Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Ohio?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in Ohio.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Buckeye State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in Ohio? The city with the highest murder rate in Ohio is Cleveland with 43.5 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Ohio with highest number of murders? The city in Ohio with the highest number of murders is Columbus with 203 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Ohio ranked. There were ‘only’ 75 cities in Ohio where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 194 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Buckeye State check out:
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Ohio For 2023
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Population: 379,313
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 165 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 43.5 (Most)
More on Cleveland: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 305,308
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 90 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 29.5 (3rd Most)
More on Cincinnati: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 916,001
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 203 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.2 (8th Most)
More on Columbus: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 269,941
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 66 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.4 (5th Most)
More on Toledo: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 63,538
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 27 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 42.5 (2nd Most)
More on Youngstown: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 27,296
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 8 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 29.3 (4th Most)
More on Garfield Heights: Data | Cost Of Living
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Population: 195,701
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 36 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.4 (12th Most)
More on Akron: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 139,671
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 30 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.5 (11th Most)
More on Dayton: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 69,623
Rank Last Year: 8
Murders: 15 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.5 (10th Most)
More on Canton: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 21,888
Rank Last Year: 46
Murders: 5 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.8 (7th Most)
More on Maple Heights: Data | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Ohio
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in Ohio for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 75 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Ohio and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Ohio For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Ohio with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Ohio
- Fastest Growing Cities In Ohio
- Safest Places In Ohio
- Best Cities For Singles In Ohio
- Worst Places To Live In Ohio
