The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Harrisburg, SD
Harrisburg is a city of 10,400 in Lincoln County, about 8 miles south of downtown Sioux Falls · Updated November 2026
Is Harrisburg, SD safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Harrisburg has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 86% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Harrisburg grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 952 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
86% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Harrisburg as a whole, and 14% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Harrisburg scores 952.
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 Harrisburg, SD at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Harrisburg, 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 Harrisburg
Theft runs low. Harrisburg has 3.6 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 13.1.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Harrisburg, 64% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Harrisburg
Every part of Harrisburg where people live grades A or B on the national scale.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Harrisburg, the west side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Harrisburg?
Reported property crime in Harrisburg has fallen 61% 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 12 to 4.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
HarrisburgUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Harrisburg. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Harrisburg
Property, US
2016
+1%
+15%
2017
+19%
+12%
2018
-4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+30%
-8%
2021
+2%
-10%
2022
-29%
-6%
2023
-52%
-7%
2024
-61%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Harrisburg
CrimeGrade™ estimates Harrisburg has about 14 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 61% less than the US as a whole and 62% less than South 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Harrisburg is assault, about 40% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Harrisburg
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office polices Harrisburg, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 38% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (33%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (38%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Stores and businesses (42%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Harrisburg compares with nearby cities
Of the 7 cities closest to Harrisburg, 5 have less crime. Larchwood, IA and Worthing have the least.
Parking lots, density and walkability in Harrisburg
Two things set Harrisburg apart: it has 5.1 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 5.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 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.5.1 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 98% 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.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% 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. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 70% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.5.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 90% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 89% 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 Harrisburg: F (0 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 Harrisburg
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Harrisburg about $489 a year per household, 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 $3.4 million a year, or $322 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$94,000
$9
Rape
$110,000
$10
Robbery
$2,100
under $1
Assault
$580,000
$56
Burglary
$160,000
$15
Theft
$190,000
$18
Vehicle theft
$120,000
$12
Arson
$4,200
under $1
Vandalism
$180,000
$17
Total
$1.4 million
$138
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 Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg, SD average a SchoolGrade of A: 57% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Harrisburg on SchoolGrade
