Rock County is home to 164,400 residents and includes Janesville and Beloit · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Rock County?
Violent crime in Rock County sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 58% of Americans live. Assaults make up 92% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 887 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
58% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Rock County as a whole, and 42% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Rock County scores 887.
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 Rock County, WI at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Rock 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 Rock County
Robberies and aggravated assaults both run low. In Rock County, each runs at less than half the US rate: 0.21 robberies and 1.2 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.6 nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Rock County
Low violent crime is the norm across Rock County: 87% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 3% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Rock County run from A+ to F.
87%10%
A or B 87%C 10%D or F 3%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Rock 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.
Is violent crime going up in Rock County?
Reported violent crime in Rock County has fallen 24% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.4 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 17%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Rock CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Rock County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Rock County
Violent, US
2016
-3%
+4%
2017
+2%
+4%
2018
+3%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+1%
+4%
2021
+15%
+6%
2022
+5%
+5%
2023
-9%
+2%
2024
-24%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Rock County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Rock County has about 8.9 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 34% 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 Rock County, about 92% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 53% 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 Rock County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Rock County, 2022 to 2024.
In Rock County, 65% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally. Robberies happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 38% of them.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (65%)
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 Rock County and nearby counties
Rock County has more violent crime than 9 of its 10 nearest counties. Green County and Ogle County, IL have the least violent crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Rock 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, Rock County has more violent crime than 50% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Rock County apart: it has 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery, and it runs low here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 79% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.42 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 54% 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 Rock County: D- (9 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 53% 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 Rock County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Rock County about $153 million a year, or $931 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $32 million, or $193 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 79% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$13 million
$76
Rape
$4.2 million
$25
Robbery
$1.1 million
$7
Assault
$14 million
$85
Total
$32 million
$193
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.
