The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Lincoln, NE
Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska, a city of 300,600 in Lancaster County · Updated November 2026
Is Lincoln, NE safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Lincoln has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent crime grades A- and property crime B. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Lincoln run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 744 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Lincoln as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Lincoln scores 744.
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 Lincoln, NE at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Lincoln, 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 Lincoln
Robberies are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Lincoln runs 45% above the US rate, but robberies run 36% below it: 0.40 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
One part of Lincoln stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Near South, 40th and A & Hartley, in central Lincoln, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Lincoln, 61% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Lincoln
Low crime is the norm across Lincoln: 80% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 8% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Lincoln run from A+ to F; 38% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
80%12%
A or B 80%C 12%D or F 8%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Family Acres & Colonial Hills, southeastAggravated assaults run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Lincoln.A909
2Indian Village, Far South & Irvingdale, southwestCar thefts run at less than half the rate in the rest of Lincoln.A870
3Meadowlane, Eastridge & Bethany, eastAggravated assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Lincoln.A854
8University Place & Clinton, northThefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Lincoln.B-550
9Near South, 40th and A & Hartley, centralAggravated assaults run at about double the rate in the rest of Lincoln.C+508
Neighborhood areas of Lincoln, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Lincoln?
Reported crime in Lincoln has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 11% and property crime down 13%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.9 to 3.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 24 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
LincolnUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Lincoln. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Lincoln
Violent, US
Property, Lincoln
Property, US
2016
-8%
+4%
+12%
+15%
2017
-6%
+4%
+9%
+12%
2018
-6%
+0%
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+16%
+4%
+6%
-8%
2021
+12%
+6%
-0%
-10%
2022
+2%
+5%
+3%
-6%
2023
-3%
+2%
-4%
-7%
2024
-11%
-4%
-13%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Lincoln
CrimeGrade™ estimates Lincoln has about 54 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 45% more than the US as a whole and 44% more than Nebraska.
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 makes up about 34% of crime reported in Lincoln. Assault is less common but 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 Lincoln
Lincoln has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Lincoln, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (70%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (58%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Homes (30%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (56%)
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 Lincoln compares with nearby cities
Lincoln has the most crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Parking lots, empty homes and walkability in Lincoln
Two things set Lincoln apart: it has 3.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally, and 3.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places with a lot of parking-lot space tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 87% 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.3.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 75% 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. 71% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 72% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.57 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 72% 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 Lincoln: D+ (21 of 100).4 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 63% 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.20% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 58% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Lincoln on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Lincoln
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Lincoln about $1,309 a year per household, 9% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $156 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $383 million a year, or $1,275 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$13 million
$43
Rape
$11 million
$37
Robbery
$3.7 million
$12
Assault
$52 million
$174
Burglary
$7.0 million
$23
Theft
$28 million
$94
Vehicle theft
$14 million
$48
Arson
$1.8 million
$6
Vandalism
$24 million
$81
Total
$156 million
$519
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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln, NE average a SchoolGrade of C: 61% of students test proficient, against 51% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Lincoln on SchoolGrade
