Photo: Patriarca12 · CC BY 3.0Few U.S. towns record more crime per resident than West Milwaukee
Graded on crimes West Milwaukee’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D− for safety. The yearly rates were 7.5 violent crimes and 191.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 3.6 and 14.8 in the rest of Wisconsin. Each of the two towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident. The crimes the grade counts rose 43% per resident 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 West Milwaukee
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 Wisconsin towns on West Milwaukee’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: West Allis (C), Milwaukee (D−). Neighbors ↓
A job center
West Milwaukee has 4,822 jobs based in town for 3,984 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 West 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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | West Milwaukee property | Rest of Wisconsin property | West Milwaukee violent | Rest of Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 144.9 | 18.1 | 13.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 146.9 | 15.9 | 6.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 212.5 | 15.2 | 9.8 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 214.3 | 13.3 | 6.1 | 3.2 |
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 Wisconsin.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | West Milwaukee | Rest of Wisconsin | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 9.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 6.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West Milwaukee’s police reported 90 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 7.5 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 West 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 6 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
874 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.
24 violent and 850 property, as reported to the FBI by West Milwaukee’s police.
One person died in crashes on West Milwaukee’s roads in 2019–2023
West Milwaukee had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
That is about what is typical for Wisconsin towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (6.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of West Milwaukee’s size would see about 1 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West Milwaukee’s own rate (5.0) 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.
West Milwaukee and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Milwaukee | D− | 7.5 | 191.2 |
| Milwaukee | D− | 13.4 | 25.9 |
| West Allis | C | 2.4 | 20.1 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Wisconsin towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Milwaukee | D− | 7.5 | 191.2 |
| Kiel | A | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| Pulaski | A | 0.3 | 5.1 |
| Campbell | A− | 0.3 | 8.1 |
| Horicon | B | 2.3 | 6.6 |
| Lancaster | C− | 8.6 | 7.3 |
The five graded Wisconsin towns closest to West Milwaukee’s population (3,984), 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 West 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 West Milwaukee’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (3,966 in 2025); our figure for West Milwaukee is 3,984 (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 West Milwaukee
Is West Milwaukee, WI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Milwaukee reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 7.5 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 West Milwaukee?
7.5 violent and 191.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Wisconsin reports 3.6 and 14.8; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is West Milwaukee safer than Milwaukee?
Milwaukee reports less crime per resident than West Milwaukee: Milwaukee grades D− for safety and West Milwaukee D−. Milwaukee’s police reported 13.4 violent and 25.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Milwaukee?
West Milwaukee’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West 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 West 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.