Photo: Bfkenney · CC BY-SA 4.0Milwaukee reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Milwaukee’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #299 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Milwaukee
7 of the 8 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Wisconsin towns on Milwaukee’s borders, 8 have a Safety Grade: Menomonee Falls (A−), Shorewood (B), St. Francis (B), Greenfield (C), West Allis (C), Wauwatosa (C), Glendale (D), West Milwaukee (D−). Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Milwaukee’s police reported 142 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 26.7 per 100,000 residents a year, 14.1 times the rest of Wisconsin (1.9) and 4.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 16.2 times the rest of Wisconsin
272 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (1,258 reported in 2025), 16.2 times the rest of Wisconsin (16.8) and 3.4 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Milwaukee reports less crime per resident than 8% (#299). Places like 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 Milwaukee’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; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Milwaukee’s police reported 142 homicides, 1,258 robberies and 6,409 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Wisconsin and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Milwaukee | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.1 | 2.3 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 31.0 | 2.1 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 23.9 | 1.9 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 25.4 | 1.6 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Milwaukee | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 281 | 21.0 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 284 | 19.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 308 | 17.2 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 225 | 14.3 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Reported crime is falling
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 Wisconsin.
Show as a table
| Year | Milwaukee property | Rest of Wisconsin property | Milwaukee violent | Rest of Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 35.1 | 15.2 | 15.1 | 2.1 |
| 2023 | 27.0 | 14.1 | 14.4 | 2.1 |
| 2024 | 27.0 | 13.4 | 14.3 | 1.9 |
| 2025 | 23.7 | 11.8 | 11.5 | 1.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 24 property crimes reported
And about 12 violent crimes, 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.
19,686 crimes reported in 2025
6,409 violent and 13,277 property, as reported to the FBI by Milwaukee’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
84 of the 379 people who died in crashes on Milwaukee’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Milwaukee had 341 fatal crashes in five years, in which 379 people died. 13 of those killed were cyclists. 27 died in crashes on an Interstate.
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Milwaukee has the 26th lowest rate.
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.
Milwaukee and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | D− | 13.4 | 25.9 |
| Wauwatosa | C | 1.8 | 23.8 |
| Greenfield | C | 1.2 | 24.1 |
| Glendale | D | 2.7 | 40.6 |
| Shorewood | B | 0.3 | 13.8 |
| West Allis | C | 2.4 | 20.1 |
| St. Francis | B | 1.4 | 10.5 |
| West Milwaukee | D− | 7.5 | 191.2 |
| Menomonee Falls | A− | 0.8 | 5.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 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 Milwaukee. 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 Milwaukee’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (559,717 in 2025); our figure for Milwaukee is 562,407 (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 Milwaukee
Is Milwaukee, WI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Milwaukee reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 13.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.9 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Milwaukee?
13.4 violent and 25.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Wisconsin reports 1.9 and 13.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Milwaukee?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Milwaukee in 2025?
Milwaukee’s police reported 142 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 25.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Milwaukee safer than Wauwatosa?
Wauwatosa reports less crime per resident than Milwaukee: Wauwatosa grades C for safety and Milwaukee D−. Wauwatosa’s police reported 1.8 violent and 23.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Milwaukee?
Milwaukee’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Milwaukee”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Milwaukee.
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.