Michigan’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In our most recent State of Safety survey, less than half the Michigan residents surveyed said they felt safe in their state (43%). How residents feel probably depends on where they live in the state. Michigan has a higher-than-average violent crime rate overall, but its safest cities have a low violent crime rate. Michigan’s property crime falls far below the national average.

Of the Michiganians we surveyed, 41% are worried about their safety on a regular basis. There may be good reason. Michigan ranked ninth in states with the highest violent crime rates. Overall, violent crime rose slightly year over year—from 5.0 instances per 1,000 residents to 5.1 . Property crime also increased from 13.8 to 15.7 incidents per 1,000 residents—but that puts Michigan as the tenth lowest state for property crime.

Despite its higher rate of violent crimes, Michigan has a surprisingly low property crime rate, especially compared to the rest of the US. It is ranked tenth in states with the lowest property crimes.

• 28% of Michiganders reported experiences with property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey. That rose from 25% the year before.
• The property crime rate increased 14% year over year across the state, but at 15.7, Michigan is still 24% lower than the national rate of 20.7.
• Nearly 4 in 10 respondents (37%) said they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey.
• 25% of survey participants use no form of property protection—matching most Americans (US 25%).
• The top form of property protection among Michigan respondents this year is firearms with 40% using them (US 28%).

• Package theft is top of mind for 55% of Michigan survey respondents—a 12% increase in concern year over year.
• 39% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the last 12 months (18% higher than the year before), putting Michigan slightly above the US average of 35%. 
• 7 in 10 Michiganders take action to thwart porch pirates. Among those, 24% rely on verified delivery and 23% count on doorbell cams to protect their packages.
• The Grand Rapids-Kentwood metro area was the ninth worst metro for package theft in our 2023 report. 

Michigan has a higher violent crime rate (5.1) than the national average (4.0) and less than half of those surveyed feel safe in The Great Lake State. For all those in Michigan who are worrying about violent crime, we're happy to report that the most recent survey respondents reported fewer personal experiences with both violent crime in general and gun violence, specifically.

• 43% of residents report feeling safe in their state compared to 45% of Americans.
• 12% of survey respondents reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey—this is down from 17% last year.
• 77% of those surveyed believe crime is increasing, and in Michigan, they're correct.
• 4 in 10 Michiganders surveyed said they regularly carry some form of personal protection.
• Concealed firearms are the number one type of personal protection used by respondents, with 43% relying on them. 
• 30% of respondents said they use pepper spray or a pocket knife.

Gun violence is of increasing concern in the The Great Lake State. About 56% of respondents said they were highly worried about gun violence, up from 49% in our previous survey.

• 10% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey.
• 43% use a concealed firearm for self-defense (US 41%).
• 4 in 10 respondents said they use a firearm to protect their property.
• The number of mass shootings in a year decreased from 25 to 14.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• Adrian Township skyrocketed a remarkable 20 spots to land as the safest city in Michigan this year.
• The biggest jump on our list is the city of Clayton Township. It bounded 45 spots to land in eleventh place.
• Addison Township is the only city that reported zero buglaries.
• All 20 of Michigan’s safest cities reported fewer than 1.5 violent crimes per 1,000 people.
• Lyon Township is the most populous city on the list, making it's low per capita crime rates even more impressive.
• Spring Arbor Township and Adrian Township are the only cities to report zero aggravated assaults.
• Grosse Ile Township and Addison Township are the only cities to report zero vehicle thefts.
• All 20 safest cities had fewer than 6 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

• Best Home Security Systems
• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras
• Burglary Stats & Facts
• Over 50% Of All Burglaries Are Residential—How To Protect Your Family
• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation

Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.