Minneapolis ranks eighth highest for violent crime and fifth highest for combined violent and property crime in an analysis of the nation’s 50 largest cities.
An online post on the social media platform Nextdoor recently made a confident assertion about Minneapolis: “we have one of the lowest crime rates of any major city. You have access to the internet verify your claims before making them.”
The available evidence contradicts that claim.
Security.org’s analysis of 2025 FBI crime dataupdated August 19, 2026, places Minneapolis eighth highest for violent crime and fifth highest for combined violent and property crime among the 50 largest U.S. cities.
Minneapolis recorded a reported violent crime rate of 1,001 offenses per 100,000 residents and a combined rate of 5,486. Comparing rates accounts for population size: a larger city does not automatically rank higher simply because more people live there.
The categories matter. Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime includes burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft. The analysis’s “total crime” measure combines those categories, rather than counting every type of criminal offense.
The comparison also has limits. Security.org calculated the rankings; they are not an official FBI ranking. Police jurisdiction boundaries and reporting completeness can affect comparisons. The figures concern cities and their reporting jurisdictions, rather than the broader metropolitan areas surrounding them.
Those limitations call for precision. They do not support describing Minneapolis as having one of the lowest crime rates among major cities.
There is another distinction worth keeping clear: improvement over time and standing among other cities answer different questions. A city can experience a substantial decline in crime while its rate remains comparatively high. Evidence that crime is falling would support a claim of progress. It would not, by itself, establish a low national ranking.
The quoted post identifies no year, source, crime category or comparison group. Those details are essential to checking its assertion. “Major city” is an imprecise term, but the nation’s 50 largest cities provide a reasonable, clearly defined group for evaluating it.
Our finding: The claim is false when measured against this comparison of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Minneapolis falls near the high end for both violent crime and combined violent and property crime.
Residents can value their city, welcome improvements in public safety and still acknowledge where it stands. An accurate assessment leaves room for all three.
Source: minneapolistimes.com
