Wisconsin’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

According to our latest  State of Safety report, Wisconsinites spend a fair amount of time worrying about crime and safety. Almost half of survey respondents (48%) said they're highly concerned on a daily basis, compared to 47% across the US. However, the Badger State boasts lower crime rates than national averages, and its safest cities enjoy some of the lowest reported crime numbers in the country.

Wisconsin's violent crime rate (3.5) saw a slight rise since last year but remained below the nationwide rate of 4.0 incidents per 1,000 people overall. The state's property crime rate went down year over year, from 15.3 incidents per 1,000 people to 14.4.

Wisconsin comes in lower than national crime rates for both violent and property crimes. Among the 44 states that met reporting requirements this year, Wisconsin has the seventeenth-lowest violent crime rate and the eighth-lowest property crime rate.

Property crime in Wisconsin went down this year, after rising the previous two years—dropping 6% from last year. That helps us understand why property crime in general is the least-concerning crime issue in Wisconsin and the second-least concerned state overall. However, package theft is the most-worrisome crime issue, with both worry and experience rising year over year.

• Wisconsin’s property crime rate (14.4) is 30% below the national rate of 20.7 incidents per 1,000 people.
• 47% of Wisconsinites reported feeling safe in their home state (US 45%).
• 2 in 10 survey respondents (20%) said they had a personal experience with property crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, but that's still below the nationwide average of 27%. That makes Wisconsin the state with the second-lowest first-hand experience with property crime.
• Burglaries are less common in Wisconsin, making up 10% of all property crime compared to 13% nationwide. It's even less prevalent in the safest cities at 9%.
• 66% of survey respondents use some form of property protection (US 75%) with guard dogs on top, accounting for 36% of all security measures used.
• 31% of Wisconsinites said they added or increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%).

• 28% of survey respondents in Wisconsin reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%).
• 49% of participants expressed a high level of concern about package theft (US 53%).
• The preferred methods of package protection in Wisconsin are requesting that packages are left in a safe spot (26%) and video doorbells (23%).
• Nearly 7 in 10 respondents (69%) said they don't do anything to protect their packages from porch pirates.

Wisconsin is close to the national average when it comes to daily concern (48% versus 47% nationwide) about crime and safety in general, but when it comes to specifics, Wisconsin is less concerned about every issue including violent crime in general and gun violence, specifically. Only 42% of Wisconsin survey respondents say they’re worried about falling victim to a violent crime (US 50%).

• Wisconsin's violent crime rate rose from 3.2 incidents per 1,000 to 3.5 year over year.
• Reported experience with violent crime rose along with the state's crime rate, with 33% more people (16%) telling us they had a run-in with violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey than the previous year (12%).
• Statewide, violent crime accounts for 19% of all crimes, which is higher national levels (US 16%). It's less common in the safest cities at 10%.
• 28% of survey participants use some kind of personal protection like a stun gun or pepper spray, compared to 36% nationally.
• The most popular type of personal protection used by Wisconsin respondents this survey year was concealed firearms (54%) followed by pepper spray (43%).

• 47% said gun violence is the safety concern they worry about most on a daily basis (US 51%).
• The number of respondents with a personal gun violence experience (28%) went up by 67% since the previous survey year (US 12%).
• Wisconsin saw 9 mass shooting incidents in 2023, a 44% decrease from 16 in 2022.
• Firearms are the most-used form of personal protection and the third-most used form of property protection, according to Wisconsin survey participants.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 112 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Hobart-Lawrence jumped up 8 spots to land at number 1—it reported only 1 violent crime and 23 property crimes this year.
• Burlington saw the biggest improvement year over year, climbing 12 spots to land at 15 on this year's list.
• 3 cities are new to the rankings this year: Mount Horeb, Port Washington, and River Falls.
• Mukawonago and Plymouth are the only cities to report zero burglaries.
• The property crime rate in the safest cities is 4.7 incidents per 1,000 people—67% lower than the state rate (14.4).
• The violent crime rate in the safest cities is 0.5 incidents per 1,000 people—85% lower than the state rate (3.5).

• Best Home Security Systems
• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras
• Burglary Stats & Facts
• Over 50% Of All Burglaries Are Residential—How To Protect Your Family
• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation

Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.