Center Line is a city of 8,460 in Macomb County, about 10 miles north of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
Is Center Line, MI safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B, Center Line has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 72% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A- against B-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Center Line run from B+ to C+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 674 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
28% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Center Line as a whole, and 72% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Center Line scores 674.
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 Center Line, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Center Line, 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
Crime rates and types in Center Line
CrimeGrade™ estimates Center Line has about 37 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 Center Line, 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.
Where and when crime happens in Center Line
Center Line has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Center Line, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often in parking lots and garages: 36% of them, against 23% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (70%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (36%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (33%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (60%)
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 Center Line compares with nearby cities
Center Line has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Center Line
Two things set Center Line apart: it has 1.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (39 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, yet vandalism runs higher here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% 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.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 (39 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% 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 Center Line: C- (26 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.66 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 75% 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 Center Line
Crime costs Center Line about $1,128 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 6% 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 $16 million a year, or $1,865 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$940,000
$111
Rape
$380,000
$45
Robbery
$180,000
$21
Assault
$1.5 million
$183
Burglary
$110,000
$14
Theft
$470,000
$56
Vehicle theft
$380,000
$44
Arson
$14,000
$2
Vandalism
$320,000
$38
Total
$4.4 million
$514
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 Center Line 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 Center Line, MI average a SchoolGrade of F: 20% of students test proficient, against 20% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Center Line on SchoolGrade
