The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Jackson County, OH
Jackson County is home to 32,600 residents and includes Jackson and Wellston · Updated November 2026
Is Jackson County, OH safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Jackson County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 82% 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 940 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
82% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Jackson County as a whole, and 18% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Jackson County scores 940.
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 Jackson County, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Jackson 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 Jackson County
Car thefts are uncommon. Jackson County has car thefts at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.61 a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Jackson County
Every part of Jackson County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Jackson County run from A+ to A-; 95% 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.
Across the county, the southwest side has the least crime and the Wellston area the most.
Is crime going up in Jackson County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Jackson County is up 24% and property crime is down 53%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 1.5 to 1.8 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 21 to 9.6 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 29%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Jackson CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Jackson County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Jackson County
Violent, US
Property, Jackson County
Property, US
2016
+20%
+4%
-9%
+15%
2017
+11%
+4%
-11%
+12%
2018
-2%
+0%
-11%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+42%
+4%
-19%
-8%
2021
+74%
+6%
-25%
-10%
2022
+46%
+5%
-42%
-6%
2023
+30%
+2%
-34%
-7%
2024
+24%
-4%
-53%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Jackson County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Jackson County has about 23 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 39% less than the US as a whole and 35% less than 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 Jackson County, about 38% 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 Jackson County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Jackson County, 2022 to 2024.
In Jackson County, 49% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at other places: 32% of them, against 7% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (49%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Other places (45%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Other places (32%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (36%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Jackson County compares with nearby counties
Jackson County has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties. Vinton County and Mason County, WV have the least crime nearby.
Density, night lighting and walkability in Jackson County
Two things set Jackson County apart: it has 0% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 37% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places like that tend to report less robbery.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.under 1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 98% 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.37% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 90% of Americans
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. 83% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (12 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 71% 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.10.0% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 86% 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 Jackson County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.31 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 86% 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 Jackson County
Crime costs Jackson County about $685 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 43% 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 $30 million a year, or $932 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.1 million
$64
Rape
$770,000
$24
Robbery
$180,000
$6
Assault
$2.9 million
$89
Burglary
$520,000
$16
Theft
$1.4 million
$43
Vehicle theft
$310,000
$9
Arson
$88,000
$3
Vandalism
$600,000
$18
Total
$8.9 million
$271
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 Jackson 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 Jackson County, OH average a SchoolGrade of C-: 58% of students test proficient, against 44% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Jackson County on SchoolGrade
