City Crime Score
Very low crime
Population
18,247
Median Income
$68,630
Home Value
$225,542
Median Age
37.0
Crime Statistics
Demographics
20.8% have a bachelor's degree or higher
Housing
Union, MO Crime Map
Explore crime rates, safest neighborhoods, and detailed crime statistics
Union, MO Earns an Overall Crime Grade of A
With a population of just under 12,000 and a density of 511 residents per square mile, Union, Missouri stands out as one of Franklin County's safest communities. The city's overall crime grade of A reflects a sustained, community-wide commitment to public safety — a distinction that relatively few Missouri cities of comparable size can claim.
Union's socioeconomic profile helps contextualize that grade. A median household income of $54,585, a poverty rate of 9.2%, and an unemployment rate of 5.4% place the city in a stable range. Median home values sit at $154,690 with median rent at $781 — figures that point to an affordable, grounded community rather than one experiencing the rapid displacement or economic stress that often correlates with rising crime.
What the Crime Data Actually Shows
Across Union's residential corridors — including neighborhoods near the historic downtown square, subdivisions along Highway 50, and family-oriented areas like Lake Forest — property crime represents the most commonly reported category of incident. This mirrors national trends for small Midwestern cities, where opportunistic offenses such as vehicle break-ins, minor theft, and occasional vandalism make up the bulk of police reports. Violent crime incidents are notably infrequent relative to state and national benchmarks, which is a key driver of Union's A-level grade.
The crime map data reinforces this picture: incident markers cluster around higher-traffic commercial corridors rather than residential neighborhoods, and the density of those markers remains low compared to peer communities. Areas near city parks, schools, and the established neighborhoods off Highway 47 consistently show minimal incident activity, making them among the most consistently low-risk zones in Union.
Reading the Crime Map: Incident Types and Patterns
When you explore Union's crime map, the incident type breakdown tells a clear story. Property-related offenses — including theft from vehicles, residential burglary attempts, and vandalism — account for the overwhelming majority of plotted incidents. These tend to concentrate during evening and overnight hours and are most visible near commercial zones rather than deep within residential subdivisions like those near Lake Forest or the neighborhoods flanking the city park.
Violent incidents, by contrast, represent a small minority of total reports and are distributed sporadically rather than in identifiable hotspots. This low concentration of violent crime is one of the most meaningful signals in the data and a primary reason Union holds its A grade.
The map's time-filter functionality is particularly useful here: filtering to the past 30 or 90 days reveals that incident volume remains consistently low across all categories, with no sustained uptick in any single neighborhood. That stability over time — not just a single good month — is what distinguishes a genuinely safe community from one experiencing a temporary lull.
Neighborhood-Level Safety Context
While Union is small enough that dramatic neighborhood-to-neighborhood variation is limited, the crime map does surface some geographic patterns worth noting:
- Downtown and Highway 50 corridor: The highest concentration of incident markers, driven largely by the commercial activity in these areas. Most incidents are property-related and tied to parking lots or storefronts rather than residences.
- Lake Forest and suburban subdivisions: Among the quietest areas on the map. Low incident density, strong street lighting, and active neighborhood familiarity contribute to a consistently safe environment.
- Neighborhoods near schools and parks: Daytime activity and community visibility keep these areas well-monitored. Incident reports are rare and tend to be minor in nature.
For prospective residents, this geographic breakdown is encouraging: the areas most people are considering for long-term living — residential subdivisions, family neighborhoods, established streets near city amenities — show the lowest incident rates on the map.
How Union's Grade Compares
An A crime grade is not simply the absence of a bad grade — it reflects active performance above the baseline. For a city of Union's size and density (511 per sq mi), maintaining this grade requires consistent law enforcement engagement, community participation, and the kind of social cohesion that makes residents report suspicious activity and look out for neighbors. Union's relatively low poverty rate of 9.2% and stable employment picture support those conditions.
Compared to other Franklin County communities and similarly sized Missouri cities, Union's A grade places it in the top tier for public safety. Residents and those considering a move to Union can use the crime map not as a warning tool, but as a confirmation of what the grade already suggests: this is a community where safety is the norm, not the exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in Union, MO
What is Union's overall crime grade and what does it mean?
Union, MO holds an overall crime grade of A — the highest tier in our rating system. This grade reflects Union's incident rates across both property and violent crime categories, benchmarked against cities of similar size and population density nationwide. For a city of roughly 11,931 residents at 511 people per square mile, an A grade indicates that crime levels are well below what would be expected, and that the community consistently outperforms comparable Missouri cities on public safety metrics.
What types of crime are most common in Union?
Property crime is the dominant category in Union's incident data, as it is in most small Midwestern cities. This includes theft from vehicles, occasional residential burglary attempts, and vandalism — offenses that tend to cluster near commercial corridors like the Highway 50 area and downtown rather than in residential neighborhoods. Violent crime accounts for a much smaller share of total incidents and does not appear to concentrate in any identifiable hotspot on the crime map. The overall volume of incidents across all categories remains low, which is the foundation of Union's A grade.
Which neighborhoods in Union are the safest?
Based on crime map incident density, residential areas such as Lake Forest, neighborhoods near Union's city parks, and established subdivisions off Highway 47 show consistently minimal incident activity. The downtown square and Highway 50 commercial corridor have the highest concentration of map markers, but even those are driven primarily by low-level property incidents tied to commercial foot traffic. For families and long-term residents, the suburban and park-adjacent neighborhoods represent the quietest areas in an already low-crime city.
Is Union a safe place to live in 2026?
By the available data, yes — Union is one of the safer small cities in Missouri. Its A crime grade, combined with a median household income of $54,585, a poverty rate of 9.2%, and a stable unemployment rate of 5.4%, reflects a community with the socioeconomic conditions that support sustained public safety. Median home values of $154,690 and median rent of $781 make Union accessible without the displacement pressures that can strain community cohesion. Residents in neighborhoods like Lake Forest and those near the city's schools and parks consistently report a strong sense of security, and the crime map data supports that perception.
How do I use Union's crime map effectively?
Start by using the map's time filters to look at recent 30- and 90-day windows rather than all-time data — this gives you the most relevant picture of current conditions. Pay attention to incident type as well as location: a cluster of minor theft markers near a commercial parking lot tells a very different story than a cluster of assault reports in a residential area. In Union's case, the map is most useful as a tool for confirming neighborhood-level safety patterns rather than identifying serious risk zones. Checking the map periodically and cross-referencing with updates from the Union Police Department will keep you well-informed year-round.
How does Union's crime rate compare to the rest of Missouri?
Union's A overall crime grade places it in the top tier among Missouri cities, particularly when compared to communities of similar size. Many Missouri cities in the 10,000–15,000 population range carry B or C grades, making Union's A a meaningful distinction. The city's combination of low violent crime frequency, moderate property crime concentrated in commercial rather than residential areas, and stable socioeconomic indicators gives it a safety profile that compares favorably not just locally but relative to national benchmarks for small cities.
Surrounding Cities
Union Zip Codes
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