The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Bessemer, AL: Crime Maps and Statistics

Overall Crime Grade™

Violent Crime Grade	D-
Property Crime Grade	D
Other Crime Grade	D

Which crimes are included?

$37.3 million

Cost of Crime™ for Bessemer, AL

In 2025, crime will cost $1,905 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Bessemer 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 Bessemer, AL Safe?

The D overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US city, where Bessemer's combined rate is higher than the norm. Bessemer sits in the 16th percentile, ahead of 16% of cities and behind 84%. The grade covers only Bessemer's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby cities.

The overall crime rate in Bessemer is 41.71 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the northwest part of the city the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 13 in the north neighborhoods to 1 in 36 in the northwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the southwest parts of Bessemer, AL report the most crime, about 545 cases per year. The west part reports the fewest, around 107 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Bessemer, AL

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Bessemer for 2025 is $37,304,188, about $737 per resident and $1,905 per household. That equals 2.4% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 50.2%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 38.6%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 11.1%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Bessemer Compared to Other Cities?

Bessemer, AL:	$737
Tuskegee, AL:	$1539
Coker, AL:	$198
Alabama:	$507
USA:	$464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Bessemer is $737 per year, which is $272 more than the national average and $229 more than Alabama's state average. The comparison below uses cities similar to Bessemer:

In Tuskegee, AL, crime costs $1,539 per person, which is $802 more than in Bessemer.
In Coker, AL, crime costs $198 per person, which is $538 less than in Bessemer

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

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

Crime	Cost to Bessemer	Cost per Bessemer Resident
Murder	$14.4 million	$284
Rape/Sexual Assault	$1.57 million	$31
Robbery	$681,091	$13
Assault	$6.94 million	$137
Kidnapping	$224,654	$4
Vehicle Theft	$2.88 million	$57
Burglary	$1.51 million	$30
Theft	$4.04 million	$80
Arson	$171,459	$3
Vandalism	$2.58 million	$51
Animal Cruelty	$60,113	$1
Drug Crimes	$2.00 million	$39
Identity Theft	$259,114	$5
Total Cost of Crime	$37,304,188	$737

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Bessemer, AL

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 Bessemer totals $104,764,405 ($2,069 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $142,068,593 ($2,805 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 Bessemer has 10, do the same, and of Bessemer's 50,644 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 Bessemer, AL at ISP Reports.

Bessemer 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 Bessemer residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	4.774
Robbery	0.4276
Rape	0.5116
Murder	0.1512
Total Violent Crime	5.865 (D-)

Property Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Theft	15.39
Vehicle Theft	3.668
Burglary	3.296
Arson	0.1402
Total Property Crime	22.50 (D)

Other Crime Rates

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Kidnapping	0.0732
Drug Crimes	5.330
Vandalism	7.129
Identity Theft	0.6610
Animal Cruelty	0.1605
Total "Other" Rate	13.35 (D)

Individual Bessemer Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Cities

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

Nearby City	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Hueytown, AL	D	D+	D
Lipscomb, AL	D	D-	D+
Brighton, AL	D-	D-	D
Midfield, AL	D-	D	D
Dolomite, AL	D-	D-	D-
Fairfield, AL	F	F	F
Pleasant Grove, AL	D+	C-	D+
North Johns, AL	C	C+	C+
Helena, AL	A-	A+	A-
Mccalla, AL	B	B+	B

Crime Maps and Rates for City with Similar Populations

Bessemer is higher 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
Eagle Pass, TX	D-	D	D
Coppell, TX	D+	C	C
Neenah, WI	B-	A-	A-
Cleveland Heights, OH	D-	D	D
Thomasville, NC	C-	D+	D+
Bountiful, UT	D	C	C
Powell, OH	C+	A-	A-
Duncanville, TX	D	D-	D-
Brunswick, OH	A-	A	A
Prairieville, LA	B	B	B

Considering only the crime rate, Bessemer is less safe than the Alabama state average and less safe than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Bessemer, AL average SchoolGrade of D-, with 21% actual proficiency versus 25% projected; overall, schools don't meet expectations. See Bessemer 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.