The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Bluffton, IN
Bluffton is a city of 13,700 in Wells County, about 25 miles south of downtown Fort Wayne · Updated November 2026
Is Bluffton, IN safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Bluffton has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 80% 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 937 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
80% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Bluffton as a whole, and 20% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Bluffton scores 937.
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 Bluffton, IN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bluffton, 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 Bluffton
Thefts are uncommon. Bluffton has thefts at less than half the US rate: 5.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Bluffton
Every part of Bluffton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Bluffton run from A+ to A-; 91% of residents live in areas with 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 Bluffton, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Bluffton?
Reported property crime in Bluffton has fallen 55% 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 16 to 7.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 14%.
Property crime, change since 2019
BlufftonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Bluffton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Bluffton
Property, US
2016
+151%
+15%
2017
+104%
+12%
2018
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-20%
-8%
2021
-49%
-10%
2022
-48%
-6%
2023
-47%
-7%
2024
-55%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Bluffton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bluffton has about 19 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 50% less than the US as a whole and 41% less than Indiana.
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 Bluffton is assault, about 46% 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 Bluffton compares with nearby cities
Bluffton has the most crime of its 1 nearest cities.
Two things set Bluffton apart: it has 4.5 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 3% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.4.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 96% of US city residents
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 Bluffton: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 76% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (19 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 56% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 82% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 79% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 73% 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 Bluffton
Crime costs Bluffton about $495 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 59% 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 $7.9 million a year, or $579 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$310,000
$22
Rape
$350,000
$26
Robbery
$35,000
$3
Assault
$1.1 million
$82
Burglary
$57,000
$4
Theft
$390,000
$29
Vehicle theft
$140,000
$10
Arson
$10,000
$1
Vandalism
$270,000
$20
Total
$2.7 million
$196
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 Bluffton 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 Bluffton, IN average a SchoolGrade of A-: 47% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Bluffton on SchoolGrade
