Photo: Paul Wasneski · Public domainColumbus reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Columbus’ police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #269 of 296 graded towns in Ohio, and #179 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
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 Columbus
3 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Ohio towns on Columbus’ borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Madison Township (A), Blendon Township (B+), Mifflin Township (B). Hamilton Township, Norwich Township, Jackson Township, Plain Township and Washington Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Columbus’ police reported 84 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 10.5 per 100,000 residents a year, 1.7 times the rest of Ohio (6.3) and 1.9 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 1.7 times the rest of Ohio
103 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (968 reported in 2025), 1.7 times the rest of Ohio (59.7) and above 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, Columbus reports less crime per resident than 45% (#179). Places like 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 Columbus’ 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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Columbus’ police reported 84 homicides, 968 robberies and 3,517 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.
Show as a table
| Year | Columbus | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.0 | 8.1 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 10.5 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 12.2 | 6.1 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 8.9 | 5.6 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Columbus | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 141 | 71.7 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 118 | 65.7 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 87.7 | 63.1 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 103 | 50.2 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 25 property crimes reported
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
Reported crime is falling
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.
Show as a table
| Year | Columbus property | Rest of Ohio property | Columbus violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 34.8 | 20.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 2023 | 27.0 | 20.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| 2024 | 26.5 | 18.9 | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 25.0 | 16.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
27,039 crimes reported in 2025
3,517 violent and 23,522 property, as reported to the FBI by Columbus’ police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
116 of the 439 people who died in crashes on Columbus’s roads in 2019–2023 were pedestrians
Columbus had 406 fatal crashes in five years, in which 439 people died. 9 of those killed were cyclists. 80 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for Ohio towns of 100,000+ people (12.2, 6 towns).
Among the 39 U.S. cities of 500,000 or more, Columbus has the 18th lowest rate.
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.
Columbus and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | D | 4.0 | 26.2 |
| Hamilton Township | — | — | — |
| Norwich Township | — | — | — |
| Jackson Township | — | — | — |
| Madison Township | A | 0.6 | 2.8 |
| Mifflin Township | B | 1.3 | 10.4 |
| Plain Township | — | — | — |
| Washington Township | — | — | — |
| Blendon Township | B+ | 0.9 | 8.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Hamilton Township, Norwich Township, Jackson Township, Plain Township and Washington Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
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 Columbus. 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 Columbus’ residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (940,106 in 2025); our figure for Columbus is 938,396 (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 Columbus
Is Columbus, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Columbus reports more crime per resident than 86% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #269 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 4.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Columbus?
4.0 violent and 26.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Ohio reports 3.7 and 18.7; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Columbus?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Columbus in 2025?
Columbus’s police reported 84 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 8.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Columbus safer than Madison Township?
Madison Township reports less crime per resident than Columbus: Madison Township grades A for safety and Columbus D. Madison Township’s police reported 0.6 violent and 2.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Columbus?
Columbus’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Columbus”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Columbus.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.