The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Columbus, IN
Columbus is a city of 69,800 in Bartholomew County and the main city of the Columbus metro area, home to 83,500 · Updated November 2026
Is Columbus, IN safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Columbus has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is 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 Columbus run from A+ to B, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods 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 Columbus as a whole, and 34% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Columbus 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 Columbus, IN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Columbus, 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 Columbus
One part of Columbus stands out for burglary. Burglaries in East Columbus, in central Columbus, run at about triple the rate in the rest of the city.
Car thefts are uncommon. Columbus has car thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.70 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Columbus
Every part of Columbus where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Columbus run from A+ to B; 84% 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.
1Parkside, northClose to the rest of Columbus on most crimes.A902
2Everroad Park, northeastClose to the rest of Columbus on most crimes.A900
3East Columbus, centralCar thefts run at more than double the rate in the rest of Columbus.A-793
Neighborhood areas of Columbus, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Crime rates and types in Columbus
CrimeGrade™ estimates Columbus has about 31 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 17% less than the US as a whole and close to Indiana.
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 Columbus, about 42% 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.
Where and when crime happens in Columbus
Columbus has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Columbus, 59% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
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 Columbus compares with nearby cities
Columbus has the most crime of its 3 nearest cities.
One thing sets Columbus apart: it has 68 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery; here theft sits near the national middle.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.68 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 85% of US city residents
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 Columbus: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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. 81% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 58% of US city residents
Show all 6
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.77% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 73% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 70% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.10% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 60% of US city residents
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 Columbus
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Columbus about $671 a year per household, 44% 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 $42 million a year, or $605 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$1.1 million
$16
Rape
$650,000
$9
Robbery
$220,000
$3
Assault
$8.2 million
$117
Burglary
$510,000
$7
Theft
$4.7 million
$67
Vehicle theft
$750,000
$11
Arson
$39,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.1 million
$30
Total
$18 million
$262
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 Columbus 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 Columbus, IN average a SchoolGrade of C: 41% of students test proficient, against 41% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Columbus on SchoolGrade
