Dane County, the second-most populous county in Wisconsin, is home to 572,700 residents and includes Madison and Sun Prairie · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Dane County?
Dane County earns an A for violent crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 64% of Americans live. Assaults make up 94% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 905 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
64% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Dane County as a whole, and 36% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Dane County scores 905.
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 violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Dane County, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Dane 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 about violent crime in Dane County
Robberies are uncommon. Dane County has robberies at less than half the US rate: 0.21 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Dane County
Every part of Dane County where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Dane County run from A+ to C+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Dane County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Violent crime rates and types in Dane County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Dane County has about 7.4 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 45% less than the US as a whole and close to Wisconsin.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Dane County, about 94% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. 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 violent crime happens in Dane County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Dane County, 2022 to 2024.
In Dane County, 52% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 30% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (30%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (52%)
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 burglary, car theft, theft from cars, vandalism, robbery, aggravated assault.
Violent crime in Dane County and nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Dane County, 9 have less violent crime. Lafayette County and Marquette County have the least.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Dane County. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Dane County is safer than 86% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Dane County apart: it has 65 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 14 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places like that tend to report more robbery, yet robbery runs lower here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.65 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 92% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Dane County: D+ (19 of 100).14 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 91% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.23% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 60% 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 violent crime costs Dane County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Dane County about $350 million a year, or $611 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $79 million, or $138 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 78% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$19 million
$33
Rape
$8.3 million
$14
Robbery
$3.7 million
$7
Assault
$48 million
$83
Total
$79 million
$138
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
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.
