The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Shaker Heights, OH
Shaker Heights is a city of 31,000 in Cuyahoga County, about 8 miles east of downtown Cleveland · Updated November 2026
Is Shaker Heights, OH safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Shaker Heights is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Shaker Heights sits near the middle: 48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. Property crime grades better than violent crime here, A against A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Shaker Heights run from A+ to F, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 827 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
48% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Shaker Heights as a whole, and 52% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Shaker Heights scores 827.
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 Shaker Heights, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Shaker Heights, 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 Shaker Heights
Aggravated assault is a strength. Shaker Heights grades A- for violent crime, but aggravated assault grades A+, better than in the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live.
Thefts and burglaries both run low. In Shaker Heights, each runs at less than half the US rate: 4.6 thefts and 0.85 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 and 2.4 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Shaker Heights
Most of Shaker Heights grades well: 84% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 6% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Shaker Heights run from A+ to F; 62% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
84%10%
A or B 84%C 10%D or F 6%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Shaker Heights, the northeast side has the least crime and the southwest side the most.
Crime rates and types in Shaker Heights
CrimeGrade™ estimates Shaker Heights has about 13 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 66% less than the US as a whole and 64% 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.
Theft is the most common crime in Shaker Heights, about 37% of everything reported.
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.
The Shaker Heights Police Department sent the FBI no usable 2024 counts of simple assault, burglary, theft, vehicle theft and vandalism, so CrimeGrade™ built the figures from the department's own reports for recent years, brought up to 2024.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
How Shaker Heights compares with nearby cities
Shaker Heights has less crime than 7 of its 9 nearest cities; only University Heights and Beachwood have less.
Shops, night lighting and walkability in Shaker Heights
Two things set Shaker Heights apart: it has 4.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and 0.5 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report less theft, and it runs low here.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.4.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 92% 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
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. 64% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (26 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.0.5 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 91% 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 Shaker Heights: C- (30 of 100).8 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 80% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 71% of US city residents
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 Shaker Heights
Crime costs Shaker Heights about $473 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 61% 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 $26 million a year, or $823 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.3 million
$73
Rape
$590,000
$19
Robbery
$470,000
$15
Assault
$1.1 million
$35
Burglary
$240,000
$8
Theft
$740,000
$24
Vehicle theft
$580,000
$19
Arson
$35,000
$1
Vandalism
$380,000
$12
Total
$6.4 million
$206
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 Shaker Heights 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. Shaker Heights is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
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 Shaker Heights, OH average a SchoolGrade of B+: 66% of students test proficient, against 52% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Shaker Heights on SchoolGrade
