The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Bates County, MO
Bates County is home to 16,200 residents and includes Butler and Adrian · Updated November 2026
Is Bates County, MO safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Bates County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 88% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Bates County run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 956 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
88% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Bates County as a whole, and 12% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Bates County scores 956.
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 crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime 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 Bates County, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bates County, 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 in Bates County
Aggravated assaults happen at homes more often than nationally. In Bates County, 76% of reported aggravated assaults happen at homes, against 53% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Bates County
Every part of Bates County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Bates County run from A+ to B; 71% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the northeast side has the least crime and the Butler area the most.
Is crime going up in Bates County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Bates County is up 46% and property crime is down 35%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.7 to 5.4 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 21 to 14 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 29% and property crime fell 25%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Bates CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Bates County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Bates County
Violent, US
Property, Bates County
Property, US
2016
+24%
+4%
-9%
+15%
2017
-5%
+4%
-8%
+12%
2018
-8%
+0%
-9%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-20%
+4%
-22%
-8%
2021
+66%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
+122%
+5%
-14%
-6%
2023
+105%
+2%
-14%
-7%
2024
+46%
-4%
-35%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Bates County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bates County has about 30 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 20% less than the US as a whole and 29% less than Missouri.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Bates County, about 37% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. 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 crime happens in Bates County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Bates County, 2022 to 2024.
In Bates County, 56% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often at homes: 56% of them, against 33% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (56%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (60%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (76%)
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.
How Bates County compares with nearby counties
Bates County has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties.
Two things set Bates County apart: it has 23 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 13.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft and robbery, and theft runs low here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.23 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 96% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.13.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 95% of Americans
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. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 85% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 92% of Americans
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.40% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 89% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Bates County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
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 crime costs Bates County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Bates County about $1,216 a year per household, about the same as the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $33 million a year, or $2,021 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.1 million
$130
Rape
$350,000
$22
Robbery
$34,000
$2
Assault
$3.0 million
$188
Burglary
$510,000
$32
Theft
$800,000
$49
Vehicle theft
$480,000
$29
Arson
$84,000
$5
Vandalism
$340,000
$21
Total
$7.8 million
$479
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Bates County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Bates County 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.
Schools in Bates County, MO average a SchoolGrade of D: 37% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Bates County on SchoolGrade
