Safest Cities in Michigan

In this study, AdvisorSmith examined crime rates from the FBI’s crime datasets to find the safest cities and towns in the state of Michigan. We based our analysis on the levels of crime reported by cities across the state and adjusted for population. Crime data provided included crimes such as rape, robbery, murder, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. We calculated a crime score for each city in the state, with the statewide crime score being 49. Crime scores ranged from as low as 3 to as high as 332 in the state.

Our study of the safest cities in Michigan was organized by population size. We studied a total of 419 cities and towns in the state. Our study included 282 small towns with populations under 10,000; 130 midsize cities with populations between 10,000 and 100,000 residents; and seven large cities with over 100,000 residents.

Read on to find the safest large cities, midsize cities, and small towns in the state of Michigan:

• Safest Large Cities in Michigan
• Safest Midsize Cities in Michigan
• Safest Small Towns in Michigan

Safest Large Cities in Michigan

Seven large cities in Michigan had populations of at least 100,000 residents. Among large cities in the state, the average crime score was 83, and these scores ranged from 30 through 194.

The safest large city in Michigan is Sterling Heights, a core suburb of the Detroit metro area. The city is host to Sterlingfest, which is one of the best-attended festivals in the Detroit area.

Among large cities in the state, Detroit was the city with the highest crime score, with a score of 194. As the most populous city in the state, Detroit is the state’s economic capital and a major shipping port and airport hub. The city is historically linked to the automobile industry, with General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler having historic ties to the city.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Sterling Heights	9.1	10.0	29.5
2	Ann Arbor	8.3	15.8	37.8
3	Clinton Township	16.1	14.1	48.5
4	Warren	15.3	20.8	65.1
5	Grand Rapids	23.5	19.1	78.2
6	Lansing	28.2	31.7	124.4
7	Detroit	43.0	43.2	194.3

Safest Midsize Cities in Michigan

Michigan had 130 midsize cities with populations between 10,000 and 100,000 residents in our study. The average crime score for midsize cities in Michigan was 54, with the crime scores ranging from between 4 to 250.

Among midsize cities in Michigan, the safest city was Oakland Township, a northern suburb of the Detroit metropolitan area. This city of approximately 20,000 residents is one of the oldest townships in the state, and it continues to maintain a semi-rural character.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Oakland Township	1.5	1.5	4.3
2	Grosse Ile Township	2.3	3.4	8.2
3	Beverly Hills	1.4	5.5	8.3
4	Hamburg Township	2.9	3.0	8.9
5	Rochester	2.5	3.7	9.6
6	Commerce Township	2.7	5.0	9.7
7	Berkley	2.7	5.8	10.1
8	Independence Township	3.1	5.2	10.8
9	Orion Township	2.9	5.5	11.2
10	Milford	3.0	4.0	11.7
11	Oxford Township	3.8	4.3	12.1
12	Flushing Township	4.6	4.4	12.3
13	Highland Township	3.7	5.0	12.6
14	South Lyon	3.9	3.4	12.7
15	Lyon Township	3.2	5.9	13.1
16	Springfield Township	3.7	5.1	13.2
17	Birmingham	3.7	6.4	13.4
18	Brandon Township	4.5	3.1	13.5
19	Rochester Hills	3.6	6.0	13.7
20	Bloomfield Township	3.1	7.8	13.8
21	West Bloomfield Township	4.9	5.9	14.2
22	New Baltimore	6.0	4.6	14.5
23	White Lake Township	3.8	8.5	15.0
24	Plymouth Township	3.6	6.1	15.5
25	East Grand Rapids	2.8	10.3	16.2
26	Novi	4.5	8.8	17.5
27	Thomas Township	8.0	6.2	18.1
28	Grosse Pointe Park	2.4	15.8	18.2
29	Clawson	6.0	5.8	18.6
30	Royal Oak	5.2	8.1	18.7
31	Northville Township	5.3	10.5	19.9
32	Bath Township	4.1	8.2	20.5
33	Woodhaven	4.4	9.4	20.6
34	Farmington	5.0	5.5	21.0
35	Green Oak Township	4.3	7.5	21.0
36	Farmington Hills	8.1	8.4	21.5
37	Dewitt Township	5.3	8.4	22.2
38	Shelby Township	6.3	6.3	22.3
39	Trenton	9.1	5.7	22.4
40	Troy	6.0	13.7	23.4
41	Midland	6.6	8.5	23.6
42	Riverview	7.7	9.6	23.8
43	Marquette	7.0	10.0	24.6
44	Lincoln Township	7.7	12.1	25.0
45	Grosse Pointe Woods	6.8	14.5	26.0
46	Chesterfield Township	7.2	13.8	28.0
47	Canton Township	9.4	10.8	28.9
48	Grand Blanc Township	9.2	12.3	30.0
49	Livonia	7.8	14.0	30.8
50	Wixom	8.1	12.3	30.9
51	Davison Township	9.4	8.9	31.1
52	Huron Township	10.9	7.5	31.4
53	Fraser	9.1	13.6	32.2
54	Brownstown Township	10.4	8.8	32.7
55	St. Clair Shores	10.6	10.0	32.9
56	Pittsfield Township	7.1	14.8	35.1
57	Waterford Township	12.0	10.3	35.6
58	Big Rapids	13.0	8.8	36.3
59	Fenton	8.0	18.4	36.5
60	Metro Pol Auth Genesee C	9.9	14.3	36.6
61	East Lansing	7.7	17.2	39.5
62	Allen Park	7.8	18.5	40.2
63	Ferndale	12.9	17.0	40.8
64	Wyandotte	12.6	15.9	42.0
65	Southgate	5.1	27.2	42.1
66	Mount Pleasant	11.1	12.6	43.0
67	Madison Heights	12.5	15.1	44.1
68	Genesee Township	11.4	12.5	44.4
69	Garden City	12.3	9.1	44.4
70	Oak Park	13.6	15.4	45.2
71	Grand Haven	17.3	15.9	46.4
72	Saginaw Township	14.1	20.4	46.5
73	Norton Shores	10.5	28.4	48.7
74	Meridian Township	10.2	25.3	49.6
75	Sault Ste. Marie	19.0	16.6	50.2
76	Walker	13.1	20.8	50.9
77	Dearborn	13.2	20.0	51.4
78	Hazel Park	15.0	17.2	51.8
79	Southfield	16.5	20.7	53.4
80	Van Buren Township	16.3	19.3	53.9
81	Portage	11.8	29.4	55.4
82	Fruitport Township	10.9	38.8	55.8
83	Ionia	13.2	10.7	56.5
84	Westland	18.6	15.2	58.1
85	Dearborn Heights	19.4	16.5	59.4
86	Kentwood	18.2	21.1	59.8
87	Grandville	15.3	32.4	60.3
88	Auburn Hills	15.1	22.6	60.4
89	Kalamazoo Township	12.2	26.8	62.5
90	Owosso	20.8	11.7	63.2
91	Wyoming	18.1	19.6	65.4
92	Burton	16.3	24.2	66.9
93	Mount Morris Township	10.6	19.8	70.3
94	Muskegon Township	13.2	43.7	71.4
95	Escanaba	22.3	28.2	73.0
96	Taylor	17.8	22.1	73.9
97	Traverse City	28.5	16.4	74.5
98	Blackman Township	21.6	35.9	74.9
99	Redford Township	17.9	22.3	75.5
100	Niles	14.3	24.7	76.8
101	Coldwater	17.5	29.0	77.6
102	Roseville	24.2	32.2	79.2
103	Monroe	25.9	19.4	79.2
104	Hamtramck	18.4	22.8	81.0
105	Sturgis	19.4	24.4	83.2
106	Melvindale	24.4	23.6	85.4
107	Lincoln Park	27.5	28.1	85.9
108	Wayne	27.8	15.8	87.4
109	Emmett Township	13.8	52.3	87.4
110	Adrian	29.0	22.9	87.6
111	Holland	28.9	27.9	90.0
112	Bay City	33.2	22.4	96.1
113	Romulus	28.6	22.9	96.9
114	Eastpointe	28.7	32.6	99.7
115	Ypsilanti	25.3	28.7	104.0
116	Port Huron	34.1	25.9	104.7
117	Cadillac	46.3	22.0	108.7
118	Muskegon	30.8	45.1	113.5
119	Flint Township	27.1	40.2	115.5
120	Battle Creek	31.6	32.5	119.8
121	Inkster	31.9	27.1	120.2
122	Harper Woods	26.7	49.5	126.9
123	Pontiac	36.4	21.5	129.2
124	Saginaw	34.7	18.4	139.0
125	Jackson	44.9	42.5	152.8
126	Highland Park	41.2	31.9	166.5
127	Kalamazoo	44.8	50.3	168.0
128	Flint	43.5	27.0	168.1
129	Benton Township	56.0	59.7	202.1
130	Muskegon Heights	72.6	58.9	250.5

Safest Small Towns in Michigan

We studied 282 small towns in Michigan with under 10,000 residents to find the safest towns in the state, which are listed in the table below. Each town is listed, along with its AdvisorSmith crime score and the number of violent and property crimes per 1,000 residents in the city.

The average crime score in Michigan towns was 45, with a range between 3 and 332. The safest town in Michigan was Ishpeming Township, which is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior.

Rank	City	Violent Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Property Crimes per 1,000 Residents	Crime Score
1	Ishpeming Township	0.6	0.9	3.4
2	Lapeer Township	1.0	2.2	3.8
3	Prairieville Township	0.6	2.8	5.1
4	Thetford Township	0.1	0.4	5.4
5	Norway	1.8	0.0	5.5
6	Addison Township	2.9	2.3	5.9
7	Grosse Pointe Shores	0.4	3.2	6.1
8	Kinross Township	2.2	2.2	7.4
9	Iron Mountain	1.9	1.2	7.4
10	South Rockwood	0.6	4.2	8.3
11	Erie Township	0.7	3.0	8.3
12	Spring Arbor Township	1.5	1.5	8.5
13	Argentine Township	2.5	3.4	9.5
14	Cambridge Township	3.9	4.1	10.4
15	Raisin Township	3.8	3.4	10.5
16	Richfield Township	2.5	1.9	11.8
17	Gaines Township	5.1	4.4	12.0
18	Springport Township	4.7	3.3	12.3
19	Rockwood	3.2	3.8	12.8
20	Williamston	2.5	6.6	12.8
21	Central Lake	0.0	3.2	12.8
22	Oxford	3.4	2.2	13.1
23	Bloomfield Hills	3.7	6.0	13.3
24	Elk Rapids	2.5	3.1	13.4
25	Huntington Woods	1.9	5.5	13.6
26	Metamora Township	4.2	6.1	13.8
27	Zilwaukee	3.9	6.5	13.9
28	Shepherd	3.3	7.3	14.2
29	Chelsea	3.6	7.8	14.6
30	Otisville	0.0	2.4	14.6
31	Clayton Township	4.2	4.9	14.6
32	Somerset Township	1.1	1.5	14.9
33	Reading	2.9	1.0	15.3
34	Dewitt	4.6	5.7	15.4
35	Vernon	1.3	2.6	15.5
36	Clarkston	3.2	3.2	15.6
37	Napoleon Township	7.0	5.0	15.6
38	Ovid	8.1	1.9	15.6
39	Franklin	7.3	2.8	15.9
40	Marysville	3.9	7.1	16.1
41	Linden	4.4	4.6	16.2
42	Adrian Township	4.6	2.1	16.3
43	Reese	4.4	5.1	16.3
44	Dryden Township	4.6	7.0	16.4
45	Clinton	5.3	5.7	16.7
46	Marine City	5.4	6.9	16.9
47	Chocolay Township	4.7	3.5	17.0
48	Tittabawassee Township	5.1	4.8	17.0
49	Corunna	6.8	6.3	17.6
50	Stanton	2.8	9.1	17.8
51	Grosse Pointe Farms	4.7	9.9	18.3
52	St. Joseph Township	5.4	9.0	18.9
53	Plymouth	4.9	8.1	19.0
54	Rose City	0.0	3.2	19.1
55	New Buffalo	11.7	5.9	19.2
56	Tecumseh	7.3	6.7	19.6
57	Negaunee	6.1	9.0	20.2
58	Bellevue	3.1	3.1	20.2
59	Essexville	12.7	4.5	20.5
60	Pinconning	0.0	13.7	20.5
61	St. Johns	5.1	5.1	20.7
62	Grand Blanc	8.5	9.2	20.8
63	Sumpter Township	9.7	6.7	21.1
64	Tuscarora Township	2.7	15.4	21.2
65	Walled Lake	7.9	6.1	21.5
66	Saline	5.6	8.1	21.9
67	Lake Odessa	9.4	2.0	22.0
68	Wolverine Lake	4.7	4.3	22.2
69	Fennville	3.5	4.9	22.2
70	Holly	7.5	8.1	22.5
71	Bellaire	0.9	6.6	22.5
72	Romeo	10.2	8.6	22.6
73	Grand Ledge	5.5	10.5	23.1
74	Deckerville	1.3	2.6	23.1
75	Leslie	7.9	7.9	23.1
76	Lathrup Village	6.3	8.0	23.5
77	Mancelona	3.7	4.4	23.5
78	Lake Orion	8.7	10.3	23.7
79	Eau Claire	3.3	6.6	23.9
80	Orchard Lake	6.1	8.1	23.9
81	Au Gres	2.4	3.6	24.0
82	Frankfort	7.8	10.2	24.0
83	Richland Township	4.6	2.5	24.1
84	Denton Township	8.7	11.9	24.1
85	Montrose Township	9.0	6.3	24.3
86	Pleasant Ridge	4.0	9.3	24.8
87	Chikaming Township	7.1	10.3	24.9
88	Gladstone	11.2	9.5	25.0
89	Schoolcraft	8.3	14.7	25.1
90	Mayville	5.6	7.9	25.5
91	Armada	6.9	5.8	25.8
92	Frankenmuth	5.9	14.2	26.3
93	Barry Township	5.8	8.9	26.8
94	Berrien Springs-Oronoko	6.5	9.5	26.8
95	Richfield Township	9.0	7.0	26.8
96	Flushing	4.8	12.0	26.9
97	New Era	0.0	13.6	27.1
98	Harbor Springs	7.5	6.6	27.4
99	Clay Township	11.0	7.7	27.5
100	North Muskegon	5.0	21.3	27.7
101	Stockbridge	4.0	7.3	27.9
102	Hancock	11.7	5.7	27.9
103	Blissfield	7.4	3.7	28.0
104	Augusta	3.3	17.7	28.0
105	Rockford	11.5	9.1	28.1
106	Cassopolis	5.3	4.1	28.3
107.5	Gerrish Township	12.0	5.5	28.8
107.5	Perry	9.6	10.1	28.8
109	Port Austin	9.6	9.6	28.9
110	Breckenridge	11.8	11.0	29.1
111	Luna Pier	7.1	7.8	29.4
112	Tawas	7.1	12.9	29.4
113	Houghton	9.0	14.8	29.7
114	Northfield Township	9.8	11.2	29.7
115	Gibraltar	12.1	7.6	29.7
116	Kalkaska	6.8	10.2	30.0
117	Madison Township	5.2	15.1	30.2
118	Bridgman	12.6	7.6	30.5
119	Baroda-Lake Township	10.5	6.8	30.8
120	Kingsford	8.1	6.3	31.0
121	Unadilla Township	8.4	6.3	31.2
122	Potterville	11.6	10.8	31.4
123	Petoskey	10.6	9.2	31.6
124	Elkton	6.7	12.0	32.0
125	Brighton	9.0	13.6	32.0
126	Laurium	14.0	5.2	32.3
127	Montague	12.3	11.5	32.5
128	Memphis	20.1	7.1	32.7
129	Grosse Pointe	6.4	17.5	32.8
130	Marlette	7.4	9.1	32.8
131	Carleton	9.7	5.5	33.4
132	Hartford	8.5	6.6	33.5
133	Columbia Township	11.4	10.1	33.6
134	West Branch	11.2	16.1	34.1
135	Shelby	11.4	13.9	34.2
136	Keego Harbor	8.1	9.8	34.3
137	Chesaning	4.4	6.2	34.7
138	Hampton Township	11.5	10.3	34.7
139	Morrice	10.1	11.2	35.8
140	Saugatuck-Douglas	11.2	14.3	35.9
141	Oscoda Township	8.6	12.8	36.2
142	Davison	12.3	11.2	37.0
143	Rogers City	13.1	17.6	37.4
144	Sebewaing	4.9	6.7	37.4
145	Sand Lake	5.6	22.6	37.6
146	Northville	16.8	12.3	37.7
147	Olivet	10.0	11.2	37.8
148	Quincy	11.2	17.4	37.9
149	Imlay City	14.2	11.2	38.6
150	Clio	14.1	15.3	38.9
151	Caseville	6.9	13.7	39.5
152	Colon	9.5	14.7	39.6
153	Portland	11.5	10.9	39.7
154	St. Charles	15.2	16.2	40.0
155	Laingsburg	7.8	10.2	40.2
156	St. Louis	14.7	8.1	40.3
157	Sylvan Lake	9.7	17.2	40.5
158	Litchfield	12.0	8.2	40.9
159	East Jordan	16.6	16.6	41.0
160	Caspian-Gaastra	1.7	0.9	41.2
161	Yale	8.0	8.5	42.1
162	White Pigeon	11.2	12.5	42.3
163	Richmond	19.1	6.6	42.9
164	Allegan	17.0	8.9	43.6
165	Coleman	1.7	1.7	43.6
166	St. Ignace	12.1	15.6	43.7
167	Carrollton Township	14.6	10.0	44.1
168	Carson City	8.1	11.7	44.2
169	Marshall	14.7	19.2	44.7
170	Bad Axe	17.4	27.6	45.0
171	Ironwood	32.1	10.2	45.2
172	Sparta	12.6	13.7	45.2
173	Union City	8.5	27.6	45.3
174	Hillsdale	15.3	12.7	45.3
175	Pinckney	9.7	4.0	45.5
176	Mendon	8.2	11.7	45.7
177	Coloma Township	18.5	17.1	46.0
178	Alma	20.7	11.6	46.3
179	Belleville	13.5	15.0	46.7
180	Belding	13.8	13.1	47.1
181	Howell	16.4	11.7	47.3
182	Flat Rock	18.7	14.4	47.4
183	Brown City	14.6	17.9	47.9
184	Iron River	15.6	20.9	48.6
185	Zeeland	18.0	17.4	48.9
186	Eaton Rapids	22.5	10.0	49.3
187	St. Clair	11.1	9.2	49.5
188	Lawton	16.2	20.6	49.8
189	Bridgeport Township	14.3	14.1	49.9
190	Durand	16.7	17.0	51.0
191	Barryton	5.7	2.8	51.0
192	Vicksburg	16.6	15.4	51.4
193	Pentwater	2.4	17.7	51.8
194	Fowlerville	15.6	18.3	52.2
195	Mason	17.1	17.0	52.3
196	Ishpeming	23.4	12.0	52.6
197	Lakeview	8.0	31.8	53.2
198	Grand Beach	7.1	10.6	53.2
199	Lowell	17.2	20.5	53.6
200	Forsyth Township	17.9	7.7	53.9
201	Milan	18.9	17.9	55.5
202	Boyne City	12.0	23.8	55.6
203	St. Joseph	16.3	22.1	56.3
204	Watervliet	20.5	7.2	56.6
205	Whitehall	20.4	17.1	56.9
206	Munising	17.4	21.0	57.6
207	Lake Linden	3.1	1.0	57.8
208	Vassar	13.8	7.1	58.6
209	Utica	9.7	35.6	58.8
210	Mattawan	21.8	22.3	58.9
211	Reed City	20.6	9.7	59.7
212	Menominee	22.0	16.7	59.8
213	Ludington	16.9	13.5	60.4
214	Manistique	24.1	20.0	60.5
215	Hastings	22.0	22.4	60.7
216	Charlotte	17.6	26.4	60.8
217	Plainwell	21.5	17.1	61.4
218	Center Line	14.3	20.9	61.6
219	Ontwa Twp-Edwardsburg	18.8	19.1	62.1
220	Hudson	22.1	18.5	62.1
221	Harbor Beach	22.0	18.9	62.2
222	Capac	16.4	10.4	62.3
223	Otsego	17.3	13.3	62.5
224	Morenci	18.5	20.8	62.5
225	Lexington	8.1	6.3	63.2
226	Caro	22.5	19.5	63.4
227	Dowagiac	14.5	11.3	63.4
228	Fremont	16.0	37.9	63.6
229	Crystal Falls	10.3	24.2	64.5
230	Cheboygan	16.8	26.7	65.5
231	Alpena	20.2	19.5	65.7
232	Wayland	18.5	15.0	66.0
233	Ubly	13.8	13.8	66.4
234	Almont	15.2	13.5	66.7
235	Charlevoix	19.3	14.9	67.4
236	Bronson	19.6	29.2	67.5
237	Elsie	1.0	1.0	67.6
238	Richland	9.9	18.6	67.7
239	Clare	23.1	17.1	68.6
240	Millington	10.0	9.0	69.0
241	Sandusky	20.7	27.8	69.2
242	Croswell	22.9	12.8	70.6
243	River Rouge	16.2	23.0	70.7
244	Beaverton	14.3	9.6	70.9
245	Buchanan	28.2	21.2	72.4
246	Jonesville	12.7	41.3	73.4
247	Grant	13.6	27.2	73.7
248	Cass City	26.3	21.5	74.5
249	Manistee	26.8	19.4	75.0
250	Covert Township	27.0	13.0	75.1
251	Scottville	26.3	44.3	78.8
252	Gladwin	24.4	23.0	79.7
253	Lapeer	23.6	30.6	81.4
254	Evart	25.3	17.7	81.7
255	Nashville	21.1	15.1	82.5
256	Birch Run	10.9	58.7	83.3
257	Calumet	33.1	25.9	85.0
258	Lennon	4.9	19.6	88.0
259	Rothbury	18.0	15.7	89.9
260	White Cloud	28.3	31.2	90.8
261	Greenville	25.0	33.4	92.3
262	Constantine	25.7	17.1	96.1
263	Michiana	0.0	49.7	99.4
264	Roosevelt Park	7.1	88.6	100.7
265	Mount Morris	27.6	23.1	102.4
266	Newaygo	44.5	33.8	103.3
267	Three Rivers	24.8	39.2	107.9
268	Paw Paw	37.0	54.3	112.2
269	Buena Vista Township	35.5	18.2	112.3
270	Akron	21.4	10.7	119.2
271	Ecorse	34.2	32.0	121.1
272	Grayling	44.1	34.8	121.4
273	Albion	40.5	37.1	123.4
274	Bangor	51.3	28.9	125.6
275	South Haven	33.9	63.6	131.7
276	Decatur	48.4	26.5	134.1
277	Lansing Township	21.2	65.4	135.9
278	Gaylord	28.7	70.7	139.2
279	Hart	66.6	69.5	168.5
280	Mackinaw City	62.7	47.1	203.2
281	Benton Harbor	64.3	42.8	227.0
282	Mackinac Island	47.1	207.7	331.7

Methodology

AdvisorSmith used crime reports published by the FBI on Return A in the Uniform Crime Reporting Data Set to determine the safest cities in the state of Michigan. This data set reports crimes from cities around the United States. In this study, we investigated crime levels in 419 cities in the state of Michigan. This data set includes data on the number of violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault, as well as property crimes such as burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft in cities across the state of Michigan.

Our study analyzed and compared crime rates in cities based upon their population size. As larger cities tend to have higher rates of crime in general, segmentation by population is a way to compare cities with similar characteristics. We segmented cities into three categories based upon their population: small towns had up to 10,000 residents, while midsize cities had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. Large cities had 100,000 or more residents.

Cities with less than two months of crime data available were not included in our analysis. Cities with less than 12 full months of crime data had their existing crime data scaled proportionately to represent a full calendar year’s worth of crime.

For each city, we calculated a proprietary crime score that reflects the level of crime in the city. To calculate the score, we assigned a multiplier to more serious types of crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault, which reflect their higher severity. We then added these crimes to the number of property crimes in the city to calculate a crime score on a per-capita basis. We ranked the cities and towns within their categories to find the safest small, midsize, and large cities in the state of Michigan.

Sources

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A, 2018