Parent Guide
A Parent Guide to Evaluating Campus Safety
How parents can use Clery Act data, campus visits, and institutional policies to evaluate college safety.
Compare a school's Clery rate to the national mid-to-large campus median, then verify on campus
According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, PlainCampus tracks safety scores for about 1,493 mid-to-large campuses across 59 states, with a national median near 1.58 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled. Use a specific school score against that baseline, then pair the number with visit questions, Title IX process detail, and the institution Annual Security Report rather than reputation alone.
Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
- Campuses in the comparison
- 1,493
- National median / 1,000
- 1.58
- States covered
- 59
- Years of reporting history
- 3
The quick answer
PlainCampus tracks Clery Act safety scores for 1,493 mid-to-large campuses across 59 states -- the national median is 1.58 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA reports per 1,000 enrolled students, so use a specific school's score against that baseline, not in isolation.
- 1,493
- campuses in the comparison
- 1.58
- national median, per 1,000
- 3
- years of reporting history
A score is a starting point for a conversation, not a verdict -- pair it with the campus visit and policy questions below.
By the numbers
Where reported incidents concentrate nationally
- 1,493
- Campuses in the comparison
- 1.58
- National median / 1,000
- 59
- States covered
- 2024
- Reporting year
Most-reported on-campus Clery Act offenses
National category totals, 2024 reporting year -- use category mix on a school profile, not reputation
- Motor Vehicle Theft
Motor Vehicle Theft
12,588 incidents
- Stalking
Stalking
9,678 incidents
- Burglary
Burglary
6,673 incidents
- Rape
Rape
5,379 incidents
- Fondling 4,372
Fondling
4,372 incidents
- Dating Violence 4,170
Dating Violence
4,170 incidents
- Domestic Violence 3,807
Domestic Violence
3,807 incidents
Starting the Conversation
For many families, campus safety is a topic that gets discussed briefly during college tours but rarely analyzed systematically. Parents often rely on reputation, campus aesthetics, and gut feeling, all of which are poor proxies for actual safety data. The good news is that federal law requires every college to publish standardized crime and fire safety statistics, and PlainCampus makes this data easy to access and compare.
This guide helps parents approach campus safety evaluation methodically, using the same data that researchers and journalists use when analyzing institutional safety.
What the Data Can Tell You
The Clery Act data on PlainCampus reveals several important dimensions of campus safety:
- Overall safety score - How does this campus compare to similar institutions nationally and within its state?
- Crime type distribution - Are the reported incidents primarily property crimes, violent crimes, drug/alcohol violations, or sexual offenses?
- Trends over time - Is the safety picture improving, worsening, or stable over the past three years?
- Fire safety infrastructure - Do residential buildings have sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and evacuation plans?
Each school's profile on PlainCampus provides all of these data points in a single, comparable format.
Questions to Ask During Campus Visits
Data provides the foundation, but campus visits provide context. Here are questions parents should ask admissions officers, campus security, and current students:
- What is the ratio of campus security officers to students? Are they sworn police officers or private security?
- How does the campus notify students during emergencies? (Text alerts, sirens, email, app notifications?)
- What mental health and counseling resources are available, and are they accessible 24/7?
- How does the institution handle reports of sexual assault? What is the Title IX process?
- Are there safe transportation options for students traveling at night between campus and off-campus housing?
- What is the relationship between campus security and local law enforcement?
Red Flags to Watch For
While no single indicator should disqualify a school, certain patterns warrant closer scrutiny:
- Significant increases in crime rates - A year-over-year spike in violent crime categories deserves investigation.
- Very low numbers with very large enrollment - Unrealistically low reported crime on a large campus may indicate underreporting rather than safety.
- Lack of fire suppression systems - Residential buildings without sprinkler systems present a real safety risk.
- Resistance to discussing safety data - If admissions or security staff are evasive about crime statistics, that is a concerning signal.
Balancing Safety with Other Factors
Campus safety is critical, but it is one factor among many in the college decision. Academic quality, financial fit, campus culture, location, and student support services all matter. The goal is not to find the statistically safest campus in the country, it is to make an informed decision that includes safety as a weighted factor alongside everything else. PlainCampus provides the data foundation. The family conversation provides the context.
After Enrollment
Safety evaluation does not end at enrollment. Encourage your student to save campus security numbers in their phone, download any campus safety apps, learn evacuation routes for their residence hall, and report any safety concerns promptly. Open communication about safety throughout the college years is just as important as the pre-enrollment research.
Frequently asked questions
Where does this data come from?
Where this page cites PlainCampus campus statistics, those figures derive from the U.S. Department of Education's OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey, including the enrollment denominator used for per-1,000-student normalization. IPEDS supplies institutional classifications and locations. Other sources are cited where used. No proprietary aggregators are used.
How often are figures updated?
Each series follows its own publication cadence. We refresh our database within 30 days of each upstream release. Specific update timestamps appear in the page footer where available; the methodology page documents the cadence per data series.
Can I use this data for my own analysis?
Yes. The underlying federal data is public domain. Our presentation, calculations, and editorial commentary are licensed for individual reference. For commercial republication or large-scale data extraction, contact us at the email listed on the contact page.
What if the figures here disagree with another source?
Different sources use different methodologies, definitions, geographic boundaries, and reference periods, disagreement is normal and informative. Our methodology page documents exactly which series and reference period we use for each metric, so you can reproduce or audit the figures against the upstream agency directly.
What to do with this
Use these numbers to start a conversation with your student, not to make the decision for them.
- Look up the specific campus you're evaluating before the visit. Search campuses
- Compare your shortlist side by side on the same metric. Compare campuses
- Understand what Clery data does and does not cover before drawing conclusions. Campus vs. city crime
Figures reflect the most recent Clery Act reporting year filed with the U.S. Department of Education.
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.