The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Rockford, MI
Rockford is a city of 33,200 in Kent County, about 13 miles northeast of downtown Grand Rapids · Updated November 2026
Is Rockford, MI safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Rockford has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 929 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
77% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Rockford as a whole, and 23% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Rockford scores 929.
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 Rockford, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Rockford, 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 Rockford
Reported rape is the exception. Rockford grades A+ for violent crime, but reported rape grades B+, worse than in the neighborhoods where 66% of Americans live.
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run low. In Rockford, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.60 car thefts and 0.70 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Rockford
Every part of Rockford where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Rockford run from A+ to A; every part of Rockford has 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.
Within Rockford, the east side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Rockford
CrimeGrade™ estimates Rockford has about 15 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 61% less than the US as a whole and 58% 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.
The largest share of crime reported in Rockford is assault, about 45% of the total. It also makes up 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.
How Rockford compares with nearby cities
Rockford has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest cities.
Empty homes, night lighting and walkability in Rockford
Two things set Rockford apart: it has 1.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 33% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% 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.33% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 92% 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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 91% 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 Rockford: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.23 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 82% of US city residents
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 Rockford
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Rockford about $415 a year per household, 66% 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 $13 million a year, or $393 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$230,000
$7
Rape
$790,000
$24
Robbery
$27,000
$1
Assault
$2.1 million
$62
Burglary
$120,000
$4
Theft
$810,000
$24
Vehicle theft
$310,000
$9
Arson
$29,000
$1
Vandalism
$430,000
$13
Total
$4.8 million
$145
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 Rockford 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. Rockford is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Rockford, MI average a SchoolGrade of A+: 58% of students test proficient, against 47% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in Rockford on SchoolGrade
