The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Benton Harbor, MI
Benton Harbor is a city of 18,600 in Berrien County, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Niles · Updated November 2026
Is Benton Harbor, MI safe?
Benton Harbor has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Violent crime grades C+ and property crime B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Benton Harbor run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 518 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Benton Harbor as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Benton Harbor scores 518.
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 Benton Harbor, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Benton Harbor, 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 Benton Harbor
Aggravated assault stands out among C-graded cities. For the typical resident of a C-graded US city, the figure is 4.1 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Benton Harbor has 12.1.
Car thefts and simple assaults both run high. In Benton Harbor, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 10.2 car thefts and 34.5 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Benton Harbor
Crime varies widely across Benton Harbor: 38% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 58% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Benton Harbor run from A+ to F; 23% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
38%58%
A or B 38%C 4%D or F 58%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Benton Harbor, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Benton Harbor
CrimeGrade™ estimates Benton Harbor has about 119 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and about triple the rate for Michigan.
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.
The largest share of crime reported in Benton Harbor is assault, about 39% of the total. It also makes up 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 Benton Harbor
Benton Harbor has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Benton Harbor, 84% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 61% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (84%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (70%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (61%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (65%)
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 Benton Harbor compares with nearby cities
Of the 6 cities closest to Benton Harbor, 4 have less crime. Sodus and Lake Michigan Beach have the least.
Parking lots, shops and walkability in Benton Harbor
Two things set Benton Harbor apart: it has 5.5 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 14.9 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.5.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 87% 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 and assault. 90% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Benton Harbor: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.9.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 82% of US city residents
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.71% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 77% 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 crime costs Benton Harbor
Crime costs Benton Harbor about $3,639 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about triple 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 $82 million a year, or $4,420 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.6 million
$195
Rape
$970,000
$52
Robbery
$650,000
$35
Assault
$11 million
$596
Burglary
$970,000
$52
Theft
$3.5 million
$189
Vehicle theft
$2.9 million
$156
Arson
$150,000
$8
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$122
Total
$26 million
$1,406
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 Benton Harbor 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.
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 Benton Harbor, MI average a SchoolGrade of D: 30% of students test proficient, against 25% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Benton Harbor on SchoolGrade
