The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Vadnais Heights, MN
Vadnais Heights is a city of 13,300 in Ramsey County, about 11 miles northeast of downtown Minneapolis · Updated November 2026
Is Vadnais Heights, MN safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Vadnais Heights has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 65% 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 896 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Vadnais Heights as a whole, and 35% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Vadnais Heights scores 896.
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 Vadnais Heights, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Vadnais Heights, 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 Vadnais Heights
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Vadnais Heights, 55% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Vadnais Heights
Every part of Vadnais Heights where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Vadnais Heights run from A+ to A-; every part of Vadnais Heights 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 Vadnais Heights, the northwest side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Is crime going up in Vadnais Heights?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Vadnais Heights is up 33% and property crime is down 25%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.9 to 2.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 18 to 13 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Vadnais HeightsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Vadnais Heights. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Vadnais Heights
Violent, US
Property, Vadnais Heights
Property, US
2016
-55%
+4%
-3%
+15%
2017
-40%
+4%
+9%
+12%
2018
-26%
+0%
-15%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+3%
+4%
+25%
-8%
2021
+74%
+6%
+40%
-10%
2022
+56%
+5%
+24%
-6%
2023
+48%
+2%
-19%
-7%
2024
+33%
-4%
-25%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Vadnais Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Vadnais Heights has about 25 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 34% less than the US as a whole and 18% less than Minnesota.
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.
Theft makes up about 42% of crime reported in Vadnais Heights. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
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 Vadnais Heights
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office polices Vadnais Heights, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Vadnais Heights, 50% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (35%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (49%)
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.
How Vadnais Heights compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Vadnais Heights, 5 have less crime. North Oaks and Birchwood Village have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Vadnais Heights. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Vadnais Heights has more crime than 65% of them.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in Vadnais Heights
Two things set Vadnais Heights apart: it has 2.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 83 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.2.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 94% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.83 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 93% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (13 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 65% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.3.6 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 92% 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.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 87% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 71% 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 Vadnais Heights
Crime costs Vadnais Heights about $550 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 54% 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 $8.1 million a year, or $609 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$130,000
$9
Rape
$170,000
$13
Robbery
$91,000
$7
Assault
$1.3 million
$95
Burglary
$150,000
$12
Theft
$700,000
$53
Vehicle theft
$170,000
$13
Arson
$34,000
$3
Vandalism
$390,000
$29
Total
$3.1 million
$234
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 Vadnais Heights 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 Vadnais Heights, MN average a SchoolGrade of A-: 46% of students test proficient, against 53% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Vadnais Heights on SchoolGrade
