Photo: Nyttend · Public domainIndependence sits close to the middle of U.S. towns for reported crime
Overall, Independence grades B− for safety (#159 of 296 graded towns in Ohio): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
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 Independence
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 Ohio towns on Independence’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Brecksville (A), Seven Hills (B+). Valley View has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Brooklyn Heights reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 2025. Neighbors ↓
A job center
Independence has 24,144 jobs based in town for 7,456 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Independence’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Independence’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (11.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Independence’s police reported 34 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.5 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Show as a table
| Year | Independence | Rest of Ohio | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
For every 1,000 residents, about 9 property crimes reported
And about 1 violent crime, 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 | Independence property | Rest of Ohio property | Independence violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 15.5 | 22.6 | 2.3 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 13.4 | 21.1 | 1.6 | 3.7 |
| 2024 | 12.0 | 19.8 | 1.6 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 9.1 | 17.9 | 1.3 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
78 crimes reported in 2025
10 violent and 68 property, as reported to the FBI by Independence’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
16 people died in crashes on Independence’s roads in 2019–2023
Independence had 14 fatal crashes in five years, in which 16 people died; 2 were pedestrians. Most of these deaths (13 of 16) were on an Interstate passing through, so they say more about through-traffic than about the town’s own streets.
That is 42.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Ohio towns of 5,000–25,000 people (6.9, 458 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.
Independence and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence | B− | 1.5 | 11.5 |
| Valley View | — | — | — |
| Brooklyn Heights | — | — | — |
| Seven Hills | B+ | 0.6 | 8.7 |
| Brecksville | A | 0.3 | 3.8 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Valley View has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Brooklyn Heights reported to the FBI for 2023 but not 2024 or 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 Independence. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Independence’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (7,498 in 2025); our figure for Independence is 7,456 (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 Independence
Is Independence, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Independence reports less crime per resident than 52% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #159 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 1.5 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 Independence?
1.5 violent and 11.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Ohio reports 3.7 and 19.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Independence?
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings.
Is Independence safer than Seven Hills?
Seven Hills reports less crime per resident than Independence: Seven Hills grades B+ for safety and Independence B−. Seven Hills’s police reported 0.6 violent and 8.7 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Independence?
Independence’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Independence”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Independence.
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.