Niagara Falls is a city of 63,300 in Niagara County, about 16 miles northwest of downtown Buffalo · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Niagara Falls?
Property crime in Niagara Falls runs higher than in most US neighborhoods: a B, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 67% of Americans live. Theft makes up 51% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades A.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 687 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
33% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Niagara Falls as a whole, and 67% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Niagara Falls scores 687.
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 Niagara Falls, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Niagara Falls, 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 Niagara Falls
Acts of vandalism run high. Niagara Falls has acts of vandalism at more than double the US rate: 14.4 a year per 1,000 residents, against 5.5 nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Niagara Falls
Property crime changes a lot from one part of Niagara Falls to the next: 59% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 22% live in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Niagara Falls run from A+ to F.
59%19%22%
A or B 59%C 19%D or F 22%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Is property crime going up in Niagara Falls?
Reported property crime in Niagara Falls has fallen 28% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 39 to 28 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Niagara FallsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Niagara Falls. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Niagara Falls
Property, US
2016
+28%
+15%
2017
+25%
+12%
2018
+6%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+23%
-8%
2021
-26%
-10%
2022
-25%
-6%
2023
-28%
-7%
2024
-28%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Niagara Falls
CrimeGrade™ estimates Niagara Falls has about 41 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 72% more than the US as a whole and 81% more than New York.
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 Niagara Falls, about 51% 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 Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Niagara Falls, 41% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at other places: 34% of them, against 6% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Other places (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Other places (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Other places (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Other places (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Niagara Falls and nearby cities
Of the 6 cities closest to Niagara Falls, 5 have less property crime. Grand Island and Youngstown have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Niagara Falls. 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, Niagara Falls has more property crime than 78% of them.
Parking lots, shops and walkability in Niagara Falls
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Niagara Falls apart: it has 3.8 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 16.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that 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.3.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 93% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 78% 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.11.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 91% 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 Niagara Falls: D (13 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 67% 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.23% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 60% 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 Niagara Falls
Property crime costs Niagara Falls about $18 million a year, or $279 per resident and about $617 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
$1.7 million
$27
Theft
$6.8 million
$108
Vehicle theft
$2.3 million
$37
Arson
$340,000
$5
Vandalism
$6.4 million
$102
Total
$18 million
$279
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.
