Bennett County is home to 3,340 residents and includes Martin · Updated November 2026
Is Bennett County, SD safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Bennett County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 95% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Bennett County run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 976 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
95% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Bennett County as a whole, and 5% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Bennett County scores 976.
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 Bennett County, SD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bennett 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
Crime rates and types in Bennett County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bennett County has about 46 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 23% more than the US as a whole and 20% more than South Dakota.
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 Bennett County, about 63% 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.
How Bennett County compares with nearby counties
Of the 9 counties closest to Bennett County, 8 have less crime. Cherry County, NE and Jones County have the least.
Density, empty homes and walkability in Bennett County
Two things set Bennett County apart: it has 18.7% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 24 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 99% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.18.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 61% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.24 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 94% 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.35% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 91% 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 Bennett 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 Bennett County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Bennett County about $2,357 a year per household, about double 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 $11 million a year, or $3,306 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$920,000
$276
Rape
$150,000
$46
Robbery
$6,000
$2
Assault
$1.1 million
$316
Burglary
$48,000
$14
Theft
$100,000
$30
Vehicle theft
$60,000
$18
Arson
$54,000
$16
Vandalism
$160,000
$47
Total
$2.6 million
$766
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 Bennett 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. Bennett 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 Bennett County, SD average a SchoolGrade of F: 26% of students test proficient, against 21% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Bennett County on SchoolGrade
