The City of Northville landed an A- in Niche's 2026 safety grades for 66 metro Detroit suburbs, while Novi and Northville Township each earned a B.
Niche, a data and analytics website, released its 2026 safety grades on Wednesday, Sept. 9, drawing on FBI crime data, CDC health statistics and resident survey responses, Patch reported.
No community in the metro region scored below a B-.
Northville's A- puts the city in the third-highest tier. Only Lake Angelus received an A+, and Clarkston and Grosse Pointe Shores were the sole communities to earn a straight A. Other A- communities include Bloomfield Hills, Rochester, South Lyon and Milford.
Novi and Northville Township sit one notch lower at B, alongside several other suburbs. Plymouth and Plymouth Township scored a B+, one tier above. Canton Township, Farmington Hills and Sterling Heights landed a B-, one tier below.
The township's B grade comes after a sharp drop in local crime. Northville Township recorded 739 total Part A and Part B crimes in 2024, a 20% decline and the lowest number since the department began tracking data in 2012, according to a township news release. Part A crimes, which include felonies and high misdemeanors, fell 15%. Part B crimes, covering misdemeanors and ordinance violations, dropped 35%.
In that release, Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Scott Hilden credited proactive patrols, the Partners in Your Safety education program, FLOCK automatic license plate reader cameras and standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Hilden said the department's crime numbers showed the approach was working and praised his staff's commitment to reducing crime while meeting CALEA's standards.
Northville Township Supervisor Mark J. Abbo, in the same release, called the police department "hands down one of the best in the nation."
The Niche ranking covers communities across the Detroit-Wayne County metro area. Northville Township's 739 recorded crimes in 2024 were nearly 11% below the previous low of 826, set in 2020 during COVID-era restrictions.
