 | 26.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Essex Junction has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Vermont towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Burlington | D | 2.4 | 48.1 |
| Hartford | C+ | 2.6 | 12.6 |
| Bennington | C− | 4.6 | 21.8 |
| Rutland | D | 4.5 | 36.5 |
| Brattleboro | D | 6.0 | 39.3 |
The five graded Vermont towns closest to South Burlington’s population (21,394), 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 South Burlington. 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 South Burlington’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (22,106 in 2025); our figure for South Burlington is 21,394 (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 South Burlington
Is South Burlington, VT safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Burlington reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #34 of 38 in Vermont. Its police reported 2.4 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 South Burlington?
2.4 violent and 48.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Vermont reports 2.7 and 23.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is South Burlington safer than Williston?
Williston reports less crime per resident than South Burlington: Williston grades D for safety and South Burlington D. Williston’s police reported 1.4 violent and 44.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Burlington?
South Burlington’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Burlington”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in South Burlington.
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.