Rolla is a city of 29,200 in Phelps County, about 50 miles southeast of downtown Jefferson City · Updated November 2026
Is Rolla, MO safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Rolla is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Rolla sits near the middle: 55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Rolla run from A+ to B-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 860 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Rolla as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Rolla scores 860.
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 Rolla, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Rolla, 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 Rolla
Simple assault stands out among A-graded cities. For the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 6.0 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Rolla has 16.9.
Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Rolla, 59% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Rolla
Every part of Rolla where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Rolla run from A+ to B-; 48% 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.
Within Rolla, the northwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in Rolla?
Reported crime in Rolla has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 30% and property crime down 37%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.1 to 3.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 38 to 24 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
RollaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Rolla. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Rolla
Violent, US
Property, Rolla
Property, US
2016
-24%
+4%
-15%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
-8%
+12%
2018
+12%
+0%
-16%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+14%
+4%
+12%
-8%
2021
-6%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
+6%
+5%
-16%
-6%
2023
-35%
+2%
-21%
-7%
2024
-30%
-4%
-37%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Rolla
CrimeGrade™ estimates Rolla has about 42 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 12% more than the US as a whole and close to Missouri.
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 Rolla is assault, about 46% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Rolla
Rolla has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 56% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (48%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (56%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (53%)
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.
One thing sets Rolla apart: it has 12.3% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% 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 Rolla: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 56% 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.13.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 79% 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.68% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 79% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 75% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Rolla 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 Rolla
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Rolla about $1,035 a year per household, 14% 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 $31 million a year, or $1,047 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$850,000
$29
Rape
$940,000
$32
Robbery
$130,000
$4
Assault
$5.6 million
$192
Burglary
$660,000
$23
Theft
$2.3 million
$78
Vehicle theft
$720,000
$25
Arson
$89,000
$3
Vandalism
$480,000
$16
Total
$12 million
$402
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 Rolla 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 Rolla, MO average a SchoolGrade of B-: 42% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Rolla on SchoolGrade
