The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Otsego County, MI
Otsego County is home to 25,600 residents and includes Gaylord and Vanderbilt · Updated November 2026
Is Otsego County, MI safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Otsego County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 84% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Otsego County run from A+ to B+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 947 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
84% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Otsego County as a whole, and 16% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Otsego County scores 947.
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 Otsego County, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Otsego 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 Otsego County
Reported rapes run above the US rate. Otsego County has less crime than the US as a whole, 43% below the US rate, but more reported rapes: 1.1 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 nationally.
Burglary runs low. Otsego County has 0.83 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 2.4.
The safest and most dangerous places in Otsego County
Every part of Otsego County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Otsego 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 Otsego 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 northeast side has the least crime and the Gaylord area the most.
Is crime going up in Otsego County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Otsego County is up 29% and property crime is down 23%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.2 to 2.9 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 11 to 8.8 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime rose 26%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Otsego CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Otsego County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Otsego County
Violent, US
Property, Otsego County
Property, US
2016
+58%
+4%
+77%
+15%
2017
+6%
+4%
+64%
+12%
2018
+33%
+0%
+44%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+18%
+4%
-15%
-8%
2021
+29%
+6%
-26%
-10%
2022
+21%
+5%
-26%
-6%
2023
+20%
+2%
-39%
-7%
2024
+29%
-4%
-23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Otsego County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Otsego County has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 38% less than 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 Otsego County, about 45% 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 Otsego County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Otsego County, 2022 to 2024.
In Otsego County, 77% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (77%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (64%)
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 Otsego County compares with nearby counties
Otsego County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Montmorency County and Presque Isle County have the least crime nearby.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Otsego County
Two things set Otsego County apart: it has 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 16.5 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% 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. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 88% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 97% 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.26% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 95% 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 Otsego County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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 Otsego County
Crime costs Otsego County about $769 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 36% 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 $32 million a year, or $1,262 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.9 million
$73
Rape
$1.7 million
$67
Robbery
$62,000
$2
Assault
$2.6 million
$100
Burglary
$190,000
$7
Theft
$830,000
$32
Vehicle theft
$270,000
$11
Arson
$31,000
$1
Vandalism
$460,000
$18
Total
$8.0 million
$313
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 Otsego 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 Otsego County, MI average a SchoolGrade of C+: 39% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Otsego County on SchoolGrade
