The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Waterford, MI
Waterford is a township of 68,500 in Oakland County, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Detroit · Updated November 2026
Is Waterford, MI safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Waterford is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Waterford sits near the middle: 51% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 49% in neighborhoods with less. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Waterford run from A to C+, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 844 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
51% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Waterford as a whole, and 49% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Waterford scores 844.
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 Waterford, MI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Waterford, 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 Waterford
Thefts and acts of vandalism both run low. In Waterford, each runs at less than half the US rate: 5.0 thefts and 2.4 acts of vandalism a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 5.5 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Waterford
Low crime is the norm across Waterford: 98% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Waterford run from A to C+; 76% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
98%
A or B 98%C 2%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Waterford, the northeast side has the least crime and the southeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Waterford?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Waterford is up 44%, while property crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.9 to 2.7 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.0 to 8.1 (US: 18). Neither changed much from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
WaterfordUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Waterford. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Waterford
Violent, US
Property, Waterford
Property, US
2016
-30%
+4%
+22%
+15%
2017
-14%
+4%
+28%
+12%
2018
+10%
+0%
+16%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+26%
+4%
-10%
-8%
2021
+18%
+6%
-10%
-10%
2022
+24%
+5%
-1%
-6%
2023
+48%
+2%
-10%
-7%
2024
+44%
-4%
-9%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Waterford
CrimeGrade™ estimates Waterford has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 39% 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 Waterford is assault, about 49% 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 Waterford Township 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 Waterford
Waterford has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Waterford, 60% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 52% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (60%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (52%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (65%)
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 Waterford compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Waterford, 7 have less crime. White Lake and Clarkston have the least.
Two things set Waterford apart: it has 3.1% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 2.9 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places with few empty homes tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 85% 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 Waterford: F (3 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. 89% 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.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 82% 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
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.31 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 68% 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 Waterford
Crime costs Waterford about $593 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 51% 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 $61 million a year, or $884 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.4 million
$35
Rape
$1.4 million
$21
Robbery
$190,000
$3
Assault
$8.7 million
$127
Burglary
$860,000
$13
Theft
$1.8 million
$26
Vehicle theft
$1.6 million
$23
Arson
$50,000
$1
Vandalism
$1.1 million
$17
Total
$18 million
$264
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 Waterford 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 Waterford, MI average a SchoolGrade of C-: 34% of students test proficient, against 31% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Waterford on SchoolGrade
