Clay is a town of 12,600 in Onondaga County, about 9 miles north of downtown Syracuse · Updated November 2026
Is Clay, NY safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Clay: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 83% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 944 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
83% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Clay as a whole, and 17% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Clay scores 944.
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 Clay, NY at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Clay, 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 Clay
Thefts and simple assaults both run low. In Clay, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 3.3 thefts and 2.3 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Clay
Every part of Clay where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Clay run from A+ to A; every part of Clay has 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.
Within Clay, the center has the least crime and the southeast side the most.
Is crime going up in Clay?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Clay is up 13% and property crime is down 23%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.1 to 1.2 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 9.7 to 7.5 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 20%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ClayUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Clay. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Clay
Violent, US
Property, Clay
Property, US
2016
-2%
+4%
+18%
+15%
2017
+8%
+4%
+13%
+12%
2018
-8%
+0%
+9%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+16%
+4%
+8%
-8%
2021
-7%
+6%
-14%
-10%
2022
+4%
+5%
-14%
-6%
2023
+12%
+2%
-4%
-7%
2024
+12%
-4%
-23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Clay
CrimeGrade™ estimates Clay has about 9.3 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 75% less than the US as a whole and 77% less than New York.
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 Clay, about 35% of everything reported, but assault 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.
How Clay compares with nearby cities
Clay has less crime than 6 of its 9 nearest cities.
Two things set Clay apart: it has 1.0% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 9 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and vandalism runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.1.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.9 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 98% of US city residents
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 and assault. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (3 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 95% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.3% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 82% of US city residents
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.68% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 79% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 61% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Clay on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Clay
Crime costs Clay about $278 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 77% 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 $3.6 million a year, or $282 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$170,000
$13
Rape
$110,000
$8
Robbery
$22,000
$2
Assault
$380,000
$30
Burglary
$80,000
$6
Theft
$210,000
$17
Vehicle theft
$120,000
$10
Arson
$1,900
under $1
Vandalism
$160,000
$12
Total
$1.3 million
$99
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 Clay 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. Clay is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Clay, NY average a SchoolGrade of C: 54% of students test proficient, against 64% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Clay on SchoolGrade
