The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Boyd County, KY
Boyd County is home to 47,900 residents and includes Ashland and Catlettsburg · Updated November 2026
Is Boyd County, KY safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Boyd County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 66% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Boyd County run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 899 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
66% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Boyd County as a whole, and 34% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Boyd County scores 899.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Boyd County, KY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Boyd County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Boyd County
Aggravated assault runs low. Boyd County has 0.76 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, a small fraction of the US rate of 2.6.
The safest and most dangerous places in Boyd County
Every part of Boyd County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Boyd County run from A+ to B; 72% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Boyd County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the south side has the least crime and the northeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Boyd County?
Reported crime in Boyd County has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 23% and property crime down 34%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.5 to 2.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 24 to 16 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 15% and property crime fell 13%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Boyd CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Boyd County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Boyd County
Violent, US
Property, Boyd County
Property, US
2016
-16%
+4%
+4%
+15%
2017
-5%
+4%
+12%
+12%
2018
-23%
+0%
+0%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-15%
+4%
-13%
-8%
2021
-14%
+6%
-22%
-10%
2022
-7%
+5%
-31%
-6%
2023
-9%
+2%
-23%
-7%
2024
-23%
-4%
-34%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Boyd County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Boyd County has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 22% less than the US as a whole and close to Kentucky.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 37% of crime reported in Boyd County. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Boyd County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Boyd County, 2022 to 2024.
In Boyd County, 57% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 38% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (57%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (38%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (62%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Boyd County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Boyd County, 8 have less crime. Lawrence County and Elliott County have the least.
Two things set Boyd County apart: it has 10.3% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 7% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson; here burglary sits near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.13.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 93% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.10.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 87% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 85% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 65% of Americans
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Boyd County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.69% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 71% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 71% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Boyd County
Crime costs Boyd County about $708 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 41% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $36 million a year, or $743 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.9 million
$39
Rape
$1.2 million
$24
Robbery
$190,000
$4
Assault
$4.3 million
$90
Burglary
$820,000
$17
Theft
$2.7 million
$55
Vehicle theft
$1.0 million
$22
Arson
$190,000
$4
Vandalism
$1.4 million
$29
Total
$14 million
$285
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Boyd County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Boyd County, KY average a SchoolGrade of C-: 40% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Boyd County on SchoolGrade
