Do you live in one of the most dangerous cities in Ohio?
We all watch the news and see reports on Facebook of the latest crimes that happen in our hometowns. But it can be hard to tell at a big picture level how dangerous our town actually is.
No one wants to feel unsafe, and statistically speaking, odds are that where you live is most likely relatively safe. In order to help the good people of Ohio — and anyone looking to move to Ohio — know just how close they are to danger, we took data from the annual FBI report and did some serious analysis.
Here are the 10 most dangerous cities in Ohio for 2019:
- Whitehall (Photos)
- Springfield (Photos)
- Canton (Photos)
- Cleveland (Photos)
- Lima (Photos)
- Portsmouth (Photos)
- Cincinnati (Photos)
- Chillicothe (Photos)
- Middletown (Photos)
- Dayton (Photos)
So what is the most dangerous city in Ohio? After analyzing 247 cities in Ohio, Whitehall takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Ohio based on the most recent FBI data.
For a detailed explanation of the data and analysis we used in creating this ranking, read on.
Or learn more about the safest places in Ohio.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Ohio
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio
Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Ohio
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Ohio for 2019?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets, a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in the country, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the JUST released 2017 data, specifically the 2017 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2019.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 247 cities in Ohio.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 247 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Ohio — Whitehall.
Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Ohio.
The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Ohio For 2019
Tiny Whitehall, statistically, is the 10th most violent city per capita in the entire state of Ohio. Whitehall, for those outside of the Columbus area, is essentially a tiny Columbus suburb.
While crimes here skyrocketed in 2016, apparently, local jurisdictions have made progress, as crimes went down in 2017. However, for a town of just over 18,835 people, 125 violent crimes is eye opening. Statistically, 1 in 150 residents was the victim of a rape, attack or was killed just two years ago. And that’s even lower than it was the year before, when it was double that.
Springfield, a Columbus suburb, has seen property crimes plummet about 30% recently, so law enforcement must be cracking down on vehicle thefts and home invasion robberies. Statistically, 1 in 159 people in Springfield were raped, attacked or murdered in 2017. Wow.
You have a 1 in 18.9 chance of being the victim of a property crime in Canton and a 1 in 84 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
We noticed a trend in our top ten that is exemplified by Cleveland. Violent crime rates tend to be higher in bigger cities. This probably has to do with population density and a larger range of incomes. Smaller cities have a tendency to have higher property crime rates.
Cleveland ranks 19th for property crime and 1st for violent crime according to the most recent FBI data.
Lima is the 5th most violent city in the state.
Both categories of crime have been going up between 2015-17.
Folks in Lima have about 1 violent crime per 135 residents.
Portsmouth ranks 6th overall for dangerous places in Ohio.
In 2017, residents faced a 1 in 173 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Portsmouth’s violent crimes have risen 8% in recent years, meaning it’s on track to overtake the role of most dangerous city in Ohio in the not too distant future.
Cincinnati is also the home to quite a bit of crime.
Despite the fact that violent crime and property crime dropped between 2015-17, Cincinnati’s crime statistics are still pretty terrible.
In 2017, residents still faced a 1 in 105 chance of being the victim of violence, and a 1 in 15,105 chance of being the victim of a property crime for every year they spent in Cincinnati city limits.
Chillicothe is the 8th most violent city in the state.
Both categories of crime have been going up between 2015-17.
Folks in Chillicothe have about 1 violent crime per 233 residents.
Middletown comes in 9th on our list for the most dangerous places in Ohio.
Residents of Middletown have a 1 in 15.2 chance of being the victim of a crime. For reference, the most dangerous place in the country has about a 1 in 5 chance of being the victim of a crime.
Middletown ranks as the 6th highest city for property crime per capita which contributes to its high chance of crime.
Dayton experienced a drop in its property crime rate between 2015-17.
That’s a difference of residents having about a 1 in 15 shot of being the victim of theft or arson at the beginning to a 1 in 23.0 shot in 2017.
Violent crime, meanwhile, remained at around the same level.
Locking It All Up In Ohio
The latest FBI crime data shows that Whitehall ranks as the most dangerous city in Ohio for 2019.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Whitehall and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.
If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in Ohio:
- Sagamore Hills (Pop. 10,951)
- Broadview Heights (Pop. 19,228)
- Chester Township (Pop. 10,355)
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Ohio
- 10 Safest Places In Ohio
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Ohio
Detailed List Of The Most Dangerous Cities In Ohio
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitehall | 18,835 |
| 2 | Springfield | 58,843 |
| 3 | Canton | 71,031 |
| 4 | Cleveland | 385,351 |
| 5 | Lima | 37,220 |
| 6 | Portsmouth | 20,451 |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 299,116 |
| 8 | Chillicothe | 21,695 |
| 9 | Middletown | 48,828 |
| 10 | Dayton | 140,171 |
| 11 | Mansfield | 46,507 |
| 12 | Toledo, , | 277,116 |
| 13 | Akron | 197,412 |
| 14 | Circleville | 13,972 |
| 15 | Butler Township | 7,799 |
| 16 | Steubenville | 17,979 |
| 17 | Warren | 39,643 |
| 18 | Hamilton | 62,094 |
| 19 | Zanesville | 25,457 |
| 20 | Youngstown | 63,889 |
| 21 | Mount Healthy | 6,020 |
| 22 | Columbus | 872,205 |
| 23 | Norwood | 19,994 |
| 24 | Lancaster | 40,026 |
| 25 | Springfield Township, Summit County | 14,434 |
| 26 | Heath | 10,681 |
| 27 | Lorain | 63,672 |
| 28 | Barberton | 26,050 |
| 29 | North College Hill | 9,311 |
| 30 | Alliance | 21,838 |
| 31 | Sandusky | 24,861 |
| 32 | Wooster | 27,172 |
| 33 | Washington Court House | 14,136 |
| 34 | Logan | 7,077 |
| 35 | Warren Township | 5,255 |
| 36 | Trotwood | 24,308 |
| 37 | Piqua | 20,973 |
| 38 | Wilmington | 12,416 |
| 39 | Euclid | 47,270 |
| 40 | Fremont | 16,241 |
| 41 | Findlay | 41,474 |
| 42 | Brooklyn | 10,809 |
| 43 | Sidney | 20,466 |
| 44 | Port Clinton | 5,928 |
| 45 | Bucyrus | 11,828 |
| 46 | Urbana | 11,351 |
| 47 | Groveport | 5,583 |
| 48 | Reading | 10,307 |
| 49 | Oregon | 19,991 |
| 50 | Nelsonville | 5,284 |
| 51 | Reynoldsburg | 37,704 |
| 52 | Marion | 36,230 |
| 53 | Xenia | 26,331 |
| 54 | Van Wert | 10,713 |
| 55 | Ontario | 6,058 |
| 56 | East Cleveland | 17,178 |
| 57 | Forest Park | 18,665 |
| 58 | Upper Sandusky | 6,529 |
| 59 | Elyria | 53,586 |
| 60 | Milford | 6,939 |
| 61 | Greenville | 12,772 |
| 62 | Salem | 11,887 |
| 63 | Huber Heights | 37,996 |
| 64 | Willard | 6,032 |
| 65 | Cheviot | 8,269 |
| 66 | Colerain Township | 58,996 |
| 67 | Mount Vernon | 16,553 |
| 68 | Bedford Heights | 10,558 |
| 69 | Kenton | 8,190 |
| 70 | South Euclid | 21,628 |
| 71 | University Heights | 13,104 |
| 72 | Englewood | 13,504 |
| 73 | Cleveland Heights | 44,525 |
| 74 | Bexley | 13,773 |
| 75 | Defiance | 16,594 |
| 76 | Fairborn | 33,936 |
| 77 | Fairfield | 42,627 |
| 78 | Grove City | 40,421 |
| 79 | Jackson Township, Stark County | 40,624 |
| 80 | Fairfield Township | 22,524 |
| 81 | West Carrollton | 12,898 |
| 82 | Austintown | 35,303 |
| 83 | Shelby | 8,987 |
| 84 | Lakewood | 50,151 |
| 85 | Hillsboro | 6,576 |
| 86 | London | 10,202 |
| 87 | Galion | 10,073 |
| 88 | Richmond Heights | 10,432 |
| 89 | Miami Township, Montgomery County | 28,996 |
| 90 | Ironton | 10,853 |
| 91 | Springfield Township, Hamilton County | 36,571 |
| 92 | Jackson | 6,305 |
| 93 | Vandalia | 15,022 |
| 94 | Wauseon | 7,407 |
| 95 | Monroe | 16,002 |
| 96 | Cambridge | 10,391 |
| 97 | Sylvania Township | 29,536 |
| 98 | Napoleon | 8,410 |
| 99 | Bedford | 12,641 |
| 100 | Oberlin | 8,321 |
Columbus, Oh is not even listed. How accurate is this list when one of Ohio’s largest cities is not even included?
Whitehall is in Columbus city limits pretty much.
You have to look further down the article. Columbus is at #22
I doubt the accuracy since Columbus, Lancaster, Steubenville and others not listed. Crime in the cities are closely related to poverty. Southern Ohio has a lack of jobs and a lot of poverty as do many inner cities. Most city crime is drug related and that’s everywhere.
How about the dirty south. Southside columbus. And Cincinnati is not top 3….wronggggg..
Was it appropriate to give violent crime and property crime equal weight in calculating danger scores?
“Dangerous” should just mean violent crime. They shouldn’t have included property crimes. The real list of 10 most dangerous cities in Ohio should be:
1. Cleveland
2. Toledo
3. Lima
4. Canton
5. Cincinnati
6. Dayton
7. Youngstown
8. Akron
9. Whitehall
10. Springfield
Before you put your name to anything this critical you should be careful coming to any conclusions until you check reported crimes compared to actual crimes. Even though the FBI provide the tools needed to come up with these results they, and you have no way to tell how and why the reports were taken.
no,that list couldnt be right cause dayton wasnt in there.portsmouth is just a small,tiny town of 99,000 nothing like dayton,akron,cincinnati dont believe that.
East cleveland
They were using the UCR which does not take into account dark figure crimes, as well as the UCR only takes the most violent or deviant crimes committed, so if there are multiple crimes committed at one time the worst crime will be the only one reported. Just keep that in mind!
Youngstown was the murder capital of the USA per captita 2001-2003.
In fact I passed a woman wearing a shirt today that had “Youngstown, Ohio murder capital of America, 2001-2003 come heavy or don’t come at all”. LOL Still true today no matter how many gentrified craft beer places they can prop up throughout the area.
come up in new philadelphia ohio you get your head taken off your shoulders
“Springfield, a suburb of St. Louis,”. Unless you are writing about some other state, St. Louis is more than 500 miles away in Missouri. The last I checked there were two states inbetween Ohio and Missouri. Now Springfield, Ohio is small city halfway inbetween Dayton and Columbus and is not considered a suburb of either although it is considered to be in the Dayton CSA
The article says that Springfield Ohio is a st. Louis suburb St Louis is in Missouri
This site, “roadsnacks,” dies not ascribe to any respected methods of research. Much of the information posted in this piece is indeed false. Not only did they put two of the cities on the list as two suburbs of St. Louis Missouri, but their population statistics and crime rates are not even close.
I really dislike places that do this. But people are gullible and believe whatever they are fed.
135 homocides in Columbus as of December 22 that’s the murder cap of ohio
Chris Kolmar, You and your site have zero credibility. You stated that Springfield and Whitehall were suburbs of St. Louis. The last time I looked at a map there were TWO STATES between Ohio and Missouri.They are Indiana and Illinois. Not even Springfield, Missouri is a suburb of St. Louis, They are 250 miles apart. How do you make such mistakes? Your facts are wrong in more ways than one. You contradict yourself. You claim both Dayton and Whitehall are the most dangerous.
Your article lists Springfield as a suburb of St. Louis. So, did you look at data for Springfield Missouri or Springfield Ohio? Perhaps double check that geography before publishing.
Why does the Springfield article refer to to it as a suburb of st Louis?
Yes! Finally something about link.
Well at least they updated Springfield to be a suburb of Columbus, which it isn’t….. sigh.
Dear Gentlemen
Highly disagree with your data and facts on ranking Springfield No. 2 as dangerous to live in Ohio.
We (Springfield, Ohio) is by far the best city in Ohio to live in.
Springfield have gone from strictly depending on manufacturing for employment to a mixture of employers. Springfield has several industrial parks and Springfield Beckley Municipal Airport.
We are home To Wittenberg University and Clark State Community College with wonderful Public and Private Schools.
Great amenities like a brewery with farmers market during winter months, ice arena, baseball, parks and recreation, fantastic Summer Arts Programs in Veterans Park.
Springfield, Ohio has an abundance of group and organizations with events and programs. We are home to the John Legend Theater with year-round plays and programs.
We Springfield, Ohio are an inviting city, look forward to you considering using personal visits and speaking with Greater Springfield Chamber Of Commerce, Elected Officials and people in our great city instead of hiding behind data.
Sincerely,
Joyce Chilton
Hey Joyce Chilton with all do respect.If your really going to be this upset with this web site for putting out the truth about Springfield Ohio.Lets be honest about Springfield Ohio, this city does indeed have its own problems and not only that back 2012 or 2013 we had an economic fail going on in this city. Why not add the fact that Springfield Ohio has a lot of crimes here mostly home invasion,robberys,theft and drug abuse. The sad part about Springfield Ohio is that city hall isn’t doing or saying anything about daily crimes that are happening over there at the low income Ronez Manor Apartments. Plus there’s crimes over in South Limestone. And lets also point out that Springfield Ohio population is decreasing. Work places are going out of business and I like to know 2 things about food restaurants. Why is it we have more fast food places than just regular sit down restaurants? Plus how come when it comes to fast food places that we don’t have Chick-Fi-La in this city. Now another thing i want to bring up is downtown Springfield Ohio. For the long time you and the rest of city hall that you guys are trying everyday to rebuild Springfield Ohio. How in the world are you guys trying if all you commissioners are basically wasting taxpayers money by restructuring the roads terrying down old homes and vacant businesses. You also pointed at the fact that this city has a ice rink and plus John Legend theater and of course you left out the fact every year in the month of May we have a parade for our vets on memorial day and on the month of December we have a lights in the city Christmas special. Where my concern is Joyce is that there’s not much fun activity here in Springfield Ohio. Back 2009 or 2010 i question our mayor Warren Copeland about activitys for youn men,women and children.And all that mayor did was yes me away just like he does with everybody else. Some people around here all they do for fun around is eat,shop and often times go to that game cycle video game store to play retro arcade games. I gave you guys some ideas what you can bring to Springfield Ohio like a indoor skateboard park for all skater fans or how about bringing some sort indy pro wrestling event here to Springfield Ohio or something. What drives me crazy is that this city for a quite long time Springfield Ohio said that one day this city will become like a NYC instead it’s becoming the bad side like Detroit Michigan. So if you don’t want sites to write bad things about our city than do us all a favor and tell Warren Copeland to get his butt up and tell Springfield Ohio to come together and rebuild this city and bring more fun activitys for Springfield Ohio.
This is Valerie Lough, Community Information Coordinator for the City of Springfield. It is worth noting that, while you are sourcing FBI uniform crime reporting, you are assigning a per capita number that includes property crime as well as violent crime. The FBI has routinely cautioned against using crime rankings as they can lead to simplistic analysis, that can create misleading perceptions. Property crimes include theft, motor vehicle theft, and burglary. This is misleading, as many people tend to associate “danger” with violent crime, not property crime. Thank you for your time.