The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lake County, MI
Lake County is home to 12,600 residents and includes Baldwin and Luther · Updated November 2026
Is Lake County, MI safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Lake County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A+ against A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map and the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 924 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
76% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lake County as a whole, and 24% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lake County scores 924.
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 Lake County, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lake 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 Lake County
Reported rape at more than triple the US rate. Lake County has 1.6 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 nationally.
How places in Lake County compare
Every part of Lake County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Lake County run from A+ to A-; 84% 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 Lake 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 northwest side has the least crime and the Baldwin area the most.
Crime rates and types in Lake County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lake County has about 51 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 36% more than the US as a whole and 47% more than 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 Lake County, about 42% 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.
How Lake County compares with nearby counties
Lake County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Mason County and Manistee County have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Lake County apart: it has 12 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 13% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft and robbery, and theft runs low here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.12 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 99% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 99% of Americans
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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (4 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 98% of Americans
Show all 6
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.13% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 99% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.12.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 88% 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 Lake County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Lake County about $1,932 a year per household, 60% more 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 $40 million a year, or $3,217 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.9 million
$229
Rape
$1.2 million
$96
Robbery
$39,000
$3
Assault
$3.2 million
$251
Burglary
$630,000
$50
Theft
$720,000
$57
Vehicle theft
$280,000
$23
Arson
$120,000
$10
Vandalism
$800,000
$63
Total
$9.8 million
$782
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 Lake 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. Lake 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 Lake County, MI average a SchoolGrade of C-: 35% of students test proficient, against 30% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Lake County on SchoolGrade
