Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainOn property crime, Sandusky has a higher rate per resident than four in five U.S. towns
Out of every 1,000 residents, 2.5 violent crimes and 22.6 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 3.7 and 19.6 in the rest of Ohio. Overall, Sandusky grades C− for safety (#247 of 296 graded towns in Ohio): more crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 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 Sandusky
1 of the 1 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 4 Ohio towns on Sandusky’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Perkins Township (C). Margaretta Township, Huron Township and Danbury Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Sandusky’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; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.5) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) 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
Show as a table
| Year | Sandusky | Rest of Ohio | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Sandusky’s police reported 177 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.5 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 Sandusky 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 2 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Sandusky property | Rest of Ohio property | Sandusky violent | Rest of Ohio violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18.1 | 22.6 | 0.9 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 23.6 | 21.0 | 1.4 | 3.8 |
| 2024 | 25.9 | 19.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| 2025 | 18.4 | 17.8 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
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.
489 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.
49 violent and 440 property, as reported to the FBI by Sandusky’s police.
Nine people died in crashes on Sandusky’s roads in 2019–2023
Sandusky had 8 fatal crashes in five years, in which nine people died.
That is about what is typical for Ohio towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (6.9 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Sandusky’s size would see about 8 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Sandusky’s own rate (7.3) 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.
Sandusky and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandusky | C− | 2.5 | 22.6 |
| Margaretta Township | — | — | — |
| Huron Township | — | — | — |
| Perkins Township | C | 1.0 | 24.6 |
| Danbury Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Margaretta Township, Huron Township and Danbury Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Ohio towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandusky | C− | 2.5 | 22.6 |
| Solon | B+ | 0.8 | 8.0 |
| Willoughby | B | 1.0 | 9.3 |
| Wadsworth | B | 1.2 | 9.0 |
| Weathersfield Township | B− | 1.7 | 14.1 |
| Barberton | C− | 2.9 | 20.5 |
The five graded Ohio towns closest to Sandusky’s population (24,001), 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 Sandusky. 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 Sandusky’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (23,951 in 2025); our figure for Sandusky is 24,001 (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 Sandusky
Is Sandusky, OH safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Sandusky reports more crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #247 of 296 in Ohio. Its police reported 2.5 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 Sandusky?
2.5 violent and 22.6 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 Sandusky safer than Perkins Township?
Perkins Township reports less crime per resident than Sandusky: Perkins Township grades C for safety and Sandusky C−. Perkins Township’s police reported 1.0 violent and 24.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Sandusky?
Sandusky’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Sandusky”. 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 Sandusky.
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.