The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Detroit Lakes, MN
Detroit Lakes is a city of 15,400 in Becker County, about 45 miles east of downtown Moorhead · Updated November 2026
Is Detroit Lakes, MN safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Detroit Lakes has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is 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 954 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
87% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Detroit Lakes as a whole, and 13% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Detroit Lakes scores 954.
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 Detroit Lakes, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Detroit Lakes, 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 Detroit Lakes
Simple assaults are uncommon. Detroit Lakes has simple assaults at less than half the US rate: 3.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Detroit Lakes
Every part of Detroit Lakes where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Detroit Lakes run from A+ to A; every part of Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Detroit Lakes?
Reported property crime in Detroit Lakes has fallen 50% 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 31 to 15 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
Detroit LakesUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Detroit Lakes. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Detroit Lakes
Property, US
2016
+5%
+15%
2017
+16%
+12%
2018
-4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-15%
-8%
2021
-15%
-10%
2022
-30%
-6%
2023
-46%
-7%
2024
-50%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Detroit Lakes
CrimeGrade™ estimates Detroit Lakes has about 19 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 48% less than the US as a whole and 36% 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Detroit Lakes, about 49% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Detroit Lakes
Detroit Lakes has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Detroit Lakes, 31% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (32%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Detroit Lakes compares with nearby cities
Detroit Lakes has the most crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Parking lots, shops and walkability in Detroit Lakes
Two things set Detroit Lakes apart: it has 5.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 18.2 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that 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.5.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 98% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.18.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 95% 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. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 52% 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.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 88% 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.54% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 86% 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 Detroit Lakes: F (1 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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 Detroit Lakes
Crime costs Detroit Lakes about $458 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 62% 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 $8.8 million a year, or $574 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$360,000
$23
Rape
$270,000
$17
Robbery
$60,000
$4
Assault
$920,000
$60
Burglary
$210,000
$14
Theft
$740,000
$48
Vehicle theft
$91,000
$6
Arson
$30,000
$2
Vandalism
$290,000
$19
Total
$3.0 million
$193
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 Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes, MN average a SchoolGrade of C+: 36% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Detroit Lakes on SchoolGrade
