Photo: Erik Drost · CC BY 4.0Few U.S. towns record more crime per resident than Cleveland
The crimes the grade counts fell 19% per resident from 2023 to 2025. Graded on crimes Cleveland’s police reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores D− for safety: #292 of 296 graded towns in Ohio, and #320 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000. Typical years here bring 15.4 violent crimes plus 43.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, against 3.1 plus 18.4 in the rest of Ohio. It has more violent crime than 99% of U.S. towns, and more property crime than 97%.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of OH” is every other Ohio city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Cleveland
4 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Ohio towns on Cleveland’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Brook Park (A), Bratenahl (B+), Lakewood (B−), Cleveland Heights (C+), East Cleveland (D−). Shaker Heights reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024. Fairview Park and Brooklyn reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Cleveland’s police reported 103 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 32.4 per 100,000 residents a year, 5.9 times the rest of Ohio (5.5) and 5.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 7.6 times the rest of Ohio
375 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (1,048 reported in 2025), 7.6 times the rest of Ohio (49.4) and 4.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Cleveland reports less crime per resident than 2% (#320). Places like it ↓
A job center
Cleveland has 277,336 jobs based in town for 363,608 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Cleveland’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Show as a table
| Year | Cleveland | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 39.9 | 7.1 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 38.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 30.0 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 28.3 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Cleveland | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 426 | 61.9 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 448 | 53.3 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 389 | 49.9 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 288 | 45.1 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Cleveland’s police reported 103 homicides, 1,048 robberies and 4,947 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Ohio and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Cleveland property | Rest of Ohio property | Cleveland violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 43.2 | 21.5 | 16.1 | 3.3 |
| 2023 | 48.1 | 19.7 | 17.0 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 44.3 | 18.6 | 15.6 | 3.3 |
| 2025 | 39.1 | 16.8 | 13.6 | 3.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Ohio.
Crime in Cleveland per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 14 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
19,166 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
4,947 violent and 14,219 property, as reported to the FBI by Cleveland’s police.
289 people died in crashes on Cleveland’s roads in 2019–2023
Cleveland had 274 fatal crashes in five years, in which 289 people died; 51 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists. 53 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 15.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Ohio towns of 100,000+ people (12.2, 6 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Cleveland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | D− | 15.4 | 43.8 |
| Brook Park | A | 0.5 | 4.3 |
| Shaker Heights | — | — | — |
| East Cleveland | D− | 15.8 | 29.2 |
| Fairview Park | — | — | — |
| Brooklyn | — | — | — |
| Lakewood | B− | 1.2 | 12.1 |
| Cleveland Heights | C+ | 2.3 | 11.8 |
| Bratenahl | B+ | 2.2 | 3.3 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Shaker Heights reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024. Fairview Park and Brooklyn reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Ohio towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | D− | 15.4 | 43.8 |
| Akron | D | 8.2 | 29.2 |
| Cincinnati | D− | 7.8 | 38.8 |
| Toledo | D− | 10.1 | 27.3 |
The five graded Ohio towns closest to Cleveland’s population (363,608), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Cleveland. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Cleveland’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (363,659 in 2025); our figure for Cleveland is 363,608 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Cleveland
Is Cleveland, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cleveland reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #292 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 15.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.1 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Cleveland?
15.4 violent and 43.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Ohio reports 3.1 and 18.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Cleveland in 2025?
Cleveland’s police reported 103 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 28.3 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Cleveland safer than Brook Park?
Brook Park reports less crime per resident than Cleveland: Brook Park grades A for safety and Cleveland D−. Brook Park’s police reported 0.5 violent and 4.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Cleveland?
Cleveland’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cleveland”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Cleveland.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.