The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Bel Air, MD: Crime Maps and Statistics

B-

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	C
Property Crime Grade	C+
Other Crime Grade	B

Which crimes are included?

$5.45 million

Cost of Crime™ for Bel Air, MD

In 2025, crime will cost $765 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Bel Air with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Bel Air, MD Safe?

The B- overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Bel Air's combined rate is slightly lower than the norm. Bel Air sits in the 58th percentile, ahead of 58% of cities and behind 42%. The grade covers only Bel Air's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Bel Air is 21.40 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southeast part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 26 in the south neighborhoods to 1 in 74 in the southeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the south parts of Bel Air, MD report the most crime, about 72 cases per year. The central part reports the fewest, around 18 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Bel Air, MD

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Bel Air for 2025 is $5,446,511, about $308 per resident and $765 per household. That equals 0.6% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 57.4%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 30.4%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 12.1%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Bel Air Compared to Other Cities?

Bel Air, MD:	$308
Seat Pleasant, MD:	$1315
Cape St. Claire, MD:	$184
Maryland:	$531
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Bel Air is $308 per year, which is $156 less than the national average and $223 less than Maryland's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Bel Air:

In Seat Pleasant, MD, crime costs $1,315 per person, which is $1,007 more than in Bel Air.
In Cape St. Claire, MD, crime costs $184 per person, which is $124 less than in Bel Air

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Bel Air for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Bel Air	Cost per Bel Air Resident
Murder	$1.05 million	$60
Rape/Sexual Assault	$583,940	$33
Robbery	$474,892	$27
Assault	$940,107	$53
Kidnapping	$23,681	$1
Vehicle Theft	$486,005	$27
Burglary	$245,276	$14
Theft	$766,171	$43
Arson	$52,129	$3
Vandalism	$366,024	$21
Animal Cruelty	$8,038	$0
Drug Crimes	$262,293	$15
Identity Theft	$184,873	$10
Total Cost of Crime	$5,446,511	$308

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Bel Air, MD

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Bel Air totals $10,297,717 ($582 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $15,744,228 ($890 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The southwest part of the city holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Bel Air has 4, do the same, and of Bel Air's 17,691 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Bel Air, MD at ISP Reports.

Bel Air Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Bel Air residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	1.850
Robbery	0.8534
Rape	0.5444
Murder	0.0317
Total Violent Crime	3.280 (C)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	8.362
Vehicle Theft	1.774
Burglary	1.529
Arson	0.1220
Total Property Crime	11.79 (C+)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0221
Drug Crimes	2.004
Vandalism	2.896
Identity Theft	1.350
Animal Cruelty	0.0614
Total "Other" Rate	6.334 (B)

Individual Bel Air Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

Compared to surrounding cities, the rate of crime in Bel Air is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for cities close to Bel Air.

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Bel Air North, MD	A	B+	A
Bel Air South, MD	B+	B	B
Pleasant Hills, MD	B-	B	C+
Churchville, MD	A-	B-	B+
Forest Hill, MD	A-	B	B+
Abingdon, MD	B+	B-	B
Joppa, MD	D+	D	D+
Riverside, MD	B+	B-	C+
Belcamp, MD	B-	C+	C+
Fallston, MD	A-	B	B+

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Bel Air is lower versus other cities of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in cities with comparable overall population in the city‘s boundaries.

Similar City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Chaparral, NM	D-	D	D
Beech Grove, IN	C+	C	C
Wilmington, OH	C	B+	B+
Whitewater, WI	B-	C+	C+
Bellevue, WI	C+	B+	B+
Bellingham, MA	A-	B-	B-
Bennettsville, SC	F	F	F
White Center, WA	F	D	D
Westwood, MA	A+	A+	A+
Webster, MA	B+	C	C

Considering only the crime rate, Bel Air is safer than the Maryland state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Bel Air, MD average SchoolGrade of B-, with 43% actual proficiency versus 44% projected; overall, schools meet expectations. See Bel Air schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.