Anderson, Brady and Waldermar Ager House · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0For property crime, Eau Claire trails 75% of U.S. towns per resident
Typical years here bring 1.5 violent crimes plus 19.0 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 3.7 plus 14.9 in the rest of Wisconsin. Eau Claire’s overall Safety Grade is C+ (#148 of 175 graded towns in Wisconsin): more crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of WI” is every other Wisconsin 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 Eau Claire
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 7 Wisconsin towns on Eau Claire’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Altoona (C+). Washington, Union, Seymour, Wheaton and Brunswick have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Lake Hallie reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Wisconsin towns, lower
Wisconsin’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Eau Claire’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 15% of the 175 Wisconsin towns we grade, against 36% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
A college town
Eau Claire is home to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, with 9,140 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
Eau Claire has 44,475 jobs based in town for 72,465 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 Eau Claire’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Eau Claire’s grade up; property crime pulls it down.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Eau Claire | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Eau Claire’s police reported 329 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Eau Claire 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 is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Eau Claire property | Rest of Wisconsin property | Eau Claire violent | Rest of Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22.3 | 18.1 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
| 2023 | 20.2 | 15.9 | 1.3 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 19.1 | 15.4 | 1.6 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 17.7 | 13.4 | 1.7 | 3.2 |
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 Wisconsin.
1,417 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.
123 violent and 1,294 property, as reported to the FBI by Eau Claire’s police.
13 people died in crashes on Eau Claire’s roads in 2019–2023
Eau Claire had 12 fatal crashes in five years, in which 13 people died; 3 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is 3.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Wisconsin towns of 25,000–100,000 people (3.7, 32 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.
Eau Claire and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | C+ | 1.5 | 19.0 |
| Washington | — | — | — |
| Union | — | — | — |
| Seymour | — | — | — |
| Altoona | C+ | 0.6 | 21.0 |
| Lake Hallie | — | — | — |
| Wheaton | — | — | — |
| Brunswick | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Washington, Union, Seymour, Wheaton and Brunswick have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Lake Hallie reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
Wisconsin towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | C+ | 1.5 | 19.0 |
| Waukesha | B | 1.3 | 9.1 |
| Appleton | C+ | 2.2 | 12.3 |
| Janesville | C+ | 1.5 | 17.3 |
| Oshkosh | C+ | 2.5 | 14.6 |
| Racine | C | 3.8 | 11.4 |
The five graded Wisconsin towns closest to Eau Claire’s population (72,465), 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 Eau Claire. 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 Eau Claire’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (73,060 in 2025); our figure for Eau Claire is 72,465 (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 Eau Claire
Is Eau Claire, WI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Eau Claire reports more crime per resident than 64% of U.S. towns, a C+ Safety Grade and #148 of 175 in Wisconsin. Its police reported 1.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Eau Claire?
1.5 violent and 19.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Wisconsin reports 3.7 and 14.9; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Eau Claire in 2025?
Eau Claire’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Eau Claire safer than Altoona?
Altoona reports less crime per resident than Eau Claire: Altoona grades C+ for safety and Eau Claire C+. Altoona’s police reported 0.6 violent and 21.0 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Eau Claire?
Eau Claire’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Eau Claire”. 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 Eau Claire.
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.