Buffalo, NY crime rate
In 2025 the Buffalo Police Department reported 729.1 violent crimes and 3,449.2 property crimes per 100,000 residents it covers. The FBI's estimates for New York and the US for the same year are beside each number.
Data as of 2025 (FBI), checked October 30, 2026. How we got these numbers
How does Buffalo compare with New York and the US?
Arson has no FBI state or US estimate, so its row shows Buffalo only.
What offenses were reported in Buffalo, 2025?
| Offense | Reported | Per 100k | New York | US | vs 2024 | vs 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | ||||||
| Violent crime | 2,015 | 729.1 | 368.4 | 327.6 | down 5.4% | down 24.2% |
| Murder | 29 | 10.5 | 2.4 | 4.1 | down 24.5% | down 59.6% |
| Rape | 132 | 47.8 | 26.6 | 36.1 | down 0.8% | down 19.7% |
| Robbery | 442 | 159.9 | 90.9 | 49.4 | down 9.8% | down 33.7% |
| Aggravated assault | 1,412 | 510.9 | 248.4 | 238.0 | down 3.8% | down 19.6% |
| Property crime | ||||||
| Property crime | 9,533 | 3,449.2 | 1,574.8 | 1,534.8 | down 13.8% | up 9.3% |
| Burglary | 1,218 | 440.7 | 122.2 | 193.6 | down 10.4% | up 3.3% |
| Larceny-theft | 6,606 | 2,390.2 | 1,326.8 | 1,144.1 | down 7.7% | up 15.1% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 1,617 | 585.1 | 125.8 | 197.0 | down 34.1% | down 3.1% |
| Arson | 92 | 33.3 | Not estimated | Not estimated | down 2.1% | down 31.3% |
Reported = offenses known to the Buffalo Police Department and sent to the FBI. New York and US are FBI estimates for the same year. Changes compare rates of full years only.
Violent crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Buffalo | United States | New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 961.7 | 387.0 | 308.3 |
| 2022 | 780.9 | 388.7 | 429.4 |
| 2023 | 760.7 | 379.5 | 391.1 |
| 2024 | 770.5 | 362.9 | 389.1 |
| 2025 | 729.1 | 327.6 | 368.4 |
Property crime rate, 2021 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Buffalo | United States | New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,155.9 | 1,832.3 | 1,047.8 |
| 2022 | 3,316.9 | 1,973.8 | 1,719.4 |
| 2023 | 4,286.7 | 1,934.1 | 1,802.9 |
| 2024 | 4,003.2 | 1,761.1 | 1,720.0 |
| 2025 | 3,449.2 | 1,534.8 | 1,574.8 |
Is Buffalo safe?
We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe. What the FBI's numbers show: in 2025 the violent crime rate the Buffalo Police Department reported, 729.1 per 100,000 residents, was higher than New York's 368.4, and higher than the US rate of 327.6 (FBI estimates). It fell 5.4% from 2024.
What these numbers can't tell you:
- How crime differs between neighborhoods (the FBI publishes agency totals only).
- Crimes nobody reported to the police.
- How many offenses involved visitors and commuters, who are not in the population count.
For 2025, Buffalo reported to the FBI 2,015 violent crimes, a rate of 729.1 per 100,000 residents covered by the Buffalo Police Department. New York's state estimate was 368.4, so Buffalo's rate was 2.0 times the state figure; it was 2.2 times the US rate of 327.6. Property crime, at 3,449.2 per 100,000 from 9,533 offenses, was 2.2 times both the state and US rates.
Measured against 2021, violent crime is down 24.2% from a rate of 961.7. Property crime is up 9.3% from 2021, when it was 3,155.9. In the last year property crime fell 13.8% and violent crime 5.4%.
Murder fell the most of the violent offenses, 59.6% since 2021 and 24.5% since 2024, to 10.5 per 100,000, or 29 homicides. Robbery, 159.9 per 100,000, was 3.2 times the national rate, and aggravated assault made up 70% of violent crime. Larceny-theft rose the most of the property offenses from 2021 to 2025, 15.1%, and was 69% of property crime.
Motor vehicle theft fell the most of the property offenses in the last year, 34.1%, to 585.1 per 100,000, 4.7 times the state estimate. All 12 months were reported in each of the 5 years shown; Buffalo has reported to NIBRS since 2020. The Erie County Sheriff's Office and the State University of New York police at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State report separately.
Buffalo had 3.47 police employees per 1,000 residents in 2025.
Written from the numbers on this page. Every figure and every comparison is checked against the stored FBI data before publishing.
Police employees, 2025: 3.47 per 1,000 residents (785 officers, 175 civilians), FBI Crime Data Explorer. Shown as context, not as a measure of crime.
Other New York cities
The nearest New York cities with a page, in alphabetical order. VC = violent crime per 100,000, 2025.
Sources
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, Buffalo Police Department (ORI NY0140100), offenses known to law enforcement and police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026. Crime Data Explorer
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, New York and United States estimated crime (Summary Reporting System estimates), 2021 to 2025.
- FBI, "UCR Statistics: Their Proper Use" (why we don't rank cities).
Every stored file behind this page (11)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): violent crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_violent_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): murder, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_homicide__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): rape, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_rape__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): robbery, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_robbery__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): aggravated assault, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_aggravated_assault__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): property crime, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_property_crime__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): burglary, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_burglary__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): larceny-theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_larceny__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): motor vehicle theft, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_motor_vehicle_theft__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): arson, offenses known to law enforcement, January 2021 to December 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/summarized_agency_NY0140100_arson__from-01-2021-to-12-2025.json)
- Buffalo Police Department (NY0140100): police employees, 2021 to 2025, fetched Oct 29, 2026 (var/raw/cde/pe_agency_NY0140100__from-2021-to-2025.json)