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Best Columbia, Missouri Home Security & Alarm Companies 2023

Here's what we found when we analyzed home security providers and crime data in Columbia

Recommended Home Security Providers in Columbia

Best Video Monitoring
  • Video Monitoring
  • Pro. Install
  • Simple Wireless Install
  • Has options without a contract
  • Ideal to protect against threats of fire
Best Value
  • DIY Install
  • Simple Professional Install
  • Has top-tier integration options
  • Several Home Automation Offerings
Best for Renters
  • Fire Protection
  • Pro. Install
  • Options with Video Cameras
  • Offers responsive customer service
  • Great overall value for your money

Our Analysis of Safety in Columbia

The amount of criminal offenses in Columbia is below average, with 34.4 incidents for every one thousand residents. When measured against other U.S. cities, the city ranks in the 46th percentile.

Property-related incidents are moderate in Columbia. 30.38 property crimes transpire for every one thousand citizens every year, placing the city in the 57th percentile. The city’s average property-related crime is somewhat of an outlier when measured against Missouri — and the country as a whole.

The bulk of criminal behavior is property crime, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In Columbia, homicide offenses are the most recurrent offenses against individuals. arson is the city’s most rampant property crime.

Columbia experiences fairlyhigh person crime — the city places in the 62nd percentile for crimes against individuals. For every one thousand residents, there are about 4.02 crimes against persons. However, Columbia's rates do not reflect crime levels in the state of Missouri — nor does the United States nationwide.

With its lower than average crime levels, Columbia has a moderate officer-to-civilian ratio, with 1.56 law enforcement officers per 1,000 residents. That's one officer to guard 642 residents.

In addition to crime rates, the rate of criminal activity is another measure of safety. Columbia has moderately low crime frequency, with 0.48 offenses taking place every hour. A crime occurs every 125 minutes in Columbia. Specifically, a property-related incident takes place every 2 hours and crimes against people occur roughly once every 18 hours.

Data sourced from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, 2017 (last available dataset)
122,585
Arson
1.558
Bottom 20% Percentile
0.481
Top 20% Percentile
30.379
Top 40% Percentile
4.022
Top 20% Percentile

Recommended Provider for Video Cameras

In studying the home alarm industry in Columbia, MO, we've come to the realization that security cameras is one of the most important features to Columbia, MO customers. Because of that, we give our recommendation to Vivint.

When picking a security company that offers cameras, it's vital to take into account the types of cameras they offer, the built-in security features and specs of those cameras, and the features made possible by the company's security system platform.

Vivint offers several types of security cameras that cover the basic needs of an average American home. They have indoor cameras for protection inside the house, outdoor cameras for perimeter security, and they also offer video doorbells for front door security. All their cameras have decent video quality both during the day and at night, can detect motion for added security, and have a wide-angle lens for maximum field of view. Finally, the Vivint security system platform offers features like cloud storage for alert videos and live video streaming via a smartphone app.

If you want to learn more about Vivint, you may check out our full Vivint review or read about Vivint pricing here.

Recommended Provider for Overall Value

When deciding between home security companies, most people they choose based on factors like the pricing, customer service quality, features, and even the type of installation. Although that is true, we believe that the best way to choose which is the best alarm company for you is taking a long hard look at those factors collectively instead of individually. Doing so allows you to find a company that offers the best value.

We did such analysis on the companies offering services in Columbia, MO, and after long hours of comparing them, we've found that Brinks offers an unmatched security value to their customers for their price. We've taken into account their pricing, the features they offer, how flexible they are when it comes to monitoring plans, and the quality of their customer service.

To purchase a security system from Brinks and set up professional monitoring from them, we recommend getting in touch with a Brinks security expert by visiting their website.

Great for Those Who Rent

For renters in Columbia, MO, we recommend ADT as the best home security company. We chose ADT after analyzing the most common threats in Columbia, MO and comparing them to the security features offered by security system dealers in the area. We discovered that ADT offers the highest level of protection to renters.

While the crime data played a huge role in our decision-making process, there are other things you should take into consideration when choosing a security company. For example, the company's customer service quality. Our recommendation for ADT is further strengthened if you look at how they treat renters. You'll find that they treat renters just as well as they treat their homeowner customers. Aside from that, we discovered that they have the best pricing structure in Columbia, MO.

If you want to learn more about ADT first, you may also check out our in-depth ADT review

Columbia Home Security Providers

Here is a complete list of providers available in Columbia:
ProviderHAR ScoreWebsiteInstall TypePhoneMonitoring TypeBusiness Service
Frontpoint8.7www.frontpointsecurity.comDIY(833) 606-4477ProfessionalYes
ADT9.4www.adt.comProfessional(844) 741-8968ProfessionalYes
Alder7.2www.alder.comDIY(866) 717-8611ProfessionalNo
Link Interactive8.5www.linkinteractive.comDIY(877) 826-5443ProfessionalNo
Brinks7.5brinkshome.comProfessional or DIY(866) 305-6806ProfessionalYes
Ring9.5ring.comDIY(800) 656-1918Professional or Self-MonitoredNo
Protect America7.8www.protectamerica.comDIY(800) 951-5111ProfessionalYes
Simplisafe8.5simplisafe.comProfessional or DIY(800) 297-1605Professional or Self-MonitoredNo
Vivint7.8www.vivint.comProfessional(801) 377-9111ProfessionalNo
abode7.5goabode.comProfessional or DIY(650) 443-7834Professional or Self-MonitoredNo
Xfinity Home Security8www.xfinity.comProfessional(877) 591-2503ProfessionalYes
Lifeshield7.5www.lifeshield.comProfessional or DIY(877) 632-7657ProfessionalNo
Swann7www.swann.com/usDIY(562) 906-3983Self-MonitoredNo
Fortress Security7.5www.fortresssecuritystore.comDIY(206) 981-5371Professional or Self-MonitoredNo
iSmartAlarm7www.ismartalarm.comDIY(408) 245-2551Self-MonitoredNo
My Alarm Center7.5myalarmcenter.comProfessional(855) 334-6562ProfessionalYes
Ooma8www.ooma.comDIY(888) 711-6662Self-MonitoredNo
LivSecure7.8www.livsecure.comDIY(844) 349-7233ProfessionalNo
Alarm Grid8.5www.alarmgrid.comDIY(888) 818-7728Professional or Self-MonitoredYes
Cove8.3www.covesmart.comDIY(855) 268-3669Professional or Self-MonitoredYes
Protection One7.3www.protection1.comProfessional(877) 776-1911ProfessionalYes
Canary8.5canary.isDIYSelf-MonitoredNo
Centurylink7.5www.centurylink.comProfessional(888) 723-8010ProfessionalYes
AT&T Digital Life7.8my-digitallife.att.comProfessional(855) 288-2727ProfessionalNo
Scout Alarm7.3www.scoutalarm.comDIY(844) 287-2688Professional or Self-MonitoredNo
Uxari7.8uxari.comDIY(877) 877-9788ProfessionalNo
GetSafe8getsafe.comDIY(888) 799-6255ProfessionalNo
Alarm Relay8www.alarmrelay.comDIY(800) 624-6866ProfessionalNo
Security One6.5securityoneonline.comProfessional(888) 584-5152ProfessionalYes