The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Manhattan, KS
Manhattan is the ninth-largest city in Kansas, with 63,400 residents in Riley County · Updated November 2026
Is Manhattan, KS safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Manhattan is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Manhattan sits near the middle: 56% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 44% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Manhattan run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 862 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
56% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Manhattan as a whole, and 44% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Manhattan scores 862.
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 Manhattan, KS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Manhattan, 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 Manhattan
One part of Manhattan stands out for vehicle theft. Car thefts in Aggieville, in central Manhattan, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Manhattan
Every part of Manhattan where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Manhattan run from A+ to B; 56% 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.
1Grand Mere, northwestThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Manhattan.A+936
2Northview, northeastBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Manhattan.A868
3South Manhattan, southAggravated assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Manhattan.A-817
4Aggieville, centralBurglaries run at more than double the rate in the rest of Manhattan.A-804
Neighborhood areas of Manhattan, 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 Manhattan?
Reported crime in Manhattan has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 28% and property crime down 27%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.2 to 3.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 22 to 16 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ManhattanUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Manhattan. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Manhattan
Violent, US
Property, Manhattan
Property, US
2016
-30%
+4%
-11%
+15%
2017
-20%
+4%
-3%
+12%
2018
-10%
+0%
-7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-17%
+4%
-7%
-8%
2021
-20%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
-30%
+5%
-33%
-6%
2023
-21%
+2%
-19%
-7%
2024
-28%
-4%
-27%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Manhattan
CrimeGrade™ estimates Manhattan has about 36 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 30% less than Kansas.
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 Manhattan is assault, about 41% 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 Manhattan
The Riley County Police Department polices Manhattan, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Manhattan, 70% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 35% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (70%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
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 Manhattan compares with nearby cities
Of the 6 cities closest to Manhattan, 5 have less crime. Riley and St. George have the least.
Parking lots, transit and walkability in Manhattan
One thing sets Manhattan apart: it has 3.2 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 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.3.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 88% 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 Manhattan: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 81% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (18 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 53% 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.12.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 70% 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.7.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 69% 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.83% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 68% 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 Manhattan
Crime costs Manhattan about $872 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 28% 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 $56 million a year, or $883 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$19
Rape
$1.7 million
$27
Robbery
$210,000
$3
Assault
$9.9 million
$157
Burglary
$940,000
$15
Theft
$3.9 million
$61
Vehicle theft
$1.1 million
$18
Arson
$180,000
$3
Vandalism
$2.6 million
$40
Total
$22 million
$343
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 Manhattan 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 Manhattan, KS average a SchoolGrade of A: 53% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Manhattan on SchoolGrade
