The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in St. Clair Shores, MI
St. Clair Shores is a city of 56,800 in Macomb County, about 14 miles northeast of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
Is St. Clair Shores, MI safe?
Yes, crime in St. Clair Shores is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, St. Clair Shores sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 55% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within St. Clair Shores run from A to B, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 861 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
55% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than St. Clair Shores as a whole, and 45% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. St. Clair Shores scores 861.
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 St. Clair Shores, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in St. Clair Shores, 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 St. Clair Shores
Thefts from cars happen at homes far more often than nationally. In St. Clair Shores, 64% of reported thefts from cars happen at homes, against 34% nationally.
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In St. Clair Shores, each runs at less than half the US rate: 5.9 thefts and 2.2 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of St. Clair Shores
Every part of St. Clair Shores where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across St. Clair Shores run from A to B; 83% 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 St. Clair Shores, the east side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Is crime going up in St. Clair Shores?
Since 2019, reported property crime in St. Clair Shores is up 11%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.9 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.5 to 11 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 41%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
St. Clair ShoresUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves St. Clair Shores. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, St. Clair Shores
Violent, US
Property, St. Clair Shores
Property, US
2016
+4%
+4%
+43%
+15%
2017
+1%
+4%
+24%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
+7%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-3%
+4%
-17%
-8%
2021
-8%
+6%
-15%
-10%
2022
-15%
+5%
-7%
-6%
2023
-32%
+2%
+9%
-7%
2024
-5%
-4%
+11%
-15%
Crime rates and types in St. Clair Shores
CrimeGrade™ estimates St. Clair Shores has about 20 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 47% less than the US as a whole and 43% 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 St. Clair Shores is assault, about 42% 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.
The St. Clair Shores Police Department's 2024 report of burglary had a month far out of line with the rest, a sign of a data-entry error or a catch-up month, so CrimeGrade™ set it aside and used the other months.
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 St. Clair Shores
St. Clair Shores has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In St. Clair Shores, 65% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (65%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (64%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (60%)
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.
How St. Clair Shores compares with nearby cities
St. Clair Shores has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest cities; only Village of Grosse Pointe Shores and Grosse Pointe Farms have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from St. Clair Shores. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, St. Clair Shores has more crime than 58% of them.
Night lighting, empty homes and walkability in St. Clair Shores
Two things set St. Clair Shores apart: it has 3.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 23 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 87% 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. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 6
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 St. Clair Shores: D+ (23 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 83% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 74% 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 St. Clair Shores
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs St. Clair Shores about $461 a year per household, 62% 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 $34 million a year, or $604 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.2 million
$21
Rape
$800,000
$14
Robbery
$350,000
$6
Assault
$5.2 million
$91
Burglary
$690,000
$12
Theft
$1.7 million
$30
Vehicle theft
$1.3 million
$23
Arson
$19,000
under $1
Vandalism
$880,000
$15
Total
$12 million
$214
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 St. Clair Shores 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. St. Clair Shores 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 St. Clair Shores, MI average a SchoolGrade of C: 37% of students test proficient, against 34% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in St. Clair Shores on SchoolGrade
