Muskegon Heights is a city of 10,000 in Muskegon County, about 2 miles south of downtown Muskegon · Updated November 2026
Is Muskegon Heights, MI safe?
Crime in Muskegon Heights is high, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of F. Most US neighborhoods have far less: 98% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Muskegon Heights. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, D+ against F. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Muskegon Heights run from B to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
2% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Muskegon Heights as a whole, and 98% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Muskegon Heights scores 0.
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 Muskegon Heights, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Muskegon Heights, 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 Muskegon Heights
Reported rape stands out among F-graded cities. For the typical resident of an F-graded US city, the figure is 0.34 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; Muskegon Heights has 1.1.
Aggravated assaults and acts of vandalism both run high. In Muskegon Heights, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 10.2 aggravated assaults and 32.8 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Muskegon Heights
High crime is widespread across Muskegon Heights: 98% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 2% in areas graded A or B. Grades across Muskegon Heights run from B to F; every part of Muskegon Heights has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 2%D or F 98%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Crime rates and types in Muskegon Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Muskegon Heights has about 113 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about triple the rate for the US as a whole and about triple the rate for 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 Muskegon Heights, about 38% of everything reported.
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.
The Muskegon Heights Police Department's 2024 report to the FBI was missing some months of aggravated assault, simple assault, theft and vandalism; CrimeGrade™ filled them in from the department's own monthly pattern.
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 Muskegon Heights
Muskegon Heights has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Muskegon Heights, 85% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 60% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (85%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (56%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (60%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (68%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Muskegon Heights compares with nearby cities
Muskegon Heights has the most crime of its 8 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Muskegon Heights. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Muskegon Heights has more crime than 99% of them.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Muskegon Heights
Two things set Muskegon Heights apart: it has 16.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 2.9 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and they run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.16.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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. 60% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (31 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 81% 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 Muskegon Heights: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 82% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.24 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 81% 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 Muskegon Heights
Crime costs Muskegon Heights about $5,537 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than triple 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 $102 million a year, or $10,134 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$10 million
$1,043
Rape
$670,000
$66
Robbery
$420,000
$42
Assault
$5.3 million
$525
Burglary
$360,000
$36
Theft
$1.2 million
$121
Vehicle theft
$830,000
$82
Arson
$270,000
$27
Vandalism
$2.3 million
$232
Total
$22 million
$2,176
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 Muskegon Heights 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 Muskegon Heights, MI average a SchoolGrade of D-: 23% of students test proficient, against 22% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Muskegon Heights on SchoolGrade
