The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Clayton County, GA
Clayton County is home to 298,900 residents and includes Forest Park and Riverdale · Updated November 2026
Is Clayton County, GA safe?
Crime in Clayton County is high by national standards, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Clayton County. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, B- against C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Clayton County run from A to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 500 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
18% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Clayton County as a whole, and 82% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Clayton County scores 500.
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 Clayton County, GA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Clayton 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 Clayton County
Car thefts and aggravated assaults both run high. In Clayton County, each runs at about double the US rate: 5.0 car thefts and 4.9 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 2.6 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Clayton County
Crime varies widely across Clayton County: 40% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 35% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Clayton County run from A to F; 3% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
40%25%35%
A or B 40%C 25%D or F 35%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Clayton 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 Lovejoy area has the least crime and the Forest Park area the most.
Crime rates and types in Clayton County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Clayton County has about 66 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 77% more than the US as a whole and 82% more than Georgia.
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.
Assault is the most common crime in Clayton County, about 39% 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.
How Clayton County compares with nearby counties
Clayton County has more crime than 9 of its 10 nearest counties. Fayette County and Butts County have the least crime nearby.
Walkability, shops and night lighting in Clayton County
One thing sets Clayton County apart: it has a Walk Grade of D- (10 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft, yet theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
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. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 79% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.1 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 76% 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.98% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 74% 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.8.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 73% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.10% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 64% of Americans
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 Clayton County: D- (11 of 100).3 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 60% 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 Clayton County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Clayton County about $2,400 a year per household, about double the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $255 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $882 million a year, or $2,951 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$66 million
$221
Rape
$6.3 million
$21
Robbery
$9.6 million
$32
Assault
$88 million
$293
Burglary
$8.5 million
$29
Theft
$28 million
$95
Vehicle theft
$23 million
$77
Arson
$400,000
$1
Vandalism
$25 million
$83
Total
$255 million
$852
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 Clayton 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 Clayton County, GA average a SchoolGrade of D-: 25% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Clayton County on SchoolGrade
