Newton, AL is close to the national middle for violent crime, and earns a B PlainCrime safety grade, where violent crime runs 49% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, Newton, AL shows violent crime at 180.8 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 964.4 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 49% below the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade B from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
B safety grade
180.8/100K violent
964.4/100K property
-49% vs U.S.
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for Newton, AL
Small-count caution
The violent-crime count is small enough that the derived rate is unstable
Newton reported 3 violent offences in 2024 against a population of 1,659. At this volume one additional or one fewer report moves the per-100,000 rate noticeably, so the figure is better read as a data point than as a precise measurement, and year-to-year swings here are expected.
Comparable rate records
Newton's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the Alabama cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to Newton's 180.8 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Camden (180.0), Robertsdale (182.8), Muscle Shoals (182.8), East Brewton (178.7). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
2020–2024 direction
The reported violent-crime rate ended the window lower
Across 5 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 344.8 per 100,000 in 2020 to 180.8 in 2024 (-47.6%). The highest observed value was 805.0 in 2022 and the lowest 180.8 in 2024. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Position in the state cohort
Newton sits mid-pack among comparable Alabama cities
At 180.8 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, Newton ranks 151 of 263 — above 112 of the 262 other Alabama cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is -16.7% against the cohort median of 217.1. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
Property counts dominate Newton's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; cities that fail the completeness test stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Based on 3 reported violent incidents in a population of 1,659. At this volume, one additional or one fewer report can shift the rate and letter grade noticeably; small-city crime counts are inherently more volatile year to year than large-city counts, so treat this grade as a data point, not a precise ranking.
On a small municipal row, small denominators make rates sensitive to a handful of incidents. Figures are reported totals, not neighbourhood advice.
Newton's 2024 municipal footprint
Across 14.2 Census sq mi, Newton logged 1.1 property and 0.2 violent offenses per square mile in 2024.
Newton leans on larceny-theft at 58% of reported offenses, with a moderate mix index of 3,961.
Violent offenses are 16% of the municipal total; property offenses still dominate the count.
Density uses Census Gazetteer land area (14.2 sq mi); mix index is HHI x 10,000 on the offense-type shares above. Distinct from the per-100K rates in the hero.
Property rate moved most (2023→2024)
Property Crime Rate
-64.2%
2691.1 → 964.4/100K
Violent Crime Rate
-40.9%
305.8 → 180.8/100K
Property offenses lead Newton's 2024 record
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs US avg
vs AL
Property Crime
16
964.4
1711
1622.1
Larceny-Theft
11
663.1
-
-
Burglary
3
180.8
-
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
2
120.6
-
-
Arson
0
0
-
-
Violent Crime
3
180.8
352
376.1
Rape
3
180.8
-
-
Murder
0
0
-
-
Robbery
0
0
-
-
Aggravated Assault
0
0
-
-
Newton Crime Trend (2020-2024)
Newton property crime rate trend
Lead series · rose across 5 comparable years · FBI UCR
Property crime rate (2024)
964.4/100K↓64.2%vs 2023
Newton violent crime rate trend
Secondary series · fell · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
Violent crime rate (2024)
180.8/100K↓40.9%vs 2023
Year
Coverage
Population
Violent Rate
Property Rate
Total Crimes
2020
Comparable
1,450
344.8
620.7
14
2021
Comparable
1,446
207.5
2143.8
34
2022
Comparable
1,615
805
2848.3
59
2023
Comparable
1,635
305.8
2691.1
49
2024
Comparable
1,659
180.8
964.4
19
Newton Police Department
Reporting agency for Newton NIBRS-participating
Newton Police Department filed the 2024 UCR row behind Newton's 19 reported offenses (5-year span 2020-2024).
This agency reports via NIBRS, the incident-based system that captures more detail per offense (multiple crimes per incident, victim/offender data) than the older summary counts.
Similar-Size Cities in Alabama
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the Alabama cities closest to Newton in population. Their populations run from 1,608 to 1,737, against 1,659 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
In 2024, Newton reported 3 violent crimes and 16 property crimes, for a total of 19 reported offenses.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in Newton?
From 2023 to 2024, Newton's violent crime rate decreased by 40.9%, and the property crime rate decreased by 64.2%.
What is the most common crime in Newton?
The most common crime type in Newton is larceny-theft, accounting for 57.9% of all reported crimes (11 incidents in 2024).
Micro-municipal read: Newton's FBI UCR Table 8 row (2024) is the only source for the rates above.
With a small population base, per-100,000 rates amplify sparse counts. Incomplete submissions are excluded from rankings. See FBI.gov UCR for the raw Table 8 file.
Disclaimer (small municipal): small-base rates are especially easy to misread. Informational only - not advice. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 Newton, AL rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.