Shawnee County, the third-most populous county in Kansas, is home to 178,000 residents and includes Topeka and Silver Lake · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Shawnee County?
Shawnee County grades B for violent crime, with more of it than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Assaults make up 95% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
B
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 664 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
23% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Shawnee County as a whole, and 77% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Shawnee County scores 664.
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 Shawnee County, KS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Shawnee 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 Shawnee County
Aggravated assaults run high. Shawnee County has aggravated assaults at about double the US rate: 5.6 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Robberies happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Shawnee County, 42% of reported robberies happen at homes, against 17% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Shawnee County
Violent crime varies widely across Shawnee County: 57% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 26% in areas graded D or F. Violent crime grades across Shawnee County run from A+ to F.
57%17%26%
A or B 57%C 17%D or F 26%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Shawnee 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 Shawnee County?
Reported violent crime in Shawnee County has risen 18% since 2019. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.8 to 6.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 10%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Shawnee CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Shawnee County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Shawnee County
Violent, US
2016
-17%
+4%
2017
-14%
+4%
2018
-12%
+0%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
+7%
+4%
2021
+16%
+6%
2022
+30%
+5%
2023
+32%
+2%
2024
+18%
-4%
Violent crime rates and types in Shawnee County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Shawnee County has about 20 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 52% more than the US as a whole and close to Kansas.
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 Shawnee County, about 95% of the total. Murder and rape are far rarer, but they account for 45% 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 Shawnee County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Shawnee County, 2022 to 2024.
In Shawnee County, 64% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (64%)
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 Shawnee County and nearby counties
Shawnee County has the most violent crime of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Shawnee 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, Shawnee County has more violent crime than 95% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with violent crime, one sets Shawnee County apart: it has 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery, yet robbery runs higher here than that would suggest.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.58 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 86% of Americans
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 77% 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 Shawnee County: F (0 of 100).2 trips an hourUS: noneLower 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 Shawnee County
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Shawnee County about $459 million a year, or $2,577 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $90 million, or $505 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
$36 million
$204
Rape
$4.1 million
$23
Robbery
$3.3 million
$18
Assault
$46 million
$259
Total
$90 million
$505
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.
