Safest Counties in Ohio: 33 Ranked (2026)
The 33 Ohio counties where police report enough to the FBI to build a reliable rate, ranked by violent crime, with home prices, asking rents and incomes where available.
Ohio has 88 counties. Thirty-three of them clear the reporting bar this page uses, and the gap between the quietest, Warren at 51 violent offenses per 100,000, and the busiest, Clark at 597, is 12 to one. What homes closed at over the last 12 months sits beside the rate where Resideline has enough sales to publish a median: 90,121 closing records tracked in the 24 counties that clear that bar.
The crime rates here are built from the 8,464,942 residents those police agencies actually report on, over the months they reported. Each figure is a single county-wide figure, so treat this as a way to narrow a search rather than a verdict on any street.
We do not treat missing or conflicting crime data as zero. A county appears here only when its reporting clears our reliability threshold, and we set aside results that conflict materially with the state's own records. Whether a county is ranked depends on its crime reporting alone; whether it shows a price depends on whether Resideline tracked enough closings there.
The ranking
| # | County | Violent per 100k | Property per 100k | Median closed price | Median asking rent | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren | 51 | 674 | $385,000 | $2,340 | $113,333 |
| 2 | Medina | 60 | 514 | $335,000 | $1,600 | $93,471 |
| 3 | Seneca | 62 | 727 | $161,000 | $1,000 | $65,260 |
| 4 | Union | 71 | 624 | $350,000 | $1,675 | $119,133 |
| 5 | Athens | 76 | 860 | $225,000 | $775 | $54,806 |
| 6 | Erie | 88 | 1,098 | $230,000 | $1,300 | $72,400 |
| 7 | Portage | 91 | 970 | $269,075 | $1,400 | $79,710 |
| 8 | Washington | 92 | 506 | n/a | n/a | $65,321 |
| 9 | Clermont | 98 | 870 | $332,223 | $1,750 | $87,991 |
| 10 | Pickaway | 116 | 1,118 | n/a | n/a | $81,135 |
| 11 | Knox | 131 | 411 | $285,000 | $1,500 | $72,305 |
| 12 | Ashland | 132 | 597 | $220,000 | $1,000 | $73,005 |
| 13 | Ross | 132 | 1,757 | $200,000 | $1,095 | $67,519 |
| 14 | Ashtabula | 134 | 422 | n/a | n/a | $60,480 |
| 15 | Greene | 142 | 1,298 | $286,750 | $1,345 | $87,684 |
| 16 | Butler | 146 | 1,361 | $298,127 | $1,525 | $80,560 |
| 17 | Miami | 149 | 961 | $249,900 | $1,275 | $83,948 |
| 18 | Hancock | 156 | 1,038 | $230,000 | $1,450 | $80,864 |
| 19 | Fairfield | 163 | 1,043 | n/a | n/a | $90,728 |
| 20 | Lorain | 203 | 850 | $247,350 | $1,295 | $79,139 |
| 21 | Scioto | 257 | 1,591 | $135,000 | n/a | $55,235 |
| 22 | Marion | 259 | 1,329 | $173,000 | $1,250 | $63,276 |
| 23 | Franklin | 330 | 2,327 | $310,730 | $1,644 | $76,578 |
| 24 | Muskingum | 348 | 1,432 | n/a | n/a | $63,161 |
| 25 | Stark | 364 | 1,562 | $215,000 | $1,150 | $69,455 |
| 26 | Richland | 378 | 1,292 | n/a | n/a | $66,025 |
| 27 | Summit | 414 | 1,997 | $220,000 | $1,275 | $70,449 |
| 28 | Hamilton | 423 | 2,334 | n/a | n/a | $73,166 |
| 29 | Allen | 446 | 1,977 | $180,000 | $1,350 | $67,677 |
| 30 | Montgomery | 483 | 2,183 | n/a | n/a | $66,349 |
| 31 | Cuyahoga | 510 | 1,820 | n/a | n/a | $66,081 |
| 32 | Lucas | 595 | 2,137 | $172,937 | $1,195 | $63,774 |
| 33 | Clark | 597 | 2,063 | $198,750 | $1,200 | $65,529 |
A closer look at the 12 safest counties
1. Warren County
Police in Warren reported 51 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. The median home closed at $385,000, roughly 167 percent of the middle figure for these counties. Safety and price line up here in the way people expect, which is not true of every county on this list. Households there earn a median of $113,333, about 157 percent of the median for these counties. At $2,340 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the counties measured. For prices at street level, see Mason, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
2. Medina County
At 60 violent offenses per 100,000, Medina sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. Buyers there paid a median of $335,000, some 146 percent of the level across the counties measured. Both its crime rate and its price sit at the ends of this list, in the directions people expect them to. Measured against local pay it is one of the harder counties on this list to buy into, at 3.6 times median household income. Its property rate is also among the lowest here, 514 per 100,000, or 0.4 times the median comparable US county. Resideline publishes a separate page for Medina, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
3. Seneca County
Police in Seneca reported 62 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes there closed at a median of $161,000, about 70 percent of the median across this list. It lands in the bottom quarter for crime and the bottom quarter for price at the same time, which few counties manage. A home costs 2.5 times the median household income there, the lowest quarter of this list. Asking rents of $1,000 a month against that price put it in the top quarter of this list for gross return. For prices at street level, see Tiffin, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
4. Union County
At 71 violent offenses per 100,000, Union sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Buyers there paid a median of $350,000, some 152 percent of the level across the counties measured. Safe and expensive is the usual pairing on this list, and this is one of its clearest cases. Households there earn a median of $119,133, about 165 percent of the median for these counties. Its property rate is also among the lowest here, 624 per 100,000, or 0.5 times the median comparable US county. Resideline publishes a separate page for Marysville, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
5. Athens County
Athens's violent crime rate is 76 per 100,000 residents, the lowest quarter among the Ohio counties Resideline can measure. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. The median closed price, $225,000, sits near the center of the counties measured. A typical home costs 4.1 years of the median household's income, near the top of this list. Its property rate, 860 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. The median rental listing asks $775 a month.
6. Erie County
Erie records 88 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the Ohio counties measured here. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. At $230,000, its median closed price is unremarkable against the rest of this list. Property offenses run at 1,098 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Asking rents run about $1,300 a month. For prices at street level, see Sandusky, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
7. Portage County
At 91 violent offenses per 100,000, Portage sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. A median closing price of $269,075 puts it at roughly 117 percent of the middle figure for this list. Property offenses run at 970 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Asking rents run about $1,400 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Kent, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
8. Washington County
Washington's violent crime rate is 92 per 100,000 residents, the lowest quarter among the Ohio counties Resideline can measure. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Its property rate is also among the lowest here, 506 per 100,000, or 0.4 times the median comparable US county.
9. Clermont County
Clermont records 98 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the Ohio counties measured here. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes changed hands at a median $332,223, around 144 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. Quiet and costly at the same time, which is how most of the safest places on this list look. Homes cost 3.8 times what the median household there earns, among the steepest ratios on this list. Property offenses run at 870 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. For prices at street level, see Milford, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
10. Pickaway County
Pickaway's violent crime rate is 116 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the Ohio counties Resideline can measure. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. Its property rate, 1,118 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties.
11. Knox County
Police in Knox reported 131 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the middle range of this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes there closed at a median of $285,000, about 124 percent of the median across this list. Against what households there earn, a home costs 3.9 times median income, in the top quarter of this list. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 411 per 100,000, or 0.3 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,500 a month.
12. Ashland County
At 132 violent offenses per 100,000, Ashland sits in the middle range of the places on this list. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. The median closed price, $220,000, sits near the center of the counties measured. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 597 per 100,000, or 0.5 times the median comparable US county. Asking rents run about $1,000 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Ashland, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
Does safety set the price in Ohio?
Somewhat, and less than you would expect. The safest third of these counties runs 38 percent above the highest-crime third on price. The same safe places also earn 20 percent more, so income explains part of the raw gap. This state-level comparison does not isolate density, housing mix or other factors that may explain the remainder.
That matches what we found nationally: across 688 counties, once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a crime rate stops predicting home prices. The full analysis is in our study of crime and home prices.
That is a county-level result. Within a county, research at the scale of a block or a neighborhood finds that violent crime does lower the value of the homes nearest to it, so use these figures to compare counties, not streets.
Where safety and affordability overlap in Ohio
Two of the 11 safest counties on this list also cost no more than the list's median once prices are set against local incomes: Seneca (62 violent per 100,000, a home at 2.5 times median household income); Union (71 violent per 100,000, a home at 2.9 times median household income). Against what households there earn, those are the counties where a low crime rate is not being charged for.
The large counties
Five counties here have more than 500,000 residents. Their median violent rate is 423 per 100,000 against 138 for the smaller counties on the list, and the quietest of them is Franklin at 330. It closes homes at a median of $310,730.
The counties we cannot rank
Larger Ohio places are missing from the table above. Every one with more than 150,000 residents is listed here with the reason.
- •Delaware, with about 238,000 residents, reports 88 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Lake, with about 232,000 residents, reports 86 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Mahoning, with about 226,000 residents, reports 86 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Trumbull, with about 200,000 residents, reports 53 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
- •Licking, with about 185,000 residents, reports 87 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
How to read this list
A rate like this averages everything inside the area, from its downtown to its farmland, and the spread within one of them is often wider than the spread between them. Use it to shortlist, then look at the specific address and the block it sits on.
Prices and rents are as of September 9, 2026, from closings and rental listings Resideline tracks over the previous 12 months; a price is shown where at least 100 closings were tracked and a rent where at least 50 listings were. Rent figures are the median asking rent on listings, not lease figures. Crime is the 2025 FBI Crime Data Explorer release, measured for the whole county over the months each agency reported, and violent crime means murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Household income is the Census SAIPE 2024 estimate of the county's median household income; population is the Census 2024 estimate. Where this page compares a rate with the median comparable US county, that figure (245 violent and 1188 property offenses per 100,000) is the median across the 874 US counties with at least 50,000 residents whose agencies reported on 90 percent or more of them for the year.
Sources and related pages
- •Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer, agency-level offense counts for 2025, aggregated by county over the months each agency reported.
- •Income: Census SAIPE 2024, county median household income.
- •Population: Census county population estimates, vintage 2024.
- •Prices and rents: Resideline's tracked closings and rental listings, 12 months to September 2026.
- •Related: Safest counties by state; Does crime actually lower home prices?; Ohio housing market; Safest counties in Indiana; Safest counties in Kentucky; Safest counties in Michigan; Safest counties in Pennsylvania; Safest counties in West Virginia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest county in Ohio?
Of the 33 Ohio counties measured here, Warren County records the lowest violent crime rate at 51 offenses per 100,000 residents, against 245 for the median comparable US county. Homes there closed at a median of $385,000 over the last 12 months.
Is this every county in Ohio?
No. It covers 33 of the state's 88 counties, the ones where police agencies report at least 90 percent of the population to the FBI, the area has at least 50,000 residents, and the resulting rate falls inside the sanity bounds we apply. Whether Resideline has enough sales there decides only whether a price is shown. The larger places that miss those bars are listed on the page with the reason.
Does a lower crime rate mean higher home prices?
Less than most people assume. Comparing the safest third of these counties with the highest-crime third, the median closed price is 38 percent higher and household income 20 percent higher. Across 688 US counties we found that once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a county's crime rate stops predicting its home prices. At the scale of a block, the research says violent crime does lower nearby values.
Is this crime rate for my neighborhood?
No. The FBI publishes these figures for whole counties, so every part of a county carries the same number here, from its densest district to its farmland. It is useful for narrowing a search and not a substitute for looking at a specific address.
Are these rents asking rents or lease rents?
They are the median asking rent on rental listings in the county over the last 12 months. That is what landlords advertised, a guide to the market rather than a lease figure.
About the author
Jeffrey Batista
Jeffrey Batista is the founder of Resideline, a real estate technology company building institutional grade valuation and investment analysis tools for real estate investors.
A software engineer with more than 10 years of experience, Jeffrey has worked across full stack development, infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, and large scale systems. He left his engineering career to build Resideline full time.
Jeffrey is also a real estate investor with nearly a decade of hands on experience buying, renovating, managing, and analyzing residential properties. His experience on both sides of the industry, as an engineer and an investor, led him to build Resideline after seeing how fragmented and outdated many of the tools available to individual investors were.
Today, he leads the development of Resideline's proprietary data infrastructure, automated valuation models, rental analytics, and investment underwriting technology.