The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Ohio

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Ohio For 2026

Ohio’s 2nd most populous city and the home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is also one of the most dangerous places to live in the state.

Once again, Cleveland had the highest violent crime rate in Ohio, with residents facing a 1 in 64 chance of being attacked in 2024. That includes the third highest murder rate and second highest rate of rape cases statewide.

Additionally, Cleveland ranked worse for property crime this year than last year. But don’t rule the whole city out because of this result; there are still plenty of safe neighborhoods in Cleveland to choose from.

Located a half-hour northeast of Dayton, Springfield is Ohio’s second most dangerous city. Springfield experienced about two burglaries a day on average in 2024 — that’s enough to give it the highest burglary rate statewide.

Overall, people in Springfield had a 1 in 22 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged.

At least you can get away from the crime-filled streets of Springfield at Buck Creek State Park… just bring a buddy and get home before dark.

Next up on our list of Ohio’s most dangerous cities is Whitehall, a suburb of Columbus. Whitehall has some of the highest violent crime numbers in the state, including the 43rd highest murder rate. That’s a murder every other month, which is quite high for a city of just 19,603.

Property crime also ranks as the third highest statewide, with about three cases occurring each day on average.

At least you can get away from all this crime by spending a relaxing day looking at flowers at the Franklin Park Conservatory nearby.

Up next on our list is Dayton, Ohio’s 6th biggest city. Dayton had the third highest burglary rate statewide in 2024 and averaged about two car thefts a day.

We just hope no one pulls a Grand Theft Auto move and steals a plane from the Air Force Museum or a classic car from the Packard Museum.

Violent crime is even worse in Dayton — the city had the fourth highest murder rate in Ohio, with about one murder each week, on average. Dayton also had the tenth highest rate of rape cases statewide and the fourth highest violent crime rate overall.

A part of the Dayton Metro Area, Moraine is a small city of just 6,636 and the fifth most dangerous place to live in Ohio.

In actuality, Moraine has the third highest overall crime rate in Ohio for 2024, but most of that comes from having the second highest rate of property crime in the state.

Unfortunately, the crime problem doesn’t end with property in Moraine. The city also had the 15highest murder rate in Ohio for 2024.

We’re kicking our list up a notch with the sixth most dangerous places to live in Ohio for 2026 — Canton, a city of 68,725 located approximately 20 miles south of Akron.

We hope they have enough security guarding the memorabilia on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton because the city had the fourth highest burglary rate in all of Ohio. Overall, residents faced a 1 in 28 chance of being the victim of a property crime in 2024.

And the bad news just keeps on coming for Canton. The city experienced the sixth highest rate of rape cases in the whole state, and the overall violent crime rate is the fifth highest.

There might be lions and tigers and bears at the Cincinnati Zoo, but it turns out that the city’s streets are the really dangerous place.

Cincinnati has the sixth highest murder rate in Ohio, with more than one murder per week, on average, in 2024. Overall, Cincinnati’s residents had a 1 in 118 chance of being attacked over the year.

Not to mention that 2,760 cars got stolen and 1,709 burglaries went down. A good chunk of this crime comes from Cincinatti’s worst neighborhoods, so if you steer clear of those, you should be all right.

In the early 20th century, Portsmouth was known for its shoes and paving bricks. With this manufacturing backbone, the town, located across the river from Kentucky in the south-central part of Ohio, saw rapid growth starting in the last part of the 19th century. This economic stimulus led the population to quadruple from 1870 to 1930.

However, the time since has seen a reversal of fortune. The area’s current population of 17,343 is less than half its pre-Great Depression peak. This long decline, spurred by economic dislocation, has led to many problems for the community, including increased crime. The rate of burglaries is particularly high, with 118 such crimes in a year.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Ohio FAQs

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No, Ohio is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #16 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Ohio ranks 33rd most dangerous in the United States — 16.51% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Buckeye State ranks 29th most dangerous in the United States — 5.32% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.

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Yes, Columbus is a dangerous city. Columbus ranks as the #98 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Columbus might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Bexley is the safest in Columbus, while Franklinton is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Columbus ranks 176th highest in America — 18.71% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 75th highest in the United States — 27.69% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.

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