Michigan’s 50 Safest Cities of 2023

The SafeWise Team is pleased to release the ninth annual Safest Cities report.

See if your city made the full list.

In our 2023 State of Safety survey, nearly half the Michigan residents surveyed said they felt safe in their state. How residents feel probably depends on where they live in the state. Michigan has a higher-than-average violent crime rate overall, but its safest cities have a low violent crime rate. Michigan’s property crime falls far below the national average.

Of the Michiganians we surveyed, 51% are worried about their safety. There may be good reason. Michigan ranked eighth in states with the highest violent crime rates. Overall, violent crime rose slightly year over year—from 4.4 instances per 1,000 residents to 4.8 to 5.0. Property crime also increased from 13.6 to 13.8 in 1,000 residents.

Michigan has a higher violent crime rate than the national average and only half of its residents feel safe in The Great Lake State. The increase in experiences with violent crime and gun violence might account for the higher daily level of high concern.

• 49% of residents report feeling safe in their state compared to 50% of Americans.
• 17% of survey respondents reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the last year—this is up from 10% the following year.
• Murder remains the least-common violent crime in The Great Lake State.
• Aggravated assault is the most common type of violent crime in Michigan, with 523 reported.
• 3% of survey participants say they use no form of personal protection— lower than the national average of 4%.
• 36% of respondents said they used pepper spray for personal protection.

Gun safety is of increasing concern in the The Great Lake State. About 49% of respondents said they were worried about gun violence, up from 38% in our previous survey.

• 16% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey.
• 47% use a concealed weapon for self-defense (US 41%).
• The number of mass shootings in a year decreased from 26 to 25.
• Michigan is #11 in states with the highest number of mass shootings.

Despite its higher rate of violent crimes, Michigan has a surprisingly low property crime rate, especially compared to the rest of the US. It is ranked eighth in states with the lowest property crimes.

• 25% of Michiganders reported experiences with property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey. That rose from 13% the year before.
• The property crime rate declined 71% year over year across the state.
• 33% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the last 12 months (106% higher than the year before), putting Michigan slightly below the US average of 34%. 
• 22% of survey participants use no form of property protection—lower than most Americans (24%).
• The top form of property protection among Michigan residents this year is firearms with 30% using them (30% US).
• 34% of Michiganians say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the security of their property, compared to 28% nationally.

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.

• Thetford Township which was number one for two consecutive years and Iron Mountain which tied as first last year, have both completely fallen off the safest cities list.
• The biggest jump on our list is the city of River Rouge. It bounded 161 spots to land in eighth place.
• The top city, Addison Township, reported zero violent crimes and only one burglary.  
• All 50 of Michigan’s safest cities reported fewer than two violent crimes per 1,000 people.
• The top 15 cities reported no murders at all.
• Only one of the top 16 cities reported a robbery.
• Shelby Township had the most violent crimes out of the top 50 safest cities with a total of 113.
• All 50 safest cities had less than eight property crimes per 1,000 residents.

Click on the state image or dropdown menu below to check out the safest cities for each state.

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• Burglary Stats & Facts
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• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation
• The State of Safety in America in 2022

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed February 6, 2023.

• 2021 and 2020 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2021 NIBRS Estimation Tables

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, "Offenses Known to Law Enforcement [2019]." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

SafeWise, "2022 State of Safety survey." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "General Methodology." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Past Summary Ledgers." Accessed January 3, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Congress."

• 2022 totals: Accessed January 3, 2023.
• 2021 and 2020 totals: Accessed December 19, 2022.