The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Clark County, KY
Clark County is home to 37,200 residents and includes Winchester · Updated November 2026
Is Clark County, KY safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Clark County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Clark County run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 911 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Clark County as a whole, and 30% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Clark County scores 911.
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 Clark County, KY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Clark 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 Clark County
Reported rape is the exception. Clark County grades A+ for violent crime, but reported rape grades A-, worse than in the neighborhoods where 47% of Americans live.
Aggravated assaults are uncommon. Clark County has aggravated assaults at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.62 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Clark County
Every part of Clark County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Clark County run from A+ to B; 68% 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.
Across the county, the southeast side has the least crime and the Winchester area the most.
Crime rates and types in Clark County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Clark County has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 21% 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 is the most common crime in Clark County, about 47% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
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 Clark County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Clark County, 2022 to 2024.
In Clark County, 51% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 39% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (51%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (48%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Homes (45%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (53%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for burglary, car theft, theft from cars, vandalism, aggravated assault.
How Clark County compares with nearby counties
Of the 10 counties closest to Clark County, 8 have less crime. Nicholas County and Bath County have the least.
One thing sets Clark County apart: it has 5% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
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 Clark County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 79% 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. 79% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 55% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.8.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% 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.66% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 73% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.36 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 70% 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 Clark County
Crime costs Clark County about $697 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 42% 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 $27 million a year, or $713 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.4 million
$37
Rape
$940,000
$25
Robbery
$190,000
$5
Assault
$2.5 million
$68
Burglary
$650,000
$17
Theft
$2.6 million
$71
Vehicle theft
$1.1 million
$29
Arson
$42,000
$1
Vandalism
$960,000
$26
Total
$10 million
$280
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 Clark 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 Clark County, KY average a SchoolGrade of C-: 38% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Clark County on SchoolGrade
