Photo: Catsmeowmeow · CC BY-SA 4.0Reported crime per resident in Lakewood fell 42% from 2023 to 2025
Violent crime is lower than in 61% of U.S. towns; property crime, lower than in only 45%. Overall, Lakewood grades B− for safety (#152 of 296 graded towns in Ohio): close to the middle of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported in 2023–2025. Out of every 1,000 residents, 1.2 violent crimes and 12.1 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.7 and 19.6 in the rest of Ohio.
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 Lakewood
1 of the 2 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 3 Ohio towns on Lakewood’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Rocky River (A), Cleveland (D−). Fairview Park reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. Neighbors ↓
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 Lakewood’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Violent crime holds Lakewood’s grade up; property crime pulls it down. Its property rate (12.1) 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.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Lakewood property | Rest of Ohio property | Lakewood violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13.5 | 22.7 | 1.3 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 15.7 | 21.1 | 1.5 | 3.8 |
| 2024 | 11.4 | 19.9 | 1.4 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 9.2 | 17.9 | 0.8 | 3.5 |
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.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Lakewood | Rest of Ohio | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Lakewood’s police reported 182 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the rest of Ohio and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Lakewood 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 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
493 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.
40 violent and 453 property, as reported to the FBI by Lakewood’s police.
Five people died in crashes on Lakewood’s roads in 2019–2023
Lakewood had 4 fatal crashes in five years, in which five people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is fewer than is typical for Ohio towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (4.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Lakewood’s size would see about 12 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Lakewood’s own rate (2.0) is context, not a ranking.
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.
Lakewood and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | B− | 1.2 | 12.1 |
| Cleveland | D− | 15.4 | 43.8 |
| Rocky River | A | 0.3 | 4.9 |
| Fairview Park | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Fairview Park reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023.
Ohio towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | B− | 1.2 | 12.1 |
| Dublin | B+ | 0.9 | 9.0 |
| Sylvania Township | B− | 0.7 | 15.4 |
| Euclid | B− | 1.7 | 12.9 |
| Beavercreek | C+ | 0.6 | 19.5 |
| Mansfield | C− | 3.9 | 25.9 |
The five graded Ohio towns closest to Lakewood’s population (49,027), 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 Lakewood. 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 Lakewood’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (49,178 in 2025); our figure for Lakewood is 49,027 (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 Lakewood
Is Lakewood, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Lakewood reports less crime per resident than 54% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #152 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 1.2 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 Lakewood?
1.2 violent and 12.1 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.
How many homicides were there in Lakewood in 2025?
Lakewood’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Lakewood safer than Cleveland?
Cleveland reports more crime per resident than Lakewood: Cleveland grades D− for safety and Lakewood B−. Cleveland’s police reported 15.4 violent and 43.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Lakewood?
Lakewood’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Lakewood”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Lakewood.
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.