The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Nicollet County, MN
Nicollet County is home to 34,400 residents and includes North Mankato and St. Peter · Updated November 2026
Is Nicollet County, MN safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Nicollet County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 90% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Nicollet County run from A+ to B+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 961 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
90% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Nicollet County as a whole, and 10% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Nicollet County scores 961.
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 Nicollet County, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Nicollet 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 Nicollet County
Aggravated assaults are uncommon. Nicollet County has aggravated assaults at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.62 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Nicollet County
Every part of Nicollet County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Nicollet County run from A+ to B+; 92% 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.
Cities and towns in Nicollet County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the northwest side has the least crime and the southeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Nicollet County?
Reported crime in Nicollet County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 14% and property crime down 29%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.1 to 0.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 8.9 to 6.3 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 31% and property crime fell 20%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Nicollet CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Nicollet County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Nicollet County
Violent, US
Property, Nicollet County
Property, US
2016
-45%
+4%
+23%
+15%
2017
+3%
+4%
+20%
+12%
2018
+6%
+0%
+24%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-0%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
+27%
+6%
+20%
-10%
2022
-0%
+5%
-10%
-6%
2023
+25%
+2%
-11%
-7%
2024
-14%
-4%
-29%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Nicollet County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Nicollet County has about 16 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 56% less than the US as a whole and 46% less than Minnesota.
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 Nicollet County, about 36% 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 Nicollet County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Nicollet County, 2022 to 2024.
In Nicollet County, 47% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 47% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (47%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (40%)
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 Nicollet County compares with nearby counties
Nicollet County has more crime than 7 of its 10 nearest counties. Sibley County and Faribault County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Nicollet 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, Nicollet County is safer than 75% of them.
Two things set Nicollet County apart: it has 7.2 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 4.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 96% 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 Nicollet County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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. 81% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 84% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.8% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 68% 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.75% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 67% 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 Nicollet County
Crime costs Nicollet County about $456 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 62% 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 $17 million a year, or $507 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$910,000
$26
Rape
$700,000
$20
Robbery
$86,000
$3
Assault
$1.9 million
$56
Burglary
$230,000
$7
Theft
$1.0 million
$29
Vehicle theft
$100,000
$3
Arson
$62,000
$2
Vandalism
$780,000
$23
Total
$5.8 million
$169
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 Nicollet 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.
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 Nicollet County, MN average a SchoolGrade of A-: 41% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Nicollet County on SchoolGrade
