Photo: Blervis · CC BY 4.0Dayton reports more crime per resident than almost every U.S. town
On crimes reported to the FBI by Dayton’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D− for safety: #292 of 296 graded towns in Ohio, and #314 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 Dayton
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 8 Ohio towns on Dayton’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Huber Heights (C+), Trotwood (D). Harrison Township, Jefferson Township and Butler Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Riverside reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Shiloh and Fort McKinley are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Dayton’s police reported 24 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 24.6 per 100,000 residents a year, 3.8 times the rest of Ohio (6.5) and 4.3 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 3.3 times the rest of Ohio
206 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (238 reported in 2025), 3.3 times the rest of Ohio (62.3) and 2.6 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, Dayton reports less crime per resident than 3% (#314). Places like it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Dayton’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
Dayton’s police reported 24 homicides, 238 robberies and 1,662 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 | Dayton | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 24.8 | 8.5 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 26.6 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 29.7 | 6.4 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 17.6 | 5.8 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Dayton | Rest of Ohio | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 189 | 78.3 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 190 | 69.7 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 253 | 62.7 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 175 | 54.6 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 40 property crimes reported
And about 12 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 steady
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Ohio.
Show as a table
| Year | Dayton property | Rest of Ohio property | Dayton violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 42.9 | 22.2 | 11.7 | 3.8 |
| 2023 | 47.1 | 20.6 | 11.1 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | 43.3 | 19.4 | 13.4 | 3.7 |
| 2025 | 39.7 | 17.4 | 12.2 | 3.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
7,069 crimes reported in 2025
1,662 violent and 5,407 property, as reported to the FBI by Dayton’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
124 people died in crashes on Dayton’s roads in 2019–2023
Dayton had 105 fatal crashes in five years, in which 124 people died; 20 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 7 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 18.2 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.
Dayton and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | D− | 12.2 | 43.4 |
| Harrison Township | — | — | — |
| Riverside | — | — | — |
| Jefferson Township | — | — | — |
| Trotwood | D | 6.6 | 29.2 |
| Shiloh | — | — | — |
| Huber Heights | C+ | 1.8 | 17.7 |
| Fort McKinley | — | — | — |
| Butler Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Harrison Township, Jefferson Township and Butler Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Riverside reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2025 but not 2024. Shiloh and Fort McKinley are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
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 Dayton. 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 Dayton’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (136,047 in 2025); our figure for Dayton is 136,688 (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 Dayton
Is Dayton, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Dayton reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade and #292 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 12.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.6 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Dayton?
12.2 violent and 43.4 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Ohio reports 3.6 and 19.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Dayton?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Dayton in 2025?
Dayton’s police reported 24 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 17.6 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Dayton safer than Trotwood?
Trotwood reports less crime per resident than Dayton: Trotwood grades D for safety and Dayton D−. Trotwood’s police reported 6.6 violent and 29.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Dayton?
Dayton’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Dayton”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Dayton.
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.