The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in East Cleveland, OH
East Cleveland is a city of 14,400 in Cuyahoga County, about 6 miles east of downtown Cleveland · Updated November 2026
Is East Cleveland, OH safe?
East Cleveland is among the higher-crime places in the US: an overall CrimeGrade™ of F, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 96% of Americans live. Violent crime grades F and property crime D+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within East Cleveland run from B- to F, so check the map below.
F
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 0 of 1,000Less safe than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
4% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than East Cleveland as a whole, and 96% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. East Cleveland scores 0.
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 East Cleveland, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in East Cleveland, 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 East Cleveland
Reported rape stands out among F-graded cities. For the typical resident of an F-graded US city, the figure is 0.34 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; East Cleveland has 0.90.
Car thefts and robberies both run high. In East Cleveland, each runs at more than triple the US rate: 9.5 car thefts and 2.4 robberies a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 0.62 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of East Cleveland
High crime is widespread across East Cleveland: 86% of residents live in areas graded D or F, and 2% in areas graded A or B. Grades across East Cleveland run from B- to F; every part of East Cleveland has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
12%86%
A or B 2%C 12%D or F 86%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within East Cleveland, the southeast side has the least crime and the center the most.
Is crime going up in East Cleveland?
Reported crime in East Cleveland has risen since 2019: violent crime is up 99% and property crime up 37%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.7 to 14 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 22 to 30 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 12%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
East ClevelandUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves East Cleveland. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, East Cleveland
Violent, US
Property, East Cleveland
Property, US
2016
+12%
+4%
-9%
+15%
2017
+38%
+4%
-9%
+12%
2018
+15%
+0%
-16%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+37%
+4%
-11%
-8%
2021
+116%
+6%
-10%
-10%
2022
+84%
+5%
+3%
-6%
2023
+178%
+2%
+29%
-7%
2024
+145%
-4%
+37%
-15%
Crime rates and types in East Cleveland
CrimeGrade™ estimates East Cleveland has about 80 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about double the rate for the US as a whole and more than double the rate for Ohio.
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 East Cleveland, about 39% of everything reported.
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 East Cleveland
East Cleveland has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In East Cleveland, 76% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 35% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (76%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (35%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (61%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (31%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 East Cleveland compares with nearby cities
East Cleveland has the most crime of its 10 nearest cities.
Empty homes, jobs and walkability in East Cleveland
Two things set East Cleveland apart: it has 29.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 15 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.29.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 99% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.15 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 93% 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.C (33 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 84% 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.100% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 92% 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 East Cleveland: C (34 of 100).14 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 89% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.6.4 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 85% 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 East Cleveland
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs East Cleveland about $3,145 a year per household, more than double 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 $102 million a year, or $7,093 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$9.2 million
$636
Rape
$780,000
$54
Robbery
$1.1 million
$76
Assault
$6.4 million
$447
Burglary
$730,000
$50
Theft
$1.1 million
$77
Vehicle theft
$2.1 million
$145
Arson
$190,000
$13
Vandalism
$1.5 million
$104
Total
$23 million
$1,603
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 East Cleveland 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 East Cleveland, OH average a SchoolGrade of F: 27% of students test proficient, against 13% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in East Cleveland on SchoolGrade
