The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Jefferson County, KS
Jefferson County is home to 18,300 residents and includes Oskaloosa and Valley Falls · Updated November 2026
Is Jefferson County, KS safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Jefferson County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 92% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map and the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 966 of 1,000Safer than nearly all US neighborhoodsi What this means
92% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Jefferson County as a whole, and 8% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Jefferson County scores 966.
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 Jefferson County, KS at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County
Simple assault runs low. Jefferson County has 5.1 simple assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 9.7.
How places in Jefferson County compare
Every part of Jefferson County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Jefferson County run from A+ to A; every part of Jefferson County has 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.
Cities and towns in Jefferson 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 southeast side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Crime rates and types in Jefferson County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Jefferson County has about 24 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 35% less than the US as a whole and 53% less than Kansas.
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 makes up about 36% of crime reported in Jefferson County. Assault is less common but 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 Jefferson County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Jefferson County, 2022 to 2024.
In Jefferson County, 63% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 47% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (63%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Homes (65%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (63%)
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 Jefferson County compares with nearby counties
Jefferson County has less crime than 9 of its 10 nearest counties; only Jackson County has less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Jefferson County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Jefferson County is safer than 62% of them.
Two things set Jefferson County apart: it has 22 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft and robbery, and theft runs low here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.22 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 97% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 96% 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. 95% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (6 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 93% of Americans
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.24% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 96% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 95% 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 Jefferson County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower 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 Jefferson County
Crime costs Jefferson County about $658 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 45% 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 $14 million a year, or $740 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$460,000
$25
Rape
$270,000
$15
Robbery
$48,000
$3
Assault
$1.7 million
$94
Burglary
$250,000
$14
Theft
$810,000
$44
Vehicle theft
$560,000
$31
Arson
$21,000
$1
Vandalism
$590,000
$32
Total
$4.7 million
$258
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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, KS average a SchoolGrade of B-: 42% of students test proficient, against 36% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Jefferson County on SchoolGrade
