Crime Grade · FBI UCR Data · 2025
Poplar Bluff, MO Crime Grade
How Poplar Bluff grades for violent crime against every other reporting U.S. city — and against the rest of Missouri — based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.
National
10/10
vs. all U.S. cities ≥ 25,000 population
Missouri
10/10
vs. Missouri cities ≥ 10,000 population
In 2025, the violent crime rate in Poplar Bluff, MO was 922.5 per 100,000 residents (149 incidents over a population of 16,151). That puts Poplar Bluff 184% above the U.S. rate of 325.3 and 118% above the Missouri statewide rate of 422.6.
That ranks Poplar Bluff #3,659 of 3,771 ranked U.S. cities, safer than 3% of them, and #72 of 77 in Missouri. Violent crime is up 13% year over year and down 28% over the last five years.
Poplar Bluff, MO crime — key facts
- National Crime Grade
- F (10/10)
- Missouri Grade
- F (10/10)
- Violent crime rate
- 922.5 / 100k
- National rank
- #3,659 of 3,771
- MO rank
- #72 of 77
- Safer than
- 3% of U.S. cities
- Year over year
- up 13%
- 5-year change
- down 28%
- Population
- 16,151
- Reporting agency
- Poplar Bluff Police Department
- Data year
- 2025 · FBI UCR
Reported by Poplar Bluff Police Department (FBI ORI MO0120200) to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Download the full dataset (CSV) · methodology.
About Poplar Bluff, MO
Also known as
- Bluff City
- The Bluff
- Kelley Town
- Ashcroft Addition
- Vinegar Hill
- East Poplar Bluff
History
Named because of the belt of poplar trees in that section, and the location of the city on a bluff at the foot of the Ozark range of mountains
Name history sourced from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) — public-domain federal geographic-names data.
Violent crime rate, 5-year trend
Per 100,000 residents. Poplar Bluff (red), Missouri (blue), U.S. average (gray dashed).
Poplar Bluff vs. U.S., 2025 — by offense
Rates per 100,000 residents for each offense category.
Full data, last 5 years
Rates per 100,000 residents. Raw counts in parentheses.
| Offense | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 1286.9(216) | 939.4(152) | 818.6(133) | 813.3(131) | 922.5(149) |
| Murder | 11.9(2) | 6.2(1) | 6.2(1) | 12.4(2) | 0.0(0) |
| Rape | 113.2(19) | 123.6(20) | 73.9(12) | 180.0(29) | 117.6(19) |
| Robbery | 119.2(20) | 117.4(19) | 110.8(18) | 93.1(15) | 55.7(9) |
| Aggravated assault | 1042.7(175) | 692.2(112) | 627.8(102) | 527.7(85) | 749.2(121) |
| Property crime | 5564.8(934) | 4937.9(799) | 5286.8(859) | 5425.9(874) | 4550.8(735) |
| Burglary | 816.3(137) | 754.0(122) | 904.7(147) | 943.6(152) | 736.8(119) |
| Larceny | 3956.1(664) | 3541.2(573) | 3840.5(624) | 4097.3(660) | 3393.0(548) |
| Motor vehicle theft | 780.5(131) | 599.5(97) | 517.0(84) | 384.9(62) | 408.6(66) |
How the Crime Grade is calculated
- What is the source of the Poplar Bluff, MO Crime Grade?
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting via the Crime Data Explorer. Agency-level data, pulled directly. No third-party aggregators, no proprietary score.
- What metric does the Poplar Bluff Crime Grade use?
- Violent crime rate per 100,000 residents (murder + rape + robbery + aggravated assault), most recent fully-reported year.
- How is the national decile for Poplar Bluff calculated?
- Poplar Bluff's rate placed against all FBI-reporting U.S. cities with population ≥ 25,000. 1 = safest.
- How is the Missouri state decile calculated?
- Same calculation restricted to Missouri cities with population ≥ 10,000.
- How do decile scores convert to a letter grade?
- 1–3 = A · 4–5 = B · 6–7 = C · 8 = D · 9–10 = F.
- How often is the Poplar Bluff Crime Grade refreshed?
- Twice a year. The FBI typically releases the prior year's full data each September.
- What are the limits of this Crime Grade?
- The FBI relies on local agency reporting. Rates reflect what was reported, not what occurred.
Nearby cities in Missouri
Comparable Missouri cities by population.
Compare Poplar Bluff to other places
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