Crime in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Wauwatosa's crime rate

There were 1,388 crimes reported in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,858 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Wauwatosa compare?

Wauwatosa has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Wauwatosa's overall crime rate is 62% higher than the overall crime rate in Wisconsin. Statewide, there were 102,742 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,765 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Wauwatosa, however, property crimes account for about 96% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Wauwatosa than it is nationwide. There were 1,331 property crimes in Wauwatosa in 2019, or 2,741 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Wauwatosa. There were 1,178 larcenies reported in Wauwatosa in 2019, or 2,426 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 88 break-ins reported in Wauwatosa in 2019, or 181 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Wauwatosa, meanwhile, there were 65 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 134 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Wauwatosa, however, violent offenses account for a much smaller 4% share of all reported crime.

At 117 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Wauwatosa is well below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Wauwatosa reported a total of 57 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. In Wauwatosa, however, robbery is the most commonly reported type of violent crime. There were 22 aggravated assaults reported in Wauwatosa in 2019, or 45 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far higher, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 28 robberies reported in Wauwatosa in 2019, a rate of 58 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 7 rapes reported in Wauwatosa in 2019, or 14 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Wauwatosa.

Wauwatosa compared to other cities in Wisconsin

Wauwatosa has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Wisconsin. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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