Sheridan County is home to 3,670 residents and includes Plentywood and Medicine Lake · Updated November 2026
Is Sheridan County, MT safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Sheridan County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 99% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Every neighborhood in Sheridan County grades A+.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 992 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
99% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Sheridan County as a whole, and 1% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Sheridan County scores 992.
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 Sheridan County, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Sheridan 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 Sheridan County
Crime per resident runs higher than the grade. Sheridan County draws many workers, shoppers and visitors: it has 16.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Crimes against them are counted against the few who live here, so crime per resident looks higher than the CrimeGrade™ suggests. The CrimeGrade™ counts everyone who spends time here.
Crime rates and types in Sheridan County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Sheridan County has about 34 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 9% less than the US as a whole and close to Montana.
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 Sheridan County, about 40% 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 Sheridan County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Sheridan County, 2022 to 2024.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for vandalism.
How Sheridan County compares with nearby counties
Sheridan County has less crime than 5 of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Sheridan 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, Sheridan County is safer than 79% of them.
Two things set Sheridan County apart: it has 16.4 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many stores and restaurants tend to report more theft, yet theft runs lower here than that would suggest.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.16.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 98% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 95% 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. 67% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (24 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 76% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.11.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 90% 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 Sheridan County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 83% 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 Sheridan County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Sheridan County about $1,074 a year per household, 11% 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 $6.7 million a year, or $1,835 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$540,000
$146
Rape
$100,000
$28
Robbery
$6,400
$2
Assault
$570,000
$156
Burglary
$53,000
$14
Theft
$200,000
$55
Vehicle theft
$91,000
$25
Arson
$53,000
$14
Vandalism
$130,000
$36
Total
$1.7 million
$476
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 Sheridan 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 Sheridan County, MT average a SchoolGrade of C+: 38% of students test proficient, against 42% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Sheridan County on SchoolGrade
