The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Middleton, WI
Middleton is a city of 30,900 in Dane County, about 7 miles west of downtown Madison · Updated November 2026
Is Middleton, WI safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Middleton: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map and the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 927 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
77% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Middleton as a whole, and 23% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Middleton scores 927.
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 Middleton, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Middleton, 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 Middleton
Thefts run high in Amherst & Lakeview. In this part of east Middleton, they run at about double the rate in the rest of Middleton.
Aggravated assaults are uncommon. Middleton has aggravated assaults at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.73 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
How neighborhoods in Middleton compare
Every part of Middleton where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Middleton run from A+ to A-; every part of Middleton has 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.
1Blackhawk, southwestThefts run about 30% higher here than in the rest of Middleton.A+942
2Northside, northClose to the rest of Middleton on most crimes.A+936
3Middleton Hills, northeastThefts run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Middleton.A+924
4Amherst & Lakeview, eastSimple assaults run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Middleton.A871
Neighborhood areas of Middleton, 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 Middleton?
Reported property crime in Middleton has fallen 31% 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 11 to 7.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
MiddletonUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Middleton. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Middleton
Property, US
2016
+0%
+15%
2017
+7%
+12%
2018
+4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-25%
-8%
2021
-13%
-10%
2022
-25%
-6%
2023
-35%
-7%
2024
-31%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Middleton
CrimeGrade™ estimates Middleton has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 57% less than the US as a whole and 34% less than Wisconsin.
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 47% of crime reported in Middleton. 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 Middleton
Middleton has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 68% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (75%)
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 Middleton compares with nearby cities
Middleton has more crime than 4 of its 6 nearest cities. Cross Plains and Verona have the least crime nearby.
Two things set Middleton apart: it has 98 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.98 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 96% 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.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% 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. 65% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 70% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 Middleton: D+ (19 of 100).12 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 87% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 75% 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 Middleton
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Middleton about $376 a year per household, 69% 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 $15 million a year, or $472 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$920,000
$30
Rape
$250,000
$8
Robbery
$32,000
$1
Assault
$1.4 million
$47
Burglary
$120,000
$4
Theft
$1.2 million
$39
Vehicle theft
$310,000
$10
Arson
$6,600
under $1
Vandalism
$640,000
$21
Total
$4.9 million
$160
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 Middleton 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 Middleton, WI average a SchoolGrade of A+: 58% of students test proficient, against 60% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Middleton on SchoolGrade
