Safest Cities in Ohio 2026
Ohio has 6 cities in our database with a statewide violent crime rate of 483.3 per 100,000 residents. The safest city is Dayton with a Safety Context Score of 68/100. All rates are per capita — never raw counts.
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dayton | 138K | 354.3 | 1,480 | B (68) |
| 2 | Cincinnati | 309K | 362.9 | 2,309 | B (67) |
| 3 | Columbus | 906K | 523 | 2,107 | B (66) |
| 4 | Akron | 190K | 457.9 | 1,828 | B (66) |
| 5 | Toledo | 271K | 437.4 | 2,174 | C (55) |
| 6 | Cleveland | 373K | 580.6 | 1,885 | C (51) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023.
Crime statistics for Ohio cities are derived from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data. All figures represent per-capita rates per 100,000 residents, not raw counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on FBI crime data and our Safety Context Score, Dayton is the safest city in Ohio with a score of 68/100 (Grade B), a violent crime rate of 354.3 per 100,000, and a property crime rate of 1,480 per 100,000.
Cities are ranked using our Safety Context Score (0-100), which weighs violent crime rate vs. national average (40%), property crime rate vs. national average (30%), and 5-year trend direction (30%). All rates are per 100,000 residents — never raw counts.
Crime in Ohio has increased 0.0% over the past 5 years based on FBI data.
Safety Context Score: violent crime vs. national average (40%), property crime vs. national average (30%), 5-year trend (30%). All rates per 100,000 residents.