Milwaukee County, WI Violent Crime Rates and Maps

D+

Violent Crime Grade	D-
Property Crime Grade	D+
Other Crime Grade	D

Which crimes are included?

$347.2 million

Cost of Crime™ for Milwaukee County, WI

In 2025, violent crime will cost $902 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Milwaukee County with the least violent crime and red marks the most, weighted by the type and severity of each offense. Violent crime concentrates where people gather after dark, near nightlife, bars, and transit, more than on residential streets. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read those hot spots.

The D- grade reflects how often assault, robbery, rape, and murder occur in Milwaukee County against the average US county, where the rate is much higher than the norm. Milwaukee County sits in the 13th percentile for violent-crime safety, ahead of 13% of counties and behind 87%. The grade covers only Milwaukee County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.

The violent crime rate in Milwaukee County is 6.582 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southwest part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 83 in the north areas to 1 in 438 in the southwest.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Milwaukee County, WI report the most violent crime, about 1,333 cases per year. The southwest part reports the fewest, around 229 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Milwaukee County, WI

The tangible cost of violent crime in Milwaukee County is projected at $347,197,757 for 2025, about $368 per resident and $902 per household. That equals 1.0% of the median household income, and it counts only the bills that can be totaled: emergency care, lost wages, and the justice response. The larger cost, the harm to victims, comes later on this page. These tangible costs split into:

Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 42.0%
Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 44.8%
Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.1%

How Much Does Violent Crime Cost in Milwaukee County Compared to Other Counties?

Milwaukee County, WI:	$368
Dane County, WI:	$296
Washington County, WI:	$129
Wisconsin:	$238
USA:	$258

The tangible cost of violent crime is $368 per resident each year in Milwaukee County, which is $110 more than the national average and $130 more than Wisconsin's state average. The comparison below uses counties similar to Milwaukee County:

In Dane County, WI, crime costs $296 per person, which is $72 less than in Milwaukee County.
In Washington County, WI, crime costs $129 per person, which is $238 less than in Milwaukee County

2025 Projected Violent Crime Cost by Type

The table below breaks the violent-crime total into its four offenses for Milwaukee County, with the projected cost per resident.

Crime	Cost to Milwaukee County	Cost per Milwaukee County Resident
Murder	$147.5 million	$156
Rape/Sexual Assault	$41.6 million	$44
Robbery	$19.2 million	$20
Assault	$138.9 million	$147
Total Cost of Violent Crime	$347,197,757	$368

The Human Cost of Violent Crime in Milwaukee County, WI

Much of what violent crime costs never reaches a bill. Pain, trauma, and lost quality of life for victims and their families typically outweigh the medical and legal totals above. Research-based methods put a figure on that harm so it can be compared across places. By those methods, the human cost of violent crime in Milwaukee County totals $1,221,665,895 ($1,295 per resident). Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $1,568,863,652 ($1,663 per resident). This human toll is what sets violent crime apart from property crime in Milwaukee County, WI, where the loss is mostly replaceable property. All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Violent Crime Maps

Violent crime rates are measured per resident, so places packed with visitors after dark read high even when few people live there. Bars, clubs, event venues, and transit hubs draw the crowds where assaults and robberies cluster. How strongly this shows on the map depends on the commercial base; the east part of the county has more retail establishments. A red block full of bars and venues does not mean the homes around it are dangerous.

Transit stations show the same effect: large moving crowds, few residents, so per-capita violent crime reads high. Major airports, of which Milwaukee County has 1, are the extreme case. Before judging a residential street, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total count of incidents, and note what draws crowds nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Milwaukee County, WI at ISP Reports.

Milwaukee County Violent Crime Breakdown

The table below shows which offenses feed the Violent Crime Grade above, each as crimes per 1,000 Milwaukee County residents in a standard year.

Crime Type	Crime Rate
Assault	5.125
Robbery	0.6457
Rape	0.7278
Murder	0.0832
Total Violent Crime	6.582 (D-)

Individual Milwaukee County Crime Maps & Stats

Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Counties

Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of violent crime in Milwaukee County is higher. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Milwaukee County.

Nearby County	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Waukesha County, WI	A	A+	A
Ozaukee County, WI	A	A+	A
Racine County, WI	B-	C+	B-
Washington County, WI	A+	A+	A+
Kenosha County, WI	C+	B-	B-
Walworth County, WI	A	A	A+
Jefferson County, WI	A	A	A
Dodge County, WI	A-	A	A
Rock County, WI	B-	B	B
Dane County, WI	C+	B+	C+

Crime Maps and Rates for County with Similar Populations

Milwaukee County is higher versus other counties of the same size for violent crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.

Similar County	Overall Crime Grade	Violent Crime Grade	Property Crime Grade
Sacramento County, CA	C-	D	D
Palm Beach County, FL	A	B+	B+
New Hanover County, NC	D	C+	C+
Santa Clara County, CA	B+	C+	C+
New York County, NY	C+	D+	D+
Morris County, NJ	A+	A+	A+
Hays County, TX	B+	B+	B+
Mercer County, NJ	A-	A-	A-
Clay County, MO	C	B-	B-
Kitsap County, WA	D-	C+	C+

Considering only the violent crime rate, Milwaukee County is less safe than the Wisconsin state average and less safe than the national average.

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All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.