City Crime Score
Very low crime
Population
11,838
Median Income
$46,182
Home Value
$104,629
Median Age
40.0
Crime Statistics
Demographics
14.7% have a bachelor's degree or higher
Housing
Kennett, MO Crime Map
Explore crime rates, safest neighborhoods, and detailed crime statistics
Kennett, MO Crime Overview: What the Data Shows
Kennett earns an overall crime grade of C+ — a middling mark that reflects the real pressures facing a small Missouri Bootheel city where the poverty rate sits at 23% and unemployment runs at 8.1%, both well above state averages. With roughly 10,069 residents spread across a modest density of 555 people per square mile, Kennett isn't a sprawling metro, but crime patterns here are worth understanding before you decide where to live, rent, or invest.
Property Crime: The Dominant Concern
Across recent incident data for Kennett, property crime accounts for the clear majority of reported offenses. Theft — ranging from shoplifting to vehicle break-ins — consistently leads the incident log, followed by burglary and vandalism. This skew toward property crime is typical for communities where median household income is $40,857 and median home values hover around $91,760, creating economic stress that correlates with opportunistic offenses. Residents near the commercial corridors along US-412 and downtown Kennett tend to see the highest concentration of these incidents, while quieter residential blocks further from the main arteries report fewer property crimes.
Violent Crime: Less Frequent, But Present
Violent incidents — assault, domestic disturbance calls, and robbery — represent a smaller share of total reported crimes in Kennett, but they are not negligible. The city's C+ overall grade reflects the fact that violent crime rates here outpace what you'd expect from a town this size when compared to rural Missouri benchmarks. Neighborhoods closer to the central business district have historically seen a higher share of these incidents than the outlying residential areas to the north and east of the city core.
How Kennett Compares
A C+ crime grade places Kennett in the lower-middle tier of Missouri communities its size. The combination of a 23% poverty rate — nearly one in four residents — and an 8.1% unemployment rate creates structural conditions that criminologists consistently link to elevated crime risk. Median rent of just $540 signals an affordable but economically stressed housing market, which concentrates vulnerability in certain blocks. That said, Kennett is not an outlier in the Bootheel region; many neighboring communities share similar socioeconomic profiles and comparable crime grades.
Neighborhood-Level Patterns
While Kennett's small footprint means neighborhood boundaries are informal, crime activity is not evenly distributed. Incident reports cluster more heavily around the downtown retail zone and adjacent older residential streets, where population density is slightly higher and foot traffic creates more opportunity for both property and person crimes. Areas closer to Kennett's parks, school zones, and the quieter subdivisions on the city's periphery tend to generate fewer incident reports per block. When using the crime map, filtering by incident type and time of day will reveal these micro-patterns clearly.
Using the Crime Map Effectively
The interactive crime map for Kennett lets you layer incident types — theft, assault, vandalism, drug offenses — against a street-level view of the city. Key features to use:
- Incident Type Filters: Isolate property crimes versus violent crimes to understand which risk is most relevant to your address or route.
- Date Range Selector: Compare recent months against the same period last year to spot emerging trends or improvements.
- Heat Map Overlay: Quickly identify which blocks in the downtown corridor or residential areas have the highest incident density.
- Time-of-Day Analysis: Many Kennett property crimes cluster in evening and overnight hours — the time filter makes this visible at a glance.
Safety Practices for Kennett Residents
Given the C+ grade and the property-crime-heavy incident profile, practical precautions matter:
- Secure vehicles overnight, especially in the downtown and US-412 corridor areas where vehicle break-ins are most reported.
- Use porch lighting and visible deterrents at home — burglary rates correlate with low-effort targets in economically stressed neighborhoods.
- Stay connected with neighbors; Kennett's tight community fabric is a genuine asset, and block-level awareness reduces opportunistic crime.
- Report non-emergency incidents to the Kennett Police Department promptly — accurate reporting improves the crime map data that benefits everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions: Kennett, MO Crime
What is Kennett's overall crime grade?
Kennett receives an overall crime grade of C+. This grade reflects a city that faces meaningful crime challenges — particularly in property crime — driven in part by socioeconomic conditions including a 23% poverty rate and 8.1% unemployment. It is not among Missouri's most dangerous small cities, but it is also not among the safest. Residents should treat the C+ grade as a prompt to stay informed rather than a reason for alarm.
What types of crime are most common in Kennett?
Property crimes dominate Kennett's incident reports. Theft — including shoplifting, vehicle break-ins, and residential theft — is the single most frequently reported offense category, followed by burglary and vandalism. Violent crimes such as assault occur less frequently but are present, particularly in and around the downtown corridor. Drug-related offenses also appear in the data and tend to be intertwined with both property and violent crime patterns. The crime map's incident-type filters let you see the precise breakdown for any given block or time period.
Which parts of Kennett have the most crime activity?
Incident reports in Kennett cluster most heavily around the downtown commercial zone and the older residential streets adjacent to it. The US-412 corridor, with its retail and commercial activity, also generates a disproportionate share of theft and property crime reports. Quieter residential neighborhoods on the northern and eastern edges of the city, as well as areas near school zones and parks, tend to show lower incident densities on the map. As always, the interactive map is the most reliable tool for checking a specific address or block.
Is Kennett safe to live in?
Kennett can be a livable community, particularly for those who value affordability — median home values of $91,760 and median rent of just $540 make it one of Missouri's more accessible housing markets. The C+ crime grade means safety is a real consideration, not something to dismiss. The city's socioeconomic challenges, including a poverty rate of 23%, create conditions that elevate crime risk compared to more affluent Missouri communities. That said, many Kennett residents live safely by staying informed, knowing their neighborhood's patterns, and engaging with the community. Using the crime map regularly is one of the most practical steps any resident or prospective resident can take.
How does Kennett's crime rate compare to other Missouri cities?
With a C+ overall crime grade, Kennett sits in the lower-middle range for Missouri communities of comparable size. Its Bootheel neighbors share many of the same socioeconomic pressures — high poverty, above-average unemployment — and similar crime profiles. Kennett is notably more affordable than mid-sized Missouri cities, but that affordability comes alongside elevated crime risk relative to wealthier communities. The grade-based comparison on this page is the clearest apples-to-apples benchmark available without diving into raw statistics.
What should I do if I witness a crime in Kennett?
For emergencies, call 911 immediately. For non-emergency incidents, contact the Kennett Police Department directly to file a report. Accurate and timely reporting is critical — it improves the data behind the crime map and helps law enforcement allocate resources to the neighborhoods and incident types that need the most attention. If you notice suspicious activity that doesn't rise to the level of an active crime, reporting it through non-emergency channels still contributes to community safety awareness.
Surrounding Cities
Kennett Zip Codes
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