What is the crime rate in West Plains, MO?

In 2025, the West Plains Police Department reported 35 violent crimes and 191 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 273 violent and 1,488 property crimes per 100,000 of the 12,834 residents it serves.

Across Missouri the rates were 426 and 1,690.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 273
Property per 100,000: 1,488
Violent crimes: 35
Property crimes: 191

Crime reported by the West Plains Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	66	520	315	2,480	12,700
2024	46	361	234	1,838	12,734
2025	35	273	191	1,488	12,834

Violent crimes reported went from 66 in 2023 to 35 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 315 in 2023 to 191 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

West Plains against Missouri and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
West Plains	273	1,488
Howell County	297	985
Missouri	426	1,690
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near West Plains, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
West Plains	—	273	1,488
Willow Springs	18 mi	224	718
Mountain View	20 mi	411	934
Thayer	23 mi	52	838
Salem	25 mi	305	1,767
Cabool	30 mi	48	96
Cherokee Village	35 mi	159	298

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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