Dayton, OH Crime Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About Crime in Dayton, OH

Is Dayton, OH safe?

Dayton's safety picture is genuinely mixed, and the numbers tell an important story. Across 65 analyzed neighborhoods, 52% earn a grade of A or B, meaning more than half the city qualifies as relatively safe by our methodology. Another 23.1% of neighborhoods land at a C — moderate risk — while 25% of neighborhoods carry a D or F grade, signaling meaningfully elevated crime concerns. The city-wide safety rating works out to a C (Moderate), and the overall crime grade for Dayton is D+. That contrast — a solid majority of safe neighborhoods alongside a significant cluster of high-crime ones — is the defining feature of Dayton's safety landscape. Choosing where you live or visit within the city matters enormously.

What is the crime rate in Dayton?

Dayton carries an overall crime grade of D+ for 2026, reflecting crime levels that run higher than most mid-sized U.S. cities. Several socioeconomic indicators help explain the pressure: the city's poverty rate stands at 29.6%, the unemployment rate is 10.3%, and the median household income is $34,457 — all figures that correlate with elevated crime risk at the city-wide level. Breaking it down by neighborhood, 6 neighborhoods (9.2%) earned an F grade and 10 neighborhoods (15.4%) earned a D, concentrating the highest crime activity in roughly a quarter of the city. At the other end, 17 neighborhoods (26.2%) earned an A and another 17 (26.2%) earned a B. Property crime — particularly theft and burglary — tends to dominate incident reports city-wide, though violent crime is a real concern in the lowest-graded areas such as Miami Chapel, Macfarlane, and Five Points.

What are the safest neighborhoods in Dayton?

Ten neighborhoods stand out as Dayton's safest for 2026, all earning grades of A or A+:

• Village of Winding Creek — A+: The top-ranked neighborhood, with a median household income of $145,450. Small population (453 residents) and very low incident rates.
• University Park — A+: Home to 7,972 residents with a median income of $29,088 — notably, high safety here is not purely a function of wealth, making it one of the more remarkable performers in the dataset.
• Eastmont — A+: Population of 2,141 and a median income of $62,170.
• Kittyhawk — A+: 2,295 residents, median income $64,802.
• Hearthstone — A: 2,072 residents, median income $65,399.
• Patterson Park — A: Smaller at 1,225 residents, but a median income of $87,925 — second-highest among the top ten.
• Oak Creek — A: 2,601 residents, median income $66,167.
• Belmont — A: The largest safe neighborhood at 9,313 residents, with a median income of $50,350.
• Gateway — A: 1,312 residents, median income $60,077.
• Linden Heights — A: 5,472 residents, median income $48,450.

Together, these ten A-rated neighborhoods span a wide income range — from $29,088 (University Park) to $145,450 (Village of Winding Creek) — demonstrating that safe neighborhoods in Dayton exist at multiple price points.

Which Dayton neighborhoods have the highest crime?

Five neighborhoods earned the lowest grades in our 2026 analysis and warrant extra caution:

• Miami Chapel — F: One of two neighborhoods receiving a full F grade, indicating the highest crime burden in the city.
• Macfarlane — F: Also rated F, with incident patterns that skew heavily toward both property and violent crime categories.
• Five Points — F+: Rated F+, only marginally better than a full F.
• Lakeview — F+: Another F+ neighborhood with consistently elevated incident rates across multiple crime types.
• Roosevelt — F+: Rounds out the bottom tier at F+.

These five neighborhoods collectively represent 9.2% of the 65 neighborhoods analyzed but account for a disproportionate share of Dayton's total crime incidents. If you are evaluating housing or planning routes through the city, the interactive crime map above can help you visualize the boundaries of these areas precisely.

Is Dayton a good place to live?

The answer depends heavily on which part of Dayton you choose. On affordability, Dayton is genuinely compelling: the median home value is $69,249 and the median rent is $724 per month — both well below national medians — making homeownership and renting accessible for households at a range of income levels. The city's median household income of $34,457 and a poverty rate of 29.6% signal real economic strain for many residents, and those pressures are reflected in the D+ overall crime grade. That said, 52% of neighborhoods earn a combined A or B safety rating, and areas like Belmont (9,313 residents, grade A) and Linden Heights (5,472 residents, grade A) show that large, accessible neighborhoods can still offer strong safety profiles. For families, remote workers, or first-time buyers prioritizing affordability without sacrificing safety, targeting Dayton's A- and B-rated neighborhoods — and using the crime map to verify specific streets — is the practical path to a positive experience in the city.

How does Dayton's crime grade compare across different neighborhoods?

The grade distribution across Dayton's 65 neighborhoods for 2026 breaks down as follows:

• A grade: 17 neighborhoods (26.2%) — the largest single grade tier, a positive sign.
• B grade: 17 neighborhoods (26.2%) — tied with A, pushing the combined safe share to 52%.
• C grade: 15 neighborhoods (23.1%) — moderate risk; conditions vary significantly within this tier.
• D grade: 10 neighborhoods (15.4%) — elevated crime; worth careful scrutiny before committing to these areas.
• F grade: 6 neighborhoods (9.2%) — the highest-risk tier, including Miami Chapel, Macfarlane, Five Points, Lakeview, and Roosevelt.

The city-wide safety rating of C (Moderate) reflects the pull between a majority of safer neighborhoods and a concentrated cluster of high-crime areas. Because Dayton's population density averages 971 residents per square mile, the boundaries between grade tiers can shift within just a few blocks — making the granular, neighborhood-level view on the crime map above more useful than any single city-wide statistic.