Duluth is the fifth-largest city in Minnesota, with 101,400 residents in St. Louis County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Duluth?
Duluth earns an A for violent crime, safer than the neighborhoods where 52% of Americans live. Assaults make up 90% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 868 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
52% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Duluth as a whole, and 48% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Duluth scores 868.
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 Duluth, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Duluth, 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 Duluth
Aggravated assaults run high in West End. In this part of south Duluth, they run at more than double the rate in the rest of Duluth.
Robbery runs low. Duluth has 0.34 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 0.62.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Duluth
Most of Duluth grades well for violent crime: 92% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 2% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Duluth run from A+ to D.
92%
A or B 92%C 6%D or F 2%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Lakeside-Lester Park, northeastSimple assaults run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Duluth.A+975
2Woodlands-Pleasantview, northSimple assaults run at a small fraction of the rate in the rest of Duluth.A+975
3Piedmont Heights, westSimple assaults run at less than half the rate in the rest of Duluth.A+948
4Park Point, southeastClose to the rest of Duluth on most crimes.A-841
5Spirit Valley-Denfeld-Norton Park, Morgan Park-Smithville-Riverside & Fond du Lac-Gary-New Duluth, southwestClose to the rest of Duluth on most crimes.A-833
6Congdon Park, eastClose to the rest of Duluth on most crimes.A-814
8West End, southSimple assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Duluth.B-561
Neighborhood areas of Duluth, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is violent crime going up in Duluth?
Reported violent crime in Duluth has fallen 36% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 3.4 to 2.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 18%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
DuluthUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Duluth. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Duluth
Violent, US
2016
+6%
+4%
2017
-5%
+4%
2018
+5%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-13%
+4%
2021
+15%
+6%
2022
-12%
+5%
2023
-21%
+2%
2024
-36%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Duluth
CrimeGrade™ estimates Duluth has about 8.0 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 40% less than the US as a whole and close to Minnesota.
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 Duluth, about 90% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 57% of the cost of violent crime here.
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 Duluth
Duluth has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Duluth, 39% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 33% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (33%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (39%)
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.
Violent crime in Duluth and nearby cities
Duluth has the most violent crime of its 6 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Duluth apart: it has 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 robbery than places with only one of them; here robbery sits near the national middle.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Duluth: D+ (24 of 100).9 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 81% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.63 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 79% 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 assault. 75% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (22 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 67% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.16% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 51% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Duluth on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Duluth
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Duluth about $107 million a year, or $1,055 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $21 million, or $207 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 80% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$9.5 million
$94
Rape
$2.5 million
$25
Robbery
$1.1 million
$11
Assault
$7.9 million
$78
Total
$21 million
$207
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.
