Nelson is a city of 408 in Saline County, about 40 miles west of downtown Columbia · Updated November 2026
Is Nelson, MO safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Nelson: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 97% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 979 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
97% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Nelson as a whole, and 3% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Nelson scores 979.
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 Nelson, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Nelson, 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 Nelson
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. Nelson draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 17.2 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Crime rates and types in Nelson
CrimeGrade™ estimates Nelson has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 9% less than the US as a whole and 19% less than Missouri.
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 Nelson, about 46% 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 Nelson
The Saline County Sheriff's Office polices Nelson, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Nelson, 74% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (74%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (68%)
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 Nelson compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to Nelson, 6 have less crime. Pleasant Green and Lamine have the least.
Crime costs Nelson about $1,191 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 $790,000 a year, or $1,936 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$56,000
$137
Rape
$19,000
$47
Robbery
$1,600
$4
Assault
$72,000
$176
Burglary
$7,800
$19
Theft
$14,000
$33
Vehicle theft
$7,700
$19
Arson
$5,400
$13
Vandalism
$20,000
$50
Total
$200,000
$498
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 Nelson 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 Nelson, MO average a SchoolGrade of C: 41% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Nelson on SchoolGrade
