The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Berkley, MI
Berkley is a city of 15,100 in Oakland County, about 14 miles northwest of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
Is Berkley, MI safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Berkley: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A+ against A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 932 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
78% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Berkley as a whole, and 22% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Berkley scores 932.
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 Berkley, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Berkley, 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 Berkley
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Berkley, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 2.7 thefts and 2.4 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Berkley
Every part of Berkley where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Berkley run from A+ to A; every part of Berkley has 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.
Within Berkley, the east side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in Berkley?
Reported property crime in Berkley peaked in 2022 and has fallen 37% since, back near its 2019 level. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 3.5 to 3.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 24%.
Property crime, change since 2019
BerkleyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Berkley. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Berkley
Property, US
2016
+67%
+15%
2017
+90%
+12%
2018
+64%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+5%
-8%
2021
+41%
-10%
2022
+52%
-6%
2023
+24%
-7%
2024
-5%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Berkley
CrimeGrade™ estimates Berkley has about 7.5 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 80% less than the US as a whole and 78% less than 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Berkley, about 40% 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 Berkley compares with nearby cities
Berkley has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities; only Birmingham and Beverly Hills have less.
Night lighting, walkability and parking lots in Berkley
Two things set Berkley apart: it has a Walk Grade of C+ (43 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 0.7 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Very walkable places tend to report more theft and assault, yet theft and assault run lower here than that would suggest.
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher 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 and assault.C+ (43 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 84% 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 Berkley: D+ (24 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 76% 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.3.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 75% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Berkley on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Berkley
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Berkley about $212 a year per household, 82% less than 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 $5.0 million a year, or $328 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$280,000
$18
Rape
$160,000
$11
Robbery
$19,000
$1
Assault
$510,000
$33
Burglary
$50,000
$3
Theft
$210,000
$14
Vehicle theft
$87,000
$6
Arson
$5,400
under $1
Vandalism
$93,000
$6
Total
$1.4 million
$93
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 Berkley 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. Berkley is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower 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 Berkley, MI average a SchoolGrade of A+: 57% of students test proficient, against 53% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Berkley on SchoolGrade
