Far South is a neighborhood of 13,300 residents in Columbus, about 5 miles south of downtown · Updated November 2026
Is Far South in Columbus safe?
Far South has more crime than most of the country: an overall CrimeGrade™ of C+, with more crime than the neighborhoods where 81% of Americans live. Violent crime grades C+ and property crime B-. Columbus as a whole grades C. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Far South run from A- to D, so check the map below.
C+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 532 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
19% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Far South as a whole, and 81% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Far South scores 532.
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 Far South, Columbus, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Far South 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 Far South
Aggravated assaults are less common than the crime level suggests. Crime overall in Far South runs 53% above the US rate, but aggravated assaults run 33% below it: 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.6 nationally.
Reported rape stands out among C-graded neighborhoods. For the typical resident of a C-graded US neighborhood, the figure is 0.39 reported rapes a year per 1,000 residents; Far South has 0.96.
How Far South compares within Columbus
Low crime is the norm across Far South: 50% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 12% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Far South run from A- to D; every part of Far South has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
50%38%12%
A or B 50%C 38%D or F 12%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Far South has less crime than 28 of the 46 neighborhoods in Columbus. It covers much of the Far South, South Side, and Southside Columbus areas.
Is crime going up in Columbus?
Reported crime in Columbus as a whole has fallen since 2019: violent crime is down 17% and property crime down 23%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 5.2 to 4.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 34 to 26 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 17% and property crime fell 19%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
ColumbusUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Columbus. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Columbus
Violent, US
Property, Columbus
Property, US
2016
+5%
+4%
+21%
+15%
2017
+1%
+4%
+18%
+12%
2018
-0%
+0%
+8%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+20%
+4%
-3%
-8%
2021
+34%
+6%
+2%
-10%
2022
+3%
+5%
+6%
-6%
2023
+0%
+2%
-4%
-7%
2024
-17%
-4%
-23%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Far South
CrimeGrade™ estimates Far South has about 57 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 53% more than the US as a whole and 19% less than Columbus as a whole.
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 Far South, about 32% 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 Columbus
The Columbus Police Department polices Far South; these figures cover Columbus as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Columbus as a whole, 59% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 58% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (59%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (33%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (58%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Vandalism
Parking lots and garages (34%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Robbery
Streets and sidewalks (28%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
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 Far South compares with nearby neighborhoods
Far South has less crime than 6 of its 10 nearest neighborhoods.
Parking lots, density and walkability in Far South
Two things set Far South apart: it has 14% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 3.8% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery and car theft, yet car theft runs higher here than that would suggest.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.7 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 92% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.14% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 86% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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. 91% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (15 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 83% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.3.8% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 80% of residents of US city neighborhoods
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 Far South
Crime costs Far South about $1,766 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 46% more 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 $26 million a year, or $1,986 per resident.
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 Far South 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
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 Far South, Columbus, OH average a SchoolGrade of D-: 40% of students test proficient, against 29% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Far South on SchoolGrade
