The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Phillips County, AR
Phillips County is home to 15,400 residents and includes Helena-West Helena and Marvell · Updated November 2026
Is Phillips County, AR safe?
Yes, crime in Phillips County is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Phillips County sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 48% of Americans live. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Phillips County run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 828 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Phillips County as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Phillips County scores 828.
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 Phillips County, AR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Phillips 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 Phillips County
Burglaries run high for an A-graded county. Phillips County has 9.0 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US county, the figure is 1.4.
Aggravated assault at about triple the US rate. Phillips County has 8.0 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Phillips County
Safety changes a lot from one part of Phillips County to the next: 49% of residents live in areas graded A or B, while 38% live in areas graded D or F. Grades across Phillips County run from A+ to F; 46% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
49%13%38%
A or B 49%C 13%D or F 38%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Phillips 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 Helena-West Helena area the most.
Is crime going up in Phillips County?
Reported crime in Phillips County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 13% and property crime down 40%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 12 to 10 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 37 to 22 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 26% and property crime fell 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Phillips CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Phillips County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Phillips County
Violent, US
Property, Phillips County
Property, US
2016
-37%
+4%
-15%
+15%
2017
-20%
+4%
-2%
+12%
2018
-14%
+0%
-13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-6%
+4%
-9%
-8%
2021
+35%
+6%
-17%
-10%
2022
-2%
+5%
-34%
-6%
2023
-31%
+2%
-32%
-7%
2024
-13%
-4%
-40%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Phillips County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Phillips County has about 60 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 62% more than the US as a whole and 26% more than Arkansas.
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 Phillips County, about 36% 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.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Phillips County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Phillips County, 9 have less crime. Quitman County, MS and Tallahatchie County, MS have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Phillips 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, Phillips County has more crime than 98% of them.
Empty homes, density and walkability in Phillips County
Two things set Phillips County apart: it has 22.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 2% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary 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 and arson.22.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 90% 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. 87% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 72% of Americans
Show all 6
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 89% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.29 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 89% 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 Phillips 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 Phillips County
Crime costs Phillips County about $3,307 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, more than double 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 $116 million a year, or $7,534 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$12 million
$785
Rape
$930,000
$60
Robbery
$140,000
$9
Assault
$5.0 million
$326
Burglary
$1.2 million
$81
Theft
$840,000
$54
Vehicle theft
$650,000
$42
Arson
$320,000
$21
Vandalism
$1.5 million
$98
Total
$23 million
$1,475
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 Phillips 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 Phillips County, AR average a SchoolGrade of F: 16% of students test proficient, against 22% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Phillips County on SchoolGrade
