Polk County is home to 32,400 residents and includes Bolivar and Humansville · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Polk County?
Violent crime is low in Polk County: an A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 82% of Americans live. Assaults make up 96% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A+
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 947 of 1,000Less violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Polk County as a whole, and 18% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Polk County scores 947.
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 Polk County, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Polk 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 Polk County
Aggravated assault runs low. Polk County has 1.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 2.6.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Polk County
Every part of Polk County where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Polk County run from A+ to B+.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Polk 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 Polk County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Polk County has about 14 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to Missouri.
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 Polk County, about 96% 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 Polk County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Polk County, 2022 to 2024.
In Polk County, 69% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Aggravated assault
Homes (69%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Polk County and nearby counties
Polk County has more violent crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Hickory County and St. Clair County have the least violent crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Polk 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, Polk County is safer than 53% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, two set Polk County apart: it has 2% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 32 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.2% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 90% 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 Polk County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.32 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 84% 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 Polk County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Polk County about $26 million a year, or $794 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $6.5 million, or $201 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 75% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.5 million
$48
Rape
$1.0 million
$32
Robbery
$61,000
$2
Assault
$3.9 million
$120
Total
$6.5 million
$201
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. Polk County is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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.
