Battle Creek is a city of 75,800 in Calhoun County and the main city of the Battle Creek metro area, home to 133,800 · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Battle Creek?
Property crime in Battle Creek runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Theft makes up 53% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades B, and vehicle theft grades A.
B+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 725 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
36% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Battle Creek as a whole, and 64% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Battle Creek scores 725.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Battle Creek, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Battle Creek, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Battle Creek
Burglary at about double the US rate. Battle Creek has 4.9 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 nationally.
Car thefts happen at homes more often than nationally. In Battle Creek, 54% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Battle Creek
Low property crime is the norm across Battle Creek: 74% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 1% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Battle Creek run from A+ to D+.
74%25%
A or B 74%C 25%D or F 1%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Battle Creek?
Reported property crime in Battle Creek has fallen 24% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 39 to 30 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Battle CreekUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Battle Creek. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Battle Creek
Property, US
2016
+17%
+15%
2017
+14%
+12%
2018
-0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-21%
-8%
2021
-22%
-10%
2022
-18%
-6%
2023
-11%
-7%
2024
-24%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Battle Creek
CrimeGrade™ estimates Battle Creek has about 35 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 49% more than the US as a whole and 89% more than Michigan.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Battle Creek, about 53% of the total, followed by vandalism and burglary.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Battle Creek
Battle Creek has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Battle Creek, 74% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (74%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Battle Creek and nearby cities
Battle Creek has the most property crime of its 7 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Battle Creek. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Battle Creek has more property crime than 90% of them.
Parking lots, transit and walkability in Battle Creek
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Battle Creek apart: it has 3.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Battle Creek: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 76% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 54% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.9.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 83% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.76% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 74% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Battle Creek
Property crime costs Battle Creek about $19 million a year, or $252 per resident and about $611 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$3.3 million
$44
Theft
$7.3 million
$97
Vehicle theft
$3.4 million
$44
Arson
$520,000
$7
Vandalism
$4.6 million
$61
Total
$19 million
$252
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
