Highland Park is a city of 21,100 in Wayne County, about 7 miles northwest of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Highland Park?
Property crime is high in Highland Park: a D+, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Theft makes up 36% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades D+, and vehicle theft grades C-.
D+
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 307 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
14% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Highland Park as a whole, and 86% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Highland Park scores 307.
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 Highland Park, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Highland Park, 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 Highland Park
Burglary stands out among cities graded D for property crime. For the typical resident of a US city graded D for property crime, the figure is 2.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; Highland Park has 9.5.
Car thefts and acts of vandalism both run high. In Highland Park, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 14.5 car thefts and 23.4 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Highland Park
High property crime is widespread across Highland Park: 63% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 3% in areas graded A or B. Property crime grades across Highland Park run from B- to F.
34%63%
A or B 3%C 34%D or F 63%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Property crime rates and types in Highland Park
CrimeGrade™ estimates Highland Park has about 76 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and more than triple the rate for 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 Highland Park, about 36% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
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 Highland Park
Highland Park has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Highland Park, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 41% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (41%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (33%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (41%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Highland Park and nearby cities
Highland Park has more property crime than 9 of its 10 nearest cities. Huntington Woods and Pleasant Ridge have the least property crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Highland Park. 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, Highland Park has more property crime than 98% of them.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Highland Park
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Highland Park apart: it has 36.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 3.6 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.36.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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. 54% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (33 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 92% 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 Highland Park: C- (29 of 100).10 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 85% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.30 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower 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 Highland Park
Property crime costs Highland Park about $14 million a year, or $642 per resident and about $1,355 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
$1.8 million
$86
Theft
$2.9 million
$138
Vehicle theft
$4.7 million
$223
Arson
$610,000
$29
Vandalism
$3.5 million
$166
Total
$14 million
$642
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.
