The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Norman, OK
Norman is the third-largest city in Oklahoma, with 129,800 residents in Cleveland County, about 18 miles south of downtown Oklahoma City · Updated November 2026
Is Norman, OK safe?
Yes, crime in Norman is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Norman sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 47% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A and property crime B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Norman run from A+ to C+, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 822 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
47% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Norman as a whole, and 53% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Norman scores 822.
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 Norman, OK at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Norman, 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 Norman
Burglaries run high for an A-graded city. Norman has 3.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2.
Robberies are uncommon. Norman has robberies at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.18 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in the morning far more often than nationally. In Norman, 50% of reported thefts from cars happen in the morning (6 am to noon), against 23% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Norman
Low crime is the norm across Norman: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Norman run from A+ to C+; 39% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Norman, the northeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Norman?
Reported violent crime in Norman peaked in 2021 and has fallen 19% since, back near its 2019 level. Property crime is down 17% from 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.8 to 2.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 27 to 23 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
NormanUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Norman. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Norman
Violent, US
Property, Norman
Property, US
2016
-1%
+4%
+20%
+15%
2017
+7%
+4%
+2%
+12%
2018
+1%
+0%
+5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+6%
+4%
-4%
-8%
2021
+15%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
+11%
+5%
+2%
-6%
2023
+14%
+2%
-15%
-7%
2024
-7%
-4%
-17%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Norman
CrimeGrade™ estimates Norman has about 41 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% more than the US as a whole and close to Oklahoma.
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 is the most common crime in Norman, about 41% of everything reported, but assault 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 Norman
Norman has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Norman, 64% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (64%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (52%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Homes (52%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (48%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (24%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (62%)
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 Norman compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Norman, 7 have less crime. Cole and Washington have the least.
Parking lots, night lighting and walkability in Norman
Norman looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with crime.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.2 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 67% 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.89% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 61% 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. 85% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 59% of US city residents
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 58% 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.6.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 55% of US city residents
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 Norman: D (12 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 53% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Norman on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Norman
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Norman about $995 a year per household, 17% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $50 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $121 million a year, or $931 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.5 million
$27
Rape
$3.2 million
$24
Robbery
$730,000
$6
Assault
$17 million
$128
Burglary
$3.8 million
$29
Theft
$11 million
$87
Vehicle theft
$4.6 million
$36
Arson
$120,000
$1
Vandalism
$6.1 million
$47
Total
$50 million
$384
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 Norman 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 Norman, OK average a SchoolGrade of A-: 34% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Norman on SchoolGrade
