The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Vermilion, OH
Vermilion is a city of 15,700 in Erie County, about 18 miles east of downtown Sandusky · Updated November 2026
Is Vermilion, OH safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Vermilion has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 89% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 957 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
89% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Vermilion as a whole, and 11% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Vermilion scores 957.
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 Vermilion, OH at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Vermilion, 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 Vermilion
Theft runs low. Vermilion has 5.4 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, less than half the US rate of 13.1.
The safest and least safe parts of Vermilion
Every part of Vermilion where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Vermilion run from A+ to A; every part of Vermilion 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.
Within Vermilion, the southwest side has the least crime and the north side the most.
Is crime going up in Vermilion?
Reported property crime in Vermilion has fallen 35% since 2019. Too few violent crimes are reported here each year for a reliable violent crime trend. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 6.3 to 4.1 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). Property crime changed little from 2023 to 2024.
Property crime, change since 2019
VermilionUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police agencies that serve Vermilion. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Vermilion
Property, US
2016
+18%
+15%
2017
+4%
+12%
2018
+44%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-23%
-8%
2021
-51%
-10%
2022
-36%
-6%
2023
-41%
-7%
2024
-35%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Vermilion
CrimeGrade™ estimates Vermilion has about 11 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 71% less than the US as a whole and 70% 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 makes up about 50% of crime reported in Vermilion. 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.
How Vermilion compares with nearby cities
Vermilion has less crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities.
Two things set Vermilion apart: it has 1% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 18 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less robbery and car theft.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.1% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 90% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.18 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 90% 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. 94% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 77% 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.3.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 89% 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 Vermilion: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% 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.63% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 82% 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 Vermilion
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Vermilion about $225 a year per household, 81% 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 $4.0 million a year, or $258 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$180,000
$12
Rape
$120,000
$7
Robbery
$31,000
$2
Assault
$510,000
$32
Burglary
$47,000
$3
Theft
$430,000
$28
Vehicle theft
$78,000
$5
Arson
$11,000
$1
Vandalism
$130,000
$8
Total
$1.5 million
$98
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 Vermilion 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. Vermilion 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 Vermilion, OH average a SchoolGrade of A: 73% of students test proficient, against 59% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Vermilion on SchoolGrade
