The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Big Lake, MN
Big Lake is a city of 21,000 in Sherburne County, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis · Updated November 2026
Is Big Lake, MN safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Big Lake: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 87% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 955 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
87% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Big Lake as a whole, and 13% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Big Lake scores 955.
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 Big Lake, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Big Lake, 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 Big Lake
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Big Lake, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 2.8 thefts and 2.5 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Big Lake
Every part of Big Lake where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Big Lake run from A+ to A; every part of Big Lake 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 Big Lake, the northeast side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Is crime going up in Big Lake?
Reported property crime in Big Lake has fallen 31% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 5.0 to 3.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Big LakeUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Big Lake. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Big Lake
Property, US
2016
+46%
+15%
2017
+12%
+12%
2018
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-20%
-8%
2021
-3%
-10%
2022
-47%
-6%
2023
-22%
-7%
2024
-31%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Big Lake
CrimeGrade™ estimates Big Lake has about 7.9 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 79% less than the US as a whole and 74% less than Minnesota.
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 Big Lake 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.
How Big Lake compares with nearby cities
Big Lake has more crime than 8 of its 9 nearest cities. Silver Creek and Orrock have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Big Lake apart: it has 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 94% 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. 96% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (6 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 89% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.29% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 93% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 92% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.15 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 92% 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 Big Lake
Crime costs Big Lake about $297 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 75% 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 $7.2 million a year, or $345 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$280,000
$13
Rape
$420,000
$20
Robbery
$26,000
$1
Assault
$710,000
$34
Burglary
$48,000
$2
Theft
$300,000
$14
Vehicle theft
$88,000
$4
Arson
$6,000
under $1
Vandalism
$170,000
$8
Total
$2.0 million
$98
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 Big Lake 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. Big Lake 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 Big Lake, MN average a SchoolGrade of B+: 40% of students test proficient, against 55% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Big Lake on SchoolGrade
