Data Sources
DoorProfit aggregates crime data from multiple authoritative sources to provide comprehensive neighborhood safety analysis:
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program — Annual crime statistics reported by 18,000+ law enforcement agencies nationwide, covering violent crimes (murder, assault, robbery, rape) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft).
- National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) — Detailed incident-level data providing context on circumstances, victim-offender relationships, and location types.
- State & Local Law Enforcement Agencies — Direct data feeds from police departments, sheriff offices, and state bureaus of investigation for real-time incident reporting.
- U.S. Census Bureau — Population estimates, demographic data, and geographic boundary definitions (block groups, census tracts, places) used for per-capita rate calculations.
Safety Grade Algorithm
Each city and neighborhood receives a safety grade from A+ (safest) to F (least safe). The grade is calculated using a multi-factor scoring model:
Step 1: Per-Capita Crime Rate
Raw crime counts are normalized to rates per 100,000 residents using the most recent Census population estimates. This allows fair comparison between large cities and small towns.
Step 2: National Benchmarking
Each crime type rate is compared against national averages published by the FBI:
- Total crime: 2,212.8 per 100K
- Violent crime: 380.7 per 100K
- Property crime: 1,832.1 per 100K
A multiplier is computed: a city with double the national violent crime rate would have a violent multiplier of 2.0.
Step 3: Severity Weighting
Not all crimes are equal. Violent crimes are weighted more heavily than property crimes in the final score:
- Murder/Manslaughter: 10x weight
- Assault/Robbery: 5x weight
- Rape: 7x weight
- Burglary: 2x weight
- Larceny-Theft: 1x weight
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 1.5x weight
Step 4: Population Percentile Adjustment
The raw score is adjusted by the city's population percentile ranking. This prevents small communities with a single incident from receiving disproportionately poor grades due to low denominators.
Step 5: Trend Factor
Year-over-year crime trends (12-month rolling window) apply a ±10% adjustment. Cities with declining crime receive a bonus; those with rising crime receive a penalty.
Step 6: Grade Assignment
The final composite score (0.0 to 1.0) maps to letter grades:
| Score Range | Grade | Interpretation |
|---|
| 0.90 – 1.00 | A+ | Exceptionally safe |
| 0.80 – 0.89 | A | Very safe |
| 0.70 – 0.79 | B+ | Above average safety |
| 0.60 – 0.69 | B | Safe |
| 0.50 – 0.59 | C+ | Average |
| 0.40 – 0.49 | C | Below average |
| 0.30 – 0.39 | D | Higher crime |
| 0.00 – 0.29 | F | Significantly above average crime |
Geographic Resolution
DoorProfit provides crime data at multiple geographic levels:
- City/Place level — Covers 25,000+ Census-designated places with aggregated crime rates and safety grades.
- Neighborhood level — Where local agency data permits, sub-city areas are identified and scored individually.
- Census Block Group level — The finest resolution available, using Census geographic boundaries combined with spatially allocated crime incidents for address-level safety estimates.
Block group boundaries are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and typically contain 600–3,000 residents. Crime incidents are allocated to block groups using point-in-polygon spatial queries against official TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Data Freshness & Update Cadence
- Local incident feeds: Updated daily where available.
- FBI UCR annual release: Incorporated within 30 days of publication (typically September for prior-year data).
- Census population estimates: Updated annually (July vintage).
- Safety grades: Recalculated monthly using all available data.
The Data reporting period shown on each city page indicates the date range of crime records used in that city's current grade.
Limitations & Disclosures
- Not all law enforcement agencies report to the UCR program. Approximately 85% of the U.S. population is covered.
- Crime data reflects reported incidents. Actual crime rates may differ due to underreporting.
- Safety grades are statistical estimates, not guarantees of personal safety.
- Small populations (< 1,000 residents) may produce volatile per-capita rates; interpret with caution.
- DoorProfit is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FBI, any law enforcement agency, or the U.S. Census Bureau.