The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in West Allis, WI
West Allis is a city of 60,300 in Milwaukee County, about 6 miles southwest of downtown Milwaukee · Updated November 2026
Is West Allis, WI safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in West Allis is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so West Allis sits near the middle: 42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within West Allis run from A to C-, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 791 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
42% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West Allis as a whole, and 58% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West Allis scores 791.
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 West Allis, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West Allis, 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 West Allis
Robberies run high for an A-graded city. West Allis has 0.79 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 0.13.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In West Allis, 83% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of West Allis
Low crime is the norm across West Allis: 95% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across West Allis run from A to C-; 31% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
95%
A or B 95%C 5%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within West Allis, the south side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Is crime going up in West Allis?
Reported crime in West Allis has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 29% and property crime down 31%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.5 to 2.5 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 28 to 19 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 14% and property crime fell 17%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
West AllisUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves West Allis. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, West Allis
Violent, US
Property, West Allis
Property, US
2016
-6%
+4%
+33%
+15%
2017
-2%
+4%
+21%
+12%
2018
-7%
+0%
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-7%
+4%
+1%
-8%
2021
-25%
+6%
+2%
-10%
2022
-16%
+5%
-7%
-6%
2023
-17%
+2%
-17%
-7%
2024
-29%
-4%
-31%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West Allis
CrimeGrade™ estimates West Allis has about 43 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 15% more than the US as a whole and 75% more than Wisconsin.
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 is the most common crime in West Allis, about 34% of everything reported, but assault 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 West Allis
West Allis has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In West Allis, 75% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (75%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (74%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (83%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (42%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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; they are over one in five for vandalism.
How West Allis compares with nearby cities
Of the 10 cities closest to West Allis, 8 have less crime. Elm Grove and Brookfield have the least.
Night lighting, walkability and transit in West Allis
Two things set West Allis apart: it has a Walk Grade of C+ (43 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 9 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. It also combines many jobs with busy transit: places with both tend to report more theft and robbery than places with only one of them, and they run high 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
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.C+ (43 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 89% 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 West Allis: C (40 of 100).9 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 83% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.45% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 81% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.57 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 72% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 64% 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 West Allis
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs West Allis about $867 a year per household, 28% 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 $53 million a year, or $875 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.7 million
$29
Rape
$870,000
$14
Robbery
$1.5 million
$25
Assault
$6.9 million
$114
Burglary
$1.0 million
$17
Theft
$4.5 million
$75
Vehicle theft
$2.9 million
$47
Arson
$140,000
$2
Vandalism
$4.7 million
$78
Total
$24 million
$402
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 West Allis 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 West Allis, WI average a SchoolGrade of D-: 26% of students test proficient, against 26% projected for schools like them. Overall, they greatly exceed expectations. See schools in West Allis on SchoolGrade
