Crime in Lancaster, Ohio

Lancaster's crime rate

There were 1,650 crimes reported in Lancaster, Ohio in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,062 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Lancaster compare?

Lancaster has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Lancaster's overall crime rate is 73% higher than the overall crime rate in Ohio. Statewide, there were 274,560 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,349 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Lancaster, however, property crimes account for about 93% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Lancaster than it is nationwide. There were 1,540 property crimes in Lancaster in 2019, or 3,791 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Lancaster. There were 1,244 larcenies reported in Lancaster in 2019, or 3,062 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 215 break-ins reported in Lancaster in 2019, or 529 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Lancaster, meanwhile, there were 81 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 199 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Lancaster, however, violent offenses account for a much smaller 7% share of all reported crime.

At 271 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Lancaster is below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Lancaster reported a total of 110 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Lancaster. There were 53 aggravated assaults reported in Lancaster in 2019, or 131 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is higher, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 22 robberies reported in Lancaster in 2019, a rate of 54 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 35 rapes reported in Lancaster in 2019, or 86 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Lancaster.

Lancaster compared to other cities in Ohio

Lancaster has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Ohio. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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