The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Grand Forks County, ND
Grand Forks County, the third-most populous county in North Dakota, is home to 72,900 residents and includes Grand Forks and Larimore · Updated November 2026
Is Grand Forks County, ND safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Grand Forks County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 72% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Grand Forks County run from A+ to B-, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 914 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
72% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Grand Forks County as a whole, and 28% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Grand Forks County scores 914.
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 Grand Forks County, ND at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Grand Forks County, 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 Grand Forks County
Vehicle theft runs low. Grand Forks County has 1.4 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 2.7.
The safest and most dangerous places in Grand Forks County
Every part of Grand Forks County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Grand Forks County run from A+ to B-; 38% 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.
Cities and towns in Grand Forks County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the south side has the least crime and the Grand Forks area the most.
Is crime going up in Grand Forks County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Grand Forks County is up 10% and property crime is down 16%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.8 to 3.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 24 to 20 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 26% and property crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Grand Forks CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Grand Forks County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Grand Forks County
Violent, US
Property, Grand Forks County
Property, US
2016
-3%
+4%
+24%
+15%
2017
+7%
+4%
+19%
+12%
2018
-12%
+0%
-4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-7%
+4%
-12%
-8%
2021
+2%
+6%
-7%
-10%
2022
+2%
+5%
+12%
-6%
2023
-13%
+2%
-5%
-7%
2024
+10%
-4%
-16%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Grand Forks County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Grand Forks County has about 43 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 16% more than the US as a whole and close to North Dakota.
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 Grand Forks County, about 37% 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 Grand Forks County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Grand Forks County, 2022 to 2024.
In Grand Forks County, 71% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 49% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (71%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (47%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (66%)
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 Grand Forks County compares with nearby counties
Grand Forks County has the most crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Grand Forks County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Grand Forks County is safer than 70% of them.
Grand Forks County looks like a typical county on the traits that tend to go with crime.
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. 66% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (25 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 79% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.52 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 75% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 70% of Americans
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 Grand Forks County: D (15 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 66% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.6.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 57% of Americans
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.88% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 52% of Americans
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 Grand Forks County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Grand Forks County about $1,012 a year per household, 16% 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 $85 million a year, or $1,168 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.4 million
$47
Rape
$2.7 million
$37
Robbery
$490,000
$7
Assault
$12 million
$164
Burglary
$1.5 million
$21
Theft
$5.8 million
$80
Vehicle theft
$1.5 million
$21
Arson
$57,000
$1
Vandalism
$3.6 million
$49
Total
$31 million
$425
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 Grand Forks County 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. Grand Forks County is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse 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 Grand Forks County, ND average a SchoolGrade of B: 46% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Grand Forks County on SchoolGrade
