New Buffalo is a city of 2,770 in Berrien County, about 25 miles west of downtown Niles · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in New Buffalo?
New Buffalo has less property crime than most US neighborhoods: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 72% of Americans live. Theft makes up 82% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A+, and vehicle theft grades A+.
A
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 911 of 1,000Less property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
72% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than New Buffalo as a whole, and 28% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. New Buffalo scores 911.
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 New Buffalo, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in New Buffalo, 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 New Buffalo
Thefts run high. New Buffalo has thefts at more than double the US rate: 33.3 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
Property crime rates and types in New Buffalo
CrimeGrade™ estimates New Buffalo has about 41 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 70% more than the US as a whole and about double 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 New Buffalo, about 82% 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.
Property crime in New Buffalo and nearby cities
New Buffalo has the most property crime of its 2 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from New Buffalo. 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, New Buffalo has more property crime than 85% of them.
Shops, parking lots and walkability in New Buffalo
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set New Buffalo apart: it has 48.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 7.8 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.48.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 99% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.7.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 99% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 56% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.116 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 98% 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.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.16.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% 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 New Buffalo
Property crime costs New Buffalo about $650,000 a year, or $236 per resident and about $436 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
$29,000
$11
Theft
$470,000
$171
Vehicle theft
$54,000
$19
Arson
$6,000
$2
Vandalism
$93,000
$33
Total
$650,000
$236
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. New Buffalo is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
