Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota, with 132,000 residents in Cass County · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Fargo?
Violent crime is high in Fargo: a B, with more violent crime than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Assaults make up 93% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 680 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
24% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Fargo as a whole, and 76% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Fargo scores 680.
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 Fargo, ND at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Fargo, 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 Fargo
Reported rapes run high for a city with a B for violent crime. Fargo has 1.0 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of a US city graded B for violent crime, the figure is 0.40.
One part of Fargo stands out for robbery. Robberies in Jefferson-Carl Ben & Lewis and Clark, in central Fargo, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Fargo
Low violent crime is the norm across Fargo: 76% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Fargo run from A+ to D-.
76%20%
A or B 76%C 20%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Osgood, Amber Valley & Woodhaven, southwestAggravated assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Fargo.A-794
2River Drive, southeastClose to the rest of Fargo on most crimes.B+749
3Brunsdale, Bennett & Southpointe, southClose to the rest of Fargo on most crimes.B+741
4Northport, Washington & Horace Mann, northeastClose to the rest of Fargo on most crimes.B+703
5North Dakota State University & Madison-Unicorn Park, northClose to the rest of Fargo on most crimes.B648
6Village West, West Acres & Willow Park, westClose to the rest of Fargo on most crimes.B619
7Hawthorne, Clara Barton & Downtown Fargo, eastAggravated assaults run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Fargo.C+527
8Jefferson-Carl Ben & Lewis and Clark, centralAggravated assaults run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Fargo.C394
Neighborhood areas of Fargo, 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 Fargo?
Reported violent crime in Fargo peaked in 2022 and has fallen 18% since, back near its 2019 level. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.7 to 5.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). Violent crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Violent crime, change since 2019
FargoUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Fargo. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Fargo
Violent, US
2016
-16%
+4%
2017
-13%
+4%
2018
-10%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+10%
+6%
2022
+30%
+5%
2023
+12%
+2%
2024
+6%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Fargo
CrimeGrade™ estimates Fargo has about 26 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and 75% more than North Dakota.
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 Fargo, about 93% 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 Fargo
Fargo has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Fargo, 61% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often at stores and businesses: 41% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (41%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (61%)
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 Fargo and nearby cities
Fargo has the most violent crime of its 5 nearest cities.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Fargo apart: it has 80 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more robbery, and it runs high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.80 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher 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 assault. 66% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.31% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 4
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Fargo: D- (12 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 61% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Fargo 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 Fargo
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Fargo about $202 million a year, or $1,530 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $53 million, or $398 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 74% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$8.6 million
$65
Rape
$8.3 million
$63
Robbery
$3.2 million
$24
Assault
$32 million
$245
Total
$53 million
$398
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.
