The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Ottawa County, KS: Crime Maps and Statistics

Crime per Capita in Ottawa County

This overview combines violent, property, and other offenses into a single grade for Ottawa County. The dedicated violent crime and property crime pages go deeper on each. The map below shows the overall crime rate per 1,000 residents.

 

Ottawa County, KS Map of Crime Rates
Click the map to explore
A+ B C D F
Safest Highest crime
Colorblind friendly off

B

Overall Crime Grade™

A-
A
Other Crime Grade
D+

$2.15 million

Cost of Crime™ for Ottawa County, KS

In 2025, crime will cost $888 per household.

More cost data

On the map, green marks the parts of Ottawa County with the least crime overall and red marks the most. Each area is weighted by the type and severity of every offense, so a place with rare but serious violent crime can grade differently from one with frequent petty theft. The Interpreting the Crime Maps section below explains how to read the colors.

Is Ottawa County, KS Safe?

The B overall grade blends the violent, property, and other grades shown above into one measure, set against the average US county, where Ottawa County's combined rate is slightly lower than the norm. Ottawa County sits in the 66th percentile, ahead of 66% of counties and behind 34%. The grade covers only Ottawa County's official city boundaries. See the table below for nearby counties.

The overall crime rate in Ottawa County is 25.37 per 1,000 residents in a typical year. Residents generally consider the southeast part of the county the safest. Your chance of being a victim ranges from 1 in 24 in the northwest areas to 1 in 54 in the southeast.

Counting total incidents instead of per-capita rates, the central parts of Ottawa County, KS report the most crime, about 64 cases per year. The northeast part reports the fewest, around 3 per year.

The Cost of Crime™ in Ottawa County, KS

Across all crime types, the projected cost of crime in Ottawa County for 2025 is $2,146,024, about $371 per resident and $888 per household. That equals 1.0% of the median household income. These figures cover tangible costs, which include:
  1. Criminal justice system costs (law enforcement, courts, and imprisonment): 61.1%
  2. Direct costs to victims (damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages): 25.2%
  3. Lost economic contribution from offenders (time in prison or repeat offenses): 13.7%

How Much Does Crime Cost in Ottawa County Compared to Other Counties?

Ottawa County, KS: $371
Wyandotte County, KS: $749
Douglas County, KS: $320
Kansas: $534
USA: $464

The overall cost of crime per resident in Ottawa County is $371 per year, which is $94 less than the national average and $163 less than Kansas's state average. The comparison below uses counties similar to Ottawa County:
  • In Wyandotte County, KS, crime costs $749 per person, which is $378 more than in Ottawa County.
  • In Douglas County, KS, crime costs $320 per person, which is $51 less than in Ottawa County

2025 Projected Cost by Type of Crime

The table below shows the total cost of crime to the residents of Ottawa County for the year 2025 along with the projected cost per resident.
Crime
Cost to Ottawa County
Cost per Ottawa County Resident
Murder
$497,827
$86
Rape/Sexual Assault
$314,200
$54
Robbery
$60,227
$10
Assault
$205,090
$35
Kidnapping
$145,655
$25
Vehicle Theft
$44,930
$8
Burglary
$92,071
$16
Theft
$203,026
$35
Arson
$23,678
$4
Vandalism
$258,953
$45
Animal Cruelty
$3,418
$1
Drug Crimes
$284,791
$49
Identity Theft
$12,158
$2
Total Cost of Crime
$2,146,024
$371

The Intangible Cost of Crime in Ottawa County, KS

The totals above count tangible costs only. Violent crime also carries a human cost, the pain and trauma borne by victims and their families, which research-based methods estimate so it can be compared across places. That intangible cost in Ottawa County totals $4,887,317 ($844 per resident), and all of it comes from violent crime rather than property loss. Added to the tangible costs, the full estimate reaches $7,033,341 ($1,214 per resident). All Cost of Crime figures come from scholarly research on the cost of crime. Read more about our methodology here.

Interpreting the Crime Maps

Crime rates on the map are measured per resident, so areas with heavy visitor traffic can read high because crime follows crowds, even where few people live. The central part of the county holds more retail establishments, which lifts recorded crime around those blocks. A red area does not always mean the neighborhood is unsafe for residents.

Airports, parks, and transit hubs create the same effect. Major airports draw large crowds with few residents nearby, so they read as high-crime spots. Parks and recreational areas, of which Ottawa County has 2, do the same, and of Ottawa County's 5,792 residents few live beside them. Before assuming an area is unsafe, weigh both the per-capita rate and the total number of incidents, and note what sits nearby.

The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Ottawa County, KS at ISP Reports.

Ottawa County Crime Breakdown

The tables below show which crimes are used to calculate the Crime Grades above. All crime rates are shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 Ottawa County residents in a standard year.

Violent Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Assault
1.233
Robbery
0.3306
Rape
0.8947
Murder
0.0457
Total Violent Crime
2.504 (A-)
 
 

 


Property Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Theft
6.768
Vehicle Theft
0.5010
Burglary
1.753
Arson
0.1693
Total Property Crime
9.191 (A)
 
 

 


Other Crime Rates

Crime Type
Crime Rate
Kidnapping
0.4148
Drug Crimes
6.647
Vandalism
6.258
Identity Theft
0.2712
Animal Cruelty
0.0798
Total "Other" Rate
13.67 (D+)

 


Crime Maps and Rates for Nearby Counties

Compared to surrounding counties, the rate of crime in Ottawa County is lower. The table below shows Crime Grades for counties close to Ottawa County.

Nearby County
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
D+
C-
C
D+
C-
B+
D
C-
C
C
C-
B+
C+
C+
B
D
D+
B-
D-
D+
D+
D
D
D
C-
C+
C
F
D
D+

Crime Maps and Rates for County with Similar Populations

Ottawa County is lower versus other counties of the same size for crime. The table below compares crime in counties with comparable overall population in the county‘s boundaries.

Similar County
Overall Crime Grade
Violent Crime Grade
Property Crime Grade
C-
B
B
C-
C-
C-
C+
C
C
B
B-
B-
C+
B-
B-
C
A-
A-
B-
B-
B-
C
D
D
A
A
A
D+
D-
D-

Considering only the crime rate, Ottawa County is safer than the Kansas state average and safer than the national average.

Safety and school performance are separate topics, but both shape moving decisions. Using SchoolGrade data, schools in Ottawa County, KS average SchoolGrade of D, with 27% actual proficiency versus 30% projected; overall, schools don't meet expectations. See Ottawa County schools on SchoolGrade

About the Data

CrimeGrade.org provides highly detailed and accurate crime data, used by insurance companies, home security firms, and other industries. Our data is available for licensing—learn more about our USA crime data and licensing.

Crime By Zip Code Download

Our proprietary data is available for download by zip code or by state in a CSV Flat File. Please visit our download page for pricing and terms.

Download CSV

 

Home Security

A crime occurs on average every 2 days 11 hours in Ottawa County. Want to protect your home?

Home Security Companies in Ottawa County, KS

All maps and statistics above are projections, not certainties, and provided without guarantee free of charge. Verify all info before making any decisions based on the data.