The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Van Wert County, OH
Van Wert County is home to 28,800 residents and includes Van Wert and Delphos · Updated November 2026
Is Van Wert County, OH safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Van Wert County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 76% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Van Wert County run from A+ to B+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 925 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
76% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Van Wert County as a whole, and 24% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Van Wert County scores 925.
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 Van Wert County, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Van Wert 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 Van Wert County
Aggravated assault runs low. Van Wert County has 1.3 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 2.6.
The safest and most dangerous places in Van Wert County
Every part of Van Wert County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Van Wert County run from A+ to B+; 69% 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.
Cities and towns in Van Wert 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 northeast side has the least crime and the Van Wert area the most.
Is crime going up in Van Wert County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Van Wert County is up 20%, while property crime has held about steady. 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 stayed at about 17 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 33% and property crime rose 14%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Van Wert CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Van Wert County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Van Wert County
Violent, US
Property, Van Wert County
Property, US
2016
-7%
+4%
+12%
+15%
2017
-1%
+4%
+2%
+12%
2018
+56%
+0%
-2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+27%
+4%
-26%
-8%
2021
+57%
+6%
-23%
-10%
2022
+63%
+5%
-25%
-6%
2023
+80%
+2%
-14%
-7%
2024
+20%
-4%
-2%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Van Wert County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Van Wert County has about 36 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and close to 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 Van Wert County, about 38% of everything reported, but assault 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 Van Wert County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Van Wert County, 2022 to 2024.
In Van Wert County, 57% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 46% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (57%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (43%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (58%)
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 Van Wert County compares with nearby counties
Van Wert County has more crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties. Mercer County and Putnam County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Van Wert 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, Van Wert County has more crime than 74% of them.
Density, transit and walkability in Van Wert County
Two things set Van Wert County apart: it has 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (11 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. 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.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 94% 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 Van Wert County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% 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. 88% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 75% 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.55% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 81% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 79% of Americans
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.7.5% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 68% 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 Van Wert County
Crime costs Van Wert County about $919 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 24% 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 $33 million a year, or $1,156 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.5 million
$87
Rape
$530,000
$18
Robbery
$33,000
$1
Assault
$3.5 million
$122
Burglary
$660,000
$23
Theft
$2.0 million
$69
Vehicle theft
$160,000
$6
Arson
$54,000
$2
Vandalism
$1.2 million
$42
Total
$11 million
$369
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 Van Wert 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 Van Wert County, OH average a SchoolGrade of A-: 72% of students test proficient, against 58% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Van Wert County on SchoolGrade
