The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in McKenzie County, ND
McKenzie County is home to 14,300 residents and includes Watford City and Alexander · Updated November 2026
Is McKenzie County, ND safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in McKenzie County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 95% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 975 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
95% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than McKenzie County as a whole, and 5% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. McKenzie County scores 975.
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 McKenzie County, ND at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in McKenzie 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 McKenzie County
Simple assaults run high. McKenzie County has simple assaults at about double the US rate: 19.7 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of McKenzie County
Every part of McKenzie County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across McKenzie County run from A+ to A-; 82% 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.
Across the county, the south side has the least crime and the Watford City area the most.
Is crime going up in McKenzie County?
Reported crime in McKenzie County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 51% and property crime down 40%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.1 to 2.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 12 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 31% and property crime fell 30%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
McKenzie CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across McKenzie County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, McKenzie County
Violent, US
Property, McKenzie County
Property, US
2016
-13%
+4%
+30%
+15%
2017
-12%
+4%
+6%
+12%
2018
+18%
+0%
+12%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-29%
+4%
-28%
-8%
2021
-37%
+6%
-25%
-10%
2022
-23%
+5%
-24%
-6%
2023
-29%
+2%
-14%
-7%
2024
-51%
-4%
-40%
-15%
Crime rates and types in McKenzie County
CrimeGrade™ estimates McKenzie County has about 41 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% 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 McKenzie County, about 52% 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 McKenzie County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across McKenzie County, 2022 to 2024.
Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 25% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (25%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (29%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (59%)
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 McKenzie County compares with nearby counties
McKenzie County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Divide County and Burke County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from McKenzie 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, McKenzie County is safer than 70% of them.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in McKenzie County
Two things set McKenzie County apart: it has 17.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 74 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more burglary and arson, yet burglary runs lower here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.17.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.74 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 97% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (9 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% of Americans
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 McKenzie County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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.58% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 80% 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 McKenzie County
Crime costs McKenzie County about $1,146 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, about the same as 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 $18 million a year, or $1,224 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$82
Rape
$220,000
$15
Robbery
$22,000
$2
Assault
$2.7 million
$191
Burglary
$150,000
$10
Theft
$730,000
$51
Vehicle theft
$490,000
$34
Arson
$66,000
$5
Vandalism
$620,000
$43
Total
$6.2 million
$434
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 McKenzie 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. McKenzie 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 McKenzie County, ND average a SchoolGrade of F: 27% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in McKenzie County on SchoolGrade
