Crime in Ocean City, FL

Ocean City is an unincorporated community of 5,820 in Okaloosa County, about 20 miles south of downtown Crestview · Updated November 2026

Is Ocean City, FL safe?

Crime in Ocean City is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 71% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Ocean City. Violent crime grades B and property crime B+. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from B+ to B; see the map below.

B
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 680 of 1,000
Less safe than most US neighborhoods What this means

29% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Ocean City as a whole, and 71% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Ocean City scores 680.

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.

B
Violent crimeSafety score 662 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoods
B+
Property crimeSafety score 710 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Crime map of Ocean City

Map of Ocean City shaded by overall CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 Ocean City, FL at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Ocean City, 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


Crime rates and types in Ocean City

CrimeGrade™ estimates Ocean City has about 58 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 57% more than the US as a whole and 91% more than Florida.

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 Ocean City, about 52% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderAunder 10.020.05
RapeB30.480.38
RobberyA20.370.62
AssaultD+17830.512.3
Property crime
BurglaryA91.62.4
TheftB-10217.513.1
Vehicle theftB+162.72.7
ArsonA+under 10.020.12
VandalismA-315.35.5

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.


How Ocean City compares with nearby cities

Ocean City has the most crime of its 9 nearest cities.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Ocean CityB680BB+5,820
Fort Walton Beach 1 mileA-772B+A23,700
Shalimar 2 milesA910AA3,280
Wright 2 milesB690BB+29,000
Lake Lorraine 2 milesA-826A-A-7,020
Show all 9
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Eglin Afb 4 milesA905AA+3,820
Hurlburt Field 6 milesA896AA2,310
Mary Esther 7 milesA-828A-A-12,300
Valparaiso 8 milesA+929AA+4,150
Destin 9 milesA878AA19,500

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Ocean City. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, Ocean City has more crime than 99% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Ocean CityB680BB+5,820
Cherokee, IAA+960A+A+5,820
East Sandwich, MAA+952A+A+5,820
Eureka Springs, ARA+948A+A+5,820
Cochranville, PAA+946A+A+5,820
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Robbins, NCA+940A+A+5,830
Lawrenceville, ILA+937A+A+5,820
New Whiteland, INA+933A+A5,820
Ripley, WVA+926AA+5,820
Crescent City, FLA919AA+5,820
Warsaw, NCA852AA-5,820

Shops, parking lots and walkability in Ocean City

Two things set Ocean City apart: it has 21.3 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 0.3 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places with many stores and restaurants tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.

Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.21.3 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 94% 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. 61% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C (34 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.12.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 93% of US city residents
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 Ocean City: D- (8 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Ocean City on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.

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 Ocean City

Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Ocean City about $1,237 a year per household, about the same as 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 $8.9 million a year, or $1,524 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$270,000$46
Rape$170,000$29
Robbery$68,000$12
Assault$1.8 million$309
Burglary$82,000$14
Theft$520,000$90
Vehicle theft$240,000$41
Arson$2,600under $1
Vandalism$220,000$37
Total$3.4 million$577

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 Ocean City 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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data


Schools in Ocean City

Schools in Ocean City, FL average a SchoolGrade of D: 47% of students test proficient, against 45% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Ocean City on SchoolGrade