The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Vernon County, MO
Vernon County is home to 19,700 residents and includes Nevada and Sheldon · Updated November 2026
Is Vernon County, MO safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Vernon County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A, safer than the neighborhoods where 75% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Vernon County run from A+ to C-, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 922 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
75% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Vernon County as a whole, and 25% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Vernon County scores 922.
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 Vernon County, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Vernon 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 Vernon County
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Vernon County, 62% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Vernon County
Most of Vernon County grades well: 94% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Vernon County run from A+ to C-; 54% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
94%
A or B 94%C 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the northwest side has the least crime and the Nevada area the most.
Is crime going up in Vernon County?
Reported crime in Vernon County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 20% and property crime down 20%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.3 to 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 33 to 26 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 21% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Vernon CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Vernon County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Vernon County
Violent, US
Property, Vernon County
Property, US
2016
+15%
+4%
+25%
+15%
2017
+42%
+4%
+30%
+12%
2018
+12%
+0%
+10%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+25%
+4%
+0%
-8%
2021
-17%
+6%
-10%
-10%
2022
-37%
+5%
-14%
-6%
2023
-34%
+2%
-8%
-7%
2024
-20%
-4%
-20%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Vernon County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Vernon County has about 67 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 79% more than the US as a whole and 59% more than 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.
Assault is the most common crime in Vernon County, about 36% 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 Vernon County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Vernon County, 2022 to 2024.
In Vernon County, 79% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (79%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (62%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (51%)
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 Vernon County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Vernon County, 8 have less crime. St. Clair County and Linn County, KS have the least.
Walkability, empty homes and density in Vernon County
Two things set Vernon County apart: it has a Walk Grade of F (6 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 12.4% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places that are hard to get around on foot tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
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. 96% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (6 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 95% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.12.4% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% 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 92% of Americans
Show all 6
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.37% where people liveUS: 78%Lower 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 Vernon 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.33 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 79% 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 Vernon County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Vernon County about $1,668 a year per household, 38% more 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 $33 million a year, or $1,690 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.3 million
$64
Rape
$960,000
$49
Robbery
$130,000
$6
Assault
$4.7 million
$241
Burglary
$540,000
$27
Theft
$2.0 million
$103
Vehicle theft
$1.2 million
$58
Arson
$91,000
$5
Vandalism
$2.0 million
$103
Total
$13 million
$657
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 Vernon 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. Vernon County is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse 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 Vernon County, MO average a SchoolGrade of D+: 37% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Vernon County on SchoolGrade
