Safety · Madison
Madison, WI crime & safety
Madison's reported crime rate is well above Wisconsin's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 616 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
Crime reported to police, trends and how Madison compares with the towns next door, from FBI data.
TownTapestry Safety GradeNew
C
Madison’s Safety Grade: C
Madison reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 72% report less. Compared with places its own size, it does better than 64%.
C+Violent crimeC-Property crime▼Improving since 2023
All U.S. towns we grade (6,620)Safer than 28%
More reported crimeLess reported crime
Wisconsin towns we grade (174)Safer than 11%
Places of 100,000+ people (304)Safer than 64%
High confidence. Built on 19,233 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 WI 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
Madison at a glance
Violent crime
2.1
per 1,000 residents · Wisconsin 2.4
Property crime
18.8
per 1,000 residents · Wisconsin 10.3
Incidents reported
6,022
616 violent · 5,406 property
Since 2022
▼ 22%
change in reported property crime
Violent crime per 1,000
Property crime per 1,000
Trend
Reported crime per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025
MadisonWisconsin
Solid lines: property crime · dashed: violent crime.
Show as a table
| Year | Madison property | Wisconsin property | Madison violent | Wisconsin violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 24 | 13.9 | 3 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | 23.3 | 12.6 | 3 | 3 |
| 2024 | 18.6 | 11.9 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 18.8 | 10.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
What gets reported
2025, by type
Larceny / theft
4,747
Burglary
394
Vehicle theft
265
Aggravated assault
455
Robbery
96
Rape
60
Homicide
5
Arson
8
Offenses reported to police, not convictions.
Who keeps Madison safe
Local public safety
👮 Madison 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
Madison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | C | 2.1 | 18.8 | 2025 |
| Monona | C- | 1 | 26.4 | 2025 |
| Fitchburg | C+ | 1.5 | 9 | 2025 |
| Middleton | B+ | 1.1 | 8.8 | 2025 |
| McFarland | A- | 0.4 | 6.5 | 2025 |
No town figures in the FBI's data: Burke, Blooming Grove, Westport, Verona, Middleton, Cottage Grove.
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 288,000, 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.