South Milwaukee, WI carries a PlainCrime B safety grade with violent crime 55% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, South Milwaukee, WI shows violent crime at 158.6 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 1,298.4 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 55% 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
158.6/100K violent
1298.4/100K property
-55% vs U.S.
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for South Milwaukee, WI
Comparable rate records
South Milwaukee's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the Wisconsin cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to South Milwaukee's 158.6 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Neenah (156.5), Algoma (155.9), Eau Claire (162.2), Stevens Point (162.9). 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 higher
Across 5 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 111.5 per 100,000 in 2020 to 158.6 in 2024 (+42.2%). The highest observed value was 182.7 in 2021 and the lowest 111.5 in 2020. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Position in the state cohort
South Milwaukee sits mid-pack among comparable Wisconsin cities
At 158.6 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, South Milwaukee ranks 76 of 222 — above 146 of the 221 other Wisconsin cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is +48.1% against the cohort median of 107.1. 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 South Milwaukee'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.
Mid-size municipal totals above are reported offenses, not safety advice for any single block. Reporting completeness still varies by year and agency.
South Milwaukee's 2024 municipal footprint
Across 4.8 Census sq mi, South Milwaukee logged 54.3 property and 6.6 violent offenses per square mile in 2024.
South Milwaukee's 2024 book concentrates in larceny-theft (82% of 294 offenses; mix index 6,758).
Violent offenses are only 11% of the municipal total - a property-led book.
Density uses Census Gazetteer land area (4.8 sq mi); mix index is HHI x 10,000 on the offense-type shares above. Distinct from the per-100K rates in the hero.
Both rates shifted (2023→2024)
Violent Crime Rate
+10.2%
143.9 → 158.6/100K
Property Crime Rate
+9.9%
1181.3 → 1298.4/100K
Property offenses lead South Milwaukee's 2024 record
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs US avg
Property Crime
262
1298.4
1711
Larceny-Theft
240
1189.4
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
13
64.4
-
Burglary
9
44.6
-
Arson
0
0
-
Violent Crime
32
158.6
352
Aggravated Assault
23
114
-
Rape
4
19.8
-
Robbery
4
19.8
-
Murder
1
5
-
South Milwaukee Crime Trend (2020-2024)
South Milwaukee property crime rate trend
Lead series · fell across 5 comparable years · FBI UCR
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are the U.S. national averages
South Milwaukee Police Department
Reporting agency for South Milwaukee NIBRS-participating
South Milwaukee Police Department filed the 2024 UCR row behind South Milwaukee's 294 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 Wisconsin
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the Wisconsin cities closest to South Milwaukee in population. Their populations run from 18,035 to 21,981, against 20,178 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
South Milwaukee at 158.6/100K violent and 1,298.4/100K property - matched below outside Wisconsin (≥10k pop, latest UCR vintage; not the in-state lists above).
In 2024, South Milwaukee reported 32 violent crimes and 262 property crimes, for a total of 294 reported offenses.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in South Milwaukee?
From 2023 to 2024, South Milwaukee's violent crime rate increased by 10.2%, and the property crime rate increased by 9.9%.
What is the most common crime in South Milwaukee?
The most common crime type in South Milwaukee is larceny-theft, accounting for 81.6% of all reported crimes (240 incidents in 2024).
Mid-size read: South Milwaukee figures are FBI UCR CIUS Table 8 (vintage 2024), population-adjusted per 100,000.
Denominators are the reporting-year population on the municipal row. Incomplete years are dropped from rankings. Confirm at FBI Crime Data Explorer and Census.gov QuickFacts.
Disclaimer (mid-size municipal): figures are informational, not advice. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is the source. Consult a professional before decisions.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 South Milwaukee, WI rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.