South Milwaukee Post Office · Photo: Freekee · Public domainPer resident, South Milwaukee records about as much crime as the typical place among U.S. towns
One of the 2 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. Per 1,000 residents a year, 1.4 violent crimes and 11.5 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 3.6 and 15.0 in the rest of Wisconsin. Overall, it grades B− for safety (#109 of 175 graded towns in Wisconsin).
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 South Milwaukee
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 2 Wisconsin towns on South Milwaukee’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Cudahy (B), Oak Creek (C+). Neighbors ↓
Among Wisconsin towns, closer to the middle
Wisconsin’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so South Milwaukee’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 38% of the 175 Wisconsin towns we grade, against 53% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind South Milwaukee’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds South Milwaukee’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (11.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | South Milwaukee | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
South Milwaukee’s police reported 87 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.6 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in South Milwaukee 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 1 violent crime, 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 | South Milwaukee property | Rest of Wisconsin property | South Milwaukee violent | Rest of Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11.6 | 18.2 | 1.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 11.6 | 16.0 | 1.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 13.0 | 15.5 | 1.6 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 9.8 | 13.5 | 1.3 | 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.
222 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.
26 violent and 196 property, as reported to the FBI by South Milwaukee’s police.
Two people died in crashes on South Milwaukee’s roads in 2019–2023
South Milwaukee had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died.
That is about what is typical for Wisconsin towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (3.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of South Milwaukee’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so South Milwaukee’s own rate (2.0) 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 Milwaukee and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Milwaukee | B− | 1.4 | 11.5 |
| Oak Creek | C+ | 1.2 | 17.7 |
| Cudahy | B | 1.3 | 7.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Wisconsin towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Milwaukee | B− | 1.4 | 11.5 |
| Oconomowoc | A | 0.4 | 4.1 |
| Fox Crossing | A− | 0.8 | 6.7 |
| Germantown | B | 0.6 | 11.7 |
| Marshfield | B− | 2.2 | 10.9 |
| Onalaska | C+ | 0.6 | 22.4 |
The five graded Wisconsin towns closest to South Milwaukee’s population (20,191), 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 Milwaukee. 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 Milwaukee’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (20,084 in 2025); our figure for South Milwaukee is 20,191 (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 Milwaukee
Is South Milwaukee, WI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, South Milwaukee reports less crime per resident than 53% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #109 of 175 in Wisconsin. Its police reported 1.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.6 in the rest of Wisconsin and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in South Milwaukee?
1.4 violent and 11.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Wisconsin reports 3.6 and 15.0; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is South Milwaukee safer than Oak Creek?
Oak Creek reports more crime per resident than South Milwaukee: Oak Creek grades C+ for safety and South Milwaukee B−. Oak Creek’s police reported 1.2 violent and 17.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices South Milwaukee?
South Milwaukee’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “South Milwaukee”. 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 South Milwaukee.
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.