Safety · Portage
Portage, MI crime & safety
Portage's reported crime rate is above Michigan's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 100 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Portage compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
TownTapestry Safety GradeNew
C−
Portage’s Safety Grade: C-
Portage reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 82% report less.
C+Violent crimeDProperty crime▼Improving since 2023
All U.S. towns we grade (6,620)Safer than 18%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Michigan towns we grade (288)Safer than 16%
Places of 25,000–100,000 people (1,259)Safer than 21%
High confidence. Built on 4,691 incidents over 3 years; ordinary year-to-year swings wouldn't change the grade.
How the Safety Grade works
- One score, from FBI data. Property crimes + 4 × violent crimes reported to police, per resident, pooled over the FBI’s latest 3 years (2023–2025). Violent crime counts four times as much because it matters more to how safe a place feels. It’s the same score behind our Safest towns in MI ranking.
- Graded on a national curve. Every U.S. town and city with 1,000+ residents that reported all 3 years (6,620 places) is lined up by score: A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Violent and property sub-grades use the same curve on each rate alone.
- Trend compares 2025 with 2023 and only says “improving” or “rising” when the change is bigger than normal year-to-year swings.
- Not graded: towns under 1,000 people, and towns missing any of the 3 years.
- What it can’t see: unreported crime, traffic safety, or which part of town incidents happen in. Towns with a campus, highway or big shopping center count incidents involving visitors. It’s our own summary of public data, not an official rating.
Reported crime, 2025
Portage at a glance
Violent crime
2
per 1,000 residents · Michigan 4.3
Property crime
23.9
per 1,000 residents · Michigan 13
Incidents reported
1,300
100 violent · 1,200 property
Since 2022
▼ 28%
change in reported property crime
Violent crime per 1,000
Property crime per 1,000
Trend
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025
PortageMichigan
Solid lines: property crime · dashed: violent crime.
Show as a table
| Year | Portage property | Michigan property | Portage violent | Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 33.1 | 15.9 | 3.2 | 4.7 |
| 2023 | 33.7 | 16 | 2.7 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 29.7 | 14.3 | 2.8 | 4.4 |
| 2025 | 23.9 | 13 | 2 | 4.3 |
What gets reported
2025, by type
Larceny / theft
1,035
Burglary
93
Vehicle theft
72
Aggravated assault
75
Robbery
3
Rape
22
Homicide
0
Arson
3
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Who keeps Portage safe
Local public safety
👮 Portage Police DepartmentReports its crime counts to the FBI — the figures on this page.
🚨 EmergenciesCall 911. For non-emergency numbers, alerts and preparedness, see the town guide.
Nearby
Portage and its neighbors
Reported crime per 1,000 residents in each town's latest year. * = a count, for towns under 1,000 people. Grade: the Safety Grade; — = not graded.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage | C- | 2 | 23.9 | 2025 |
| Kalamazoo | D- | 10.8 | 29 | 2025 |
No town figures in the FBI's data: Pavilion, Texas, Schoolcraft.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can't tell you
- It's reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many thefts and some assaults are never reported.
- Small numbers swing. In a town of about 50,200, a handful of incidents moves the rate noticeably from year to year. The trend matters more than any one year.
- Visitors count too. Towns with a campus, highway, beach or shopping center see incidents involving people who don't live there, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn't report a full year, not that nothing happened.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. This isn't an official statement of public safety — in an emergency, call 911.