Bessemer is a city of 46,400 in Jefferson County, about 13 miles southwest of downtown Birmingham · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Bessemer?
Property crime is high in Bessemer: a B-, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 75% of Americans live. Theft makes up 52% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades C+, and vehicle theft grades B+.
B-
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 575 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
25% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Bessemer as a whole, and 75% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Bessemer scores 575.
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 Bessemer, AL at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bessemer, 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 Bessemer
Burglaries run high for a city with a B for property crime. Bessemer has 7.7 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded B for property crime, the figure is 2.7.
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Bessemer, each runs at more than double the US rate: 31.0 thefts and 15.1 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Bessemer
Property crime changes a lot from one part of Bessemer to the next: 57% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 30% live in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Bessemer run from A to F.
57%13%30%
A or B 57%C 13%D or F 30%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Bessemer
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bessemer has about 60 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, more than double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Alabama.
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 Bessemer, about 52% 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 Bessemer
Bessemer has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Bessemer, 57% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 46% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (57%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (46%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (31%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (50%)
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 Bessemer and nearby cities
Bessemer has more property crime than 7 of its 9 nearest cities. Helena and Lipscomb have the least property crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Bessemer. 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, Bessemer has more property crime than 99% of them.
Empty homes, parking lots and walkability in Bessemer
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Bessemer apart: it has 12.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 3.0 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher 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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 70% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 79% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.62 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 79% 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.79% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 72% 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 Bessemer
Property crime costs Bessemer about $20 million a year, or $431 per resident and about $1,054 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
$3.2 million
$69
Theft
$7.4 million
$159
Vehicle theft
$4.2 million
$90
Arson
$230,000
$5
Vandalism
$5.0 million
$107
Total
$20 million
$431
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.
