
Wisconsin is filled with happy cows, happy people, and super safe places to live.
And here at HomeSnacks, we wanted to know just how safe is America's Dairyland. More importantly, where are the safest cities in The Badger State? So, we consulted the numbers. We looked at important factors like property crimes and violent crimes per capita for every place with over 5,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 134 cities.
We discovered that Wisconsin's violent crime and property crime numbers are way below the national average. That is probably why Michigan is the 12th safest state.
More importantly, we discovered that there are safe places in Wisconsin for every budget. For instance, Wisconsin has safe college towns like Madison, hip, safe places like Appleton for professionals just starting out, and great, safe, family-friendly places like Oconomowoc.
Want to know more? Grab a basket of fried cheese curds and read on to learn about Wisconsin's safest places to live.
It's not lost on us that some of Wisconsin's safest places are also some of their best places to live.
What is the safest place in Wisconsin? The number one safest place to live in Wisconsin for 2025 is Evansville.
Take a look at the list below to see the cities that gave Evansville a run for their money. And if you don't see your favorite Wisconsin city in the top ten, head to the bottom of the page.
For more reading on safe places to live in and around Wisconsin, check out:
Population: 5,851
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 0 (second safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 273 (eighth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Evansville: Data | Real Estate
Evansville cracks the top ten safest places to live in Wisconsin.
The city has the second safest violent crime rate which is big jump up from the previous year and helped move the city into the top ten.
And, for reference, it's so safe you can keep the doors to your house unlocked as you take a stroll to Leonard Leota Park with your family -- the best park in town according to the internet.
Population: 6,666
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 30 (12th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 210 (fourth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Bloomfield: Real Estate
Population: 18,830
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 15 (seventh safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 308 (tenth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Oconomowoc: Data | Real Estate
Oconomowoc, located in Waukesha County of the Lake Country region, is rated as the third safest city in Wisconsin for 2025. Its population of only 18,830 contributes to its tight-knit community atmosphere, which has an incredibly low rate of violent crime of 15/100k people per capita, including a count of 0 murder cases. The city also has a property crime per capita rate of 308/100k people, reflecting residents' confidence in their safety.
Historically rooted in the Potawatomi presence and settlement since the 1830s, Oconomowoc's legacy enhances its safety profile, evidenced by its rank at #10 safest for total crime per capita, a testament to effective law enforcement and community vigilance.
Population: 5,448
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 36 (17th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 55 (safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Geneva Town: Real Estate
You might mistake yourself for being in Switzerland when you enter Geneva, but, no, you're only in Wisconsin.
Much like Geneva Switzerland, you can expect to be safe and cold.
Located in the very south of Wisconsin, it ranks as the safest for property crime and 17th safest violent crime. It also managed to break the top ten for the second year in a row.
Population: 6,251
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 0 (second safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 495 (26th safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Elm Grove: Data | Real Estate
Population: 18,035
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 44 (24th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 227 (sixth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Hobart-Lawrence: Real Estate
Hobart-Lawrence has a hyphenated name because it's kinda like a modern family -- it's a combination of Hobart and Lawrence that the FBI combines together for reporting purposes. And so there's really two cities that can claim the honor of 8th safest in Wisconsin.
While the violent crime rate is better than average, the cities really shine when it comes to property crime -- the sixth safest in the state.
Make sure to check out T.Bacon's BBQ in Hobart -- the best ranked place on Yelp. Or Lawrence University in Lawrence as that's the only thing that came up there in our quick Google search.
Population: 5,624
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 0 (second safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 533 (28th safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Berlin: Data | Real Estate
Population: 11,833
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 42 (23rd safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 278 (ninth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Oregon: Data | Real Estate
Population: 8,597
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 46 (25th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 267 (seventh safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Kronenwetter: Data | Real Estate
Population: 7,550
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 52 (30th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 158 (second safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Grand Rapids: Real Estate
If you were thinking of Grand Rapids, MI you need to flip that M upside down for this list as Grand Rapids, WI is the tenth safest spot in Wisconsin.
You know you can trust your neighbors and friends as there were a total of 0 murders here. In fact, there were a total of 0 violent crimes here in the last reporting year which is pretty amazing for a city of this size.
Grand Rapids is located right in the middle of Wisconsin -- the heartland of the heartland if you will.
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in Wisconsin are the safest, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's most recent crime report in Wisconsin.
Specifically, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of property and violent crimes in each city annually. We used two criteria:
For example, there were 16 crimes committed in Evansville, with a reported population of 5,851. That means the number of crimes per capita is 0.0027, which translates into a 1 in 365 chance of being the victim of a crime.
We only looked at Wisconsin cities that have populations of more than 5,000. This filter left us with 134 of the biggest cities in Wisconsin to rank.
We ranked each city for each criterion from 1 to 134 where 1 in any particular category is the safest.
Next, we averaged each place's two criteria to create a Safety Index. We crowned the place with the lowest overall Safety Score, "The Safest Place In Wisconsin," with any ties going to the bigger city.
The safest city in Wisconsin, based on our criteria, is Evansville. The most dangerous city in Wisconsin? Milwaukee, where residents had a 1 in 24 chance of being the victim of a crime.
This article has been update for 2025. This report marks our tenth time ranking the safest places to live in Wisconsin. All the data comes from the FBI's Crime In The USA 2024 report.
Looking at the data, you can tell that Evansville is as safe as they come in Wisconsin, according to science and data.
But as most Wisconsin residents would agree, almost every place here has its safe and not safe parts. So just make sure you're informed ahead of time.
The safest places in Wisconsin are .
Here's a look at the most dangerous cities in Wisconsin according to the data:
| Rank | City | Population | Violent Crimes Per 100k | Property Crimes Per 100k | Murders Per 100k | Murders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evansville, WI | 5,851 | 0 | 273 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Bloomfield, WI | 6,666 | 30 | 210 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Oconomowoc, WI | 18,830 | 15 | 308 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Geneva Town, WI | 5,448 | 36 | 55 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Elm Grove, WI | 6,251 | 0 | 495 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Hobart-Lawrence, WI | 18,035 | 44 | 227 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Berlin, WI | 5,624 | 0 | 533 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Oregon, WI | 11,833 | 42 | 278 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Kronenwetter, WI | 8,597 | 46 | 267 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Grand Rapids, WI | 7,550 | 52 | 158 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Milton, WI | 5,636 | 35 | 425 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Fox Point, WI | 6,557 | 0 | 594 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | New London, WI | 7,412 | 53 | 337 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Cedarburg, WI | 12,649 | 47 | 395 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Holmen, WI | 11,889 | 50 | 462 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Mayville, WI | 5,121 | 58 | 390 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Port Washington, WI | 12,888 | 38 | 566 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Mequon, WI | 25,586 | 39 | 558 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Hartland, WI | 10,259 | 68 | 341 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Caledonia, WI | 25,323 | 63 | 469 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Elkhorn, WI | 10,218 | 58 | 538 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Columbus, WI | 5,418 | 73 | 461 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Waunakee, WI | 15,227 | 105 | 210 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Whitefish Bay, WI | 14,537 | 13 | 935 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Menomonee Falls, WI | 40,076 | 67 | 528 | 4 | 2 |
| 26 | Verona, WI | 16,443 | 48 | 662 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Delavan Town, WI | 5,298 | 37 | 811 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Mount Horeb, WI | 7,755 | 116 | 167 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Sturtevant, WI | 6,677 | 89 | 464 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Summit, WI | 5,451 | 110 | 311 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Plymouth, WI | 8,897 | 22 | 1,034 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | De Pere, WI | 25,319 | 75 | 568 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Plover, WI | 14,306 | 20 | 1,097 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Grafton, WI | 12,788 | 78 | 617 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Sheboygan Falls, WI | 8,181 | 61 | 855 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Monroe, WI | 10,373 | 28 | 1,147 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Mcfarland, WI | 9,602 | 62 | 822 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Cottage Grove, WI | 9,518 | 115 | 451 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Sturgeon Bay, WI | 9,928 | 90 | 654 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Slinger, WI | 6,471 | 139 | 370 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Fox Crossing, WI | 18,926 | 89 | 745 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Deforest, WI | 11,195 | 80 | 812 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | New Berlin, WI | 40,186 | 62 | 992 | 2 | 1 |
| 44 | Kaukauna, WI | 17,622 | 102 | 680 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Fox Valley Metro, WI | 23,754 | 176 | 362 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Lake Mills, WI | 6,731 | 118 | 549 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Muskego, WI | 25,389 | 11 | 1,532 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Greendale, WI | 14,461 | 82 | 940 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Germantown, WI | 21,066 | 61 | 1,120 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Franklin, WI | 35,535 | 50 | 1,207 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | Shorewood, WI | 13,629 | 22 | 1,702 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Cudahy, WI | 17,683 | 113 | 774 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Burlington, WI | 11,042 | 99 | 959 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Brookfield, WI | 42,019 | 83 | 1,097 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Hales Corners, WI | 7,515 | 146 | 598 | 13 | 1 |
| 56 | Middleton, WI | 23,353 | 107 | 890 | 8 | 2 |
| 57 | Hartford, WI | 15,959 | 131 | 689 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Altoona, WI | 9,623 | 31 | 1,808 | 10 | 1 |
| 59 | New Richmond, WI | 10,890 | 110 | 909 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Waukesha, WI | 70,202 | 113 | 874 | 1 | 1 |
| 61 | Stevens Point, WI | 25,784 | 162 | 620 | 3 | 1 |
| 62 | River Falls , WI | 17,171 | 128 | 861 | 5 | 1 |
| 63 | Two Rivers, WI | 11,138 | 215 | 484 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Ripon, WI | 7,738 | 180 | 646 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Dodgeville, WI | 5,120 | 39 | 1,855 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Waupun, WI | 10,873 | 285 | 377 | 9 | 1 |
| 67 | Pewaukee Village, WI | 8,180 | 36 | 2,139 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | St. Francis, WI | 9,524 | 104 | 1,165 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Mukwonago, WI | 8,568 | 105 | 1,167 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | North Fond Du Lac, WI | 5,361 | 223 | 578 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | West Salem, WI | 5,305 | 113 | 1,131 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Onalaska, WI | 19,068 | 36 | 2,291 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | Whitewater, WI | 15,473 | 200 | 717 | 6 | 1 |
| 74 | Beloit Town, WI | 7,748 | 129 | 1,071 | 12 | 1 |
| 75 | Menasha, WI | 18,008 | 177 | 882 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | Chippewa Falls, WI | 14,626 | 218 | 670 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | Monona, WI | 8,511 | 35 | 3,137 | 0 | 0 |
| 78 | Delafield, WI | 7,206 | 55 | 2,081 | 0 | 0 |
| 79 | Beaver Dam, WI | 16,473 | 145 | 1,123 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | Lake Geneva, WI | 8,816 | 102 | 1,633 | 0 | 0 |
| 81 | Fort Atkinson, WI | 12,274 | 236 | 757 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 | Neenah, WI | 27,480 | 156 | 1,142 | 0 | 0 |
| 83 | Watertown, WI | 22,612 | 190 | 1,048 | 0 | 0 |
| 84 | Rhinelander, WI | 8,152 | 98 | 1,717 | 0 | 0 |
| 85 | Menomonie, WI | 16,595 | 132 | 1,211 | 0 | 0 |
| 86 | Portage, WI | 9,978 | 80 | 2,014 | 0 | 0 |
| 87 | Manitowoc, WI | 34,546 | 208 | 969 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 | Hudson, WI | 15,714 | 114 | 1,648 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Minocqua, WI | 5,151 | 97 | 2,038 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | Mount Pleasant, WI | 27,731 | 111 | 1,734 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 | Kenosha, WI | 97,652 | 285 | 866 | 3 | 3 |
| 92 | South Milwaukee, WI | 20,178 | 158 | 1,298 | 4 | 1 |
| 93 | Marshfield, WI | 18,669 | 214 | 1,114 | 5 | 1 |
| 94 | Greenfield, WI | 36,919 | 92 | 2,307 | 0 | 0 |
| 95 | Delavan, WI | 10,091 | 188 | 1,218 | 0 | 0 |
| 96 | Stoughton, WI | 12,996 | 192 | 1,261 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Oak Creek, WI | 37,665 | 146 | 1,685 | 0 | 0 |
| 98 | Reedsburg, WI | 10,243 | 126 | 1,884 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | Wausau, WI | 39,949 | 295 | 1,008 | 2 | 1 |
| 100 | Shawano, WI | 9,236 | 216 | 1,201 | 0 | 0 |
Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.
He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.
If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.
You can find out more about him on LinkedIn.
We founded HomeSnacks to provide insights your real estate agent would neglect to mention.
By presenting data from presentable sources and utlizing Saturday Night Science, we provide detailed insights into cities and neighborhoods.
Learn more about Nick and Chris.

HomeSnacks is based in Durham, NC.
We aim to deliver bite-sized pieces of infotainment about where you live.
We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine quality of life for places across the nation.