State profile · OH · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in Ohio

Federal Clery Act filings for all 257 tracked Ohio campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Stark State College currently has the lowest rate.

257
Institutions tracked
1.34
Avg campus rate / 1k (257 of 257 scored)
2.40
Statewide rate / 1k
#17
Rank by avg campus rate
624,332
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Stark State College has the lowest rate in Ohio

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 257 tracked campuses in Ohio, 177 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Stark State College has the lowest rate at 0.10 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
257
average campus, per 1,000 (257 of 257 scored)
1.34
lowest nonzero rate - Stark State College
0.10
campuses at zero in score categories
177

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet OH · Ohio 1.34/1k campus avg · #17/59

RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT

  • RATE-LOW 1.34/1k
  • RANK-UPPER #17/59
  • PHOTO-FINISH Louisiana · ±0.13
  • ZERO-HEAVY 69% zero
  • WT-LARGE-HOT Δ −1.07
  • BOOK-FULL 257/257
  • CONC-FLAT top5 30%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Louisiana (-0.13/1k)

Ohio sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT · peer Louisiana. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-LARGE-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-FLAT. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Louisiana (-0.13/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Stark State College leads at 0.10/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in Ohio (177 of 257) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, Stark State College leads at 0.10/1k, then Northwest State Community College (0.24/1k); Columbus State Community College (0.36/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around Ohio

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest Ohio on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around Ohio's 1.34/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in Ohio, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 80 Ohio campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Showing the top 50 here so the page stays crawlable; positions are numbered within the full nonzero group.

20
Hiram CollegeHiram · 1,061 students
Enrollment
1,061
Incidents /1k
0.94
38
Hocking CollegeNelsonville · 1,486 students
Enrollment
1,486
Incidents /1k
2.69
#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Stark State CollegeNorth Canton · 10,128 students10,1280.104% of the leader · rank #1
2Northwest State Community CollegeArchbold · 4,082 students4,0820.244% of the leader · rank #2
3Columbus State Community CollegeColumbus · 28,081 students28,0810.364% of the leader · rank #3
4North Central State CollegeMansfield · 2,553 students2,5530.394% of the leader · rank #4
5University of Mount UnionAlliance · 2,461 students2,4610.414% of the leader · rank #5
6Terra State Community CollegeFremont · 2,214 students2,2140.454% of the leader · rank #6
7Kent State University at GeaugaBurton · 2,204 students2,2040.454% of the leader · rank #7
8Sinclair Community CollegeDayton · 19,415 students19,4150.464% of the leader · rank #8
9Kent State University at StarkNorth Canton · 3,569 students3,5690.564% of the leader · rank #9
10Central Ohio Technical CollegeNewark · 3,182 students3,1820.634% of the leader · rank #10
11Cedarville UniversityCedarville · 6,318 students6,3180.634% of the leader · rank #11
12Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland · 17,840 students17,8400.674% of the leader · rank #12
13Ashland UniversityAshland · 4,106 students4,1060.734% of the leader · rank #13
14University of Northwestern OhioLima · 2,525 students2,5250.794% of the leader · rank #14
15Miami University-HamiltonHamilton · 2,480 students2,4800.814% of the leader · rank #15
16Ohio Dominican UniversityColumbus · 1,209 students1,2090.834% of the leader · rank #16
17Mount St. Joseph UniversityCincinnati · 2,265 students2,2650.884% of the leader · rank #17
18Lake Erie CollegePainesville · 1,108 students1,1080.904% of the leader · rank #18
19Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea · 3,305 students3,3050.914% of the leader · rank #19
20Hiram CollegeHiram · 1,061 students1,0610.944% of the leader · rank #20
21Lorain County Community CollegeElyria · 9,350 students9,3500.964% of the leader · rank #21
22John Carroll UniversityUniversity Heights · 2,864 students2,8641.055% of the leader · rank #22
23Central State UniversityWilberforce · 2,708 students2,7081.115% of the leader · rank #23
24Bowling Green State University-Main CampusBowling Green · 17,594 students17,5941.145% of the leader · rank #24
25Ohio State University-Newark CampusNewark · 2,544 students2,5441.185% of the leader · rank #25
26Marion Technical CollegeMarion · 3,346 students3,3461.205% of the leader · rank #26
27Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown · 12,204 students12,2041.396% of the leader · rank #27
28Wright State University-Lake CampusCelina · 1,356 students1,3561.477% of the leader · rank #28
29Shawnee State UniversityPortsmouth · 3,231 students3,2311.557% of the leader · rank #29
30Malone UniversityCanton · 1,256 students1,2561.597% of the leader · rank #30
31Defiance CollegeDefiance · 568 students5681.768% of the leader · rank #31
32The University of FindlayFindlay · 5,016 students5,0161.798% of the leader · rank #32
33Ursuline CollegePepper Pike · 970 students9702.069% of the leader · rank #33
34University of ToledoToledo · 14,358 students14,3582.1610% of the leader · rank #34
35Kent State University at KentKent · 26,374 students26,3742.2010% of the leader · rank #35
36Wright State University-Main CampusDayton · 10,603 students10,6032.3611% of the leader · rank #36
37Wilberforce UniversityWilberforce · 838 students8382.3911% of the leader · rank #37
38Hocking CollegeNelsonville · 1,486 students1,4862.6912% of the leader · rank #38
39Franciscan University of SteubenvilleSteubenville · 3,976 students3,9762.7712% of the leader · rank #39
40Ohio Northern UniversityAda · 3,140 students3,1402.8713% of the leader · rank #40
41Wilmington CollegeWilmington · 1,040 students1,0402.8813% of the leader · rank #41
42Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityMount Vernon · 1,671 students1,6712.9913% of the leader · rank #42
43Ohio University-Main CampusAthens · 26,323 students26,3233.0814% of the leader · rank #43
44Tiffin UniversityTiffin · 3,831 students3,8313.3915% of the leader · rank #44
45Marietta CollegeMarietta · 1,109 students1,1093.6116% of the leader · rank #45
46University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati · 45,026 students45,0263.7317% of the leader · rank #46
47University of Akron Main CampusAkron · 13,332 students13,3323.7517% of the leader · rank #47
48Oberlin CollegeOberlin · 2,909 students2,9093.7817% of the leader · rank #48
49Cleveland State UniversityCleveland · 14,074 students14,0743.8417% of the leader · rank #49
50Chamberlain University-OhioColumbus · 257 students2573.8917% of the leader · rank #50

30 additional nonzero-reporting campuses rank below this top-50 list in the same rate order.

Look up any campus via the Campus Safety Incident Tool or browse all schools.

Unranked campuses (177): zero score or no normalized rate

177 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 162 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

#CampusEnrollmentIncidents /1k
Academia Medical InstituteColumbus · 466 students4660.00
Allegheny Wesleyan CollegeSalem · 60 students600.00
Allstate Hairstyling & Barber CollegeCleveland · 33 students330.00
American Institute of Alternative MedicineColumbus · 251 students2510.00
Antioch UniversityYellow Springs · 486 students4860.00
Apex Academy Hair Skin Nails School of CosmetologyOntario · 17 students170.00
Arizona College of Nursing-CincinnatiCincinnati · 77 students770.00
Arizona College of Nursing-ClevelandBeachwood · 164 students1640.00
Art Academy of CincinnatiCincinnati · 213 students2130.00
Ashland County-West Holmes Career CenterAshland · 41 students410.00
Ashtabula County Technical and Career CampusJefferson · 103 students1030.00
ATA College-CincinnatiCincinnati · 266 students2660.00
Athena Career AcademyToledo · 516 students5160.00
Auburn Career CenterConcord Twp · 292 students2920.00
Aveda Fredric's Institute-CincinnatiWest Chester · 453 students4530.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in Ohio by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: Ohio State University-Main Campus (61,443); University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (45,026); Columbus State Community College (28,081), then 254 more. The 15 biggest Ohio institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 30% of the 624,332 students enrolled across all 257 tracked Ohio institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Valor Christian College (414 students, 0.00/1k).

#InstitutionEnrollmentIncidents /1k
1Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus · 61,443 students61,443100% of the leader · rank #15.91
2University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati · 45,026 students45,02673% of the leader · rank #23.73
3Columbus State Community CollegeColumbus · 28,081 students28,08146% of the leader · rank #30.36
4Kent State University at KentKent · 26,374 students26,37443% of the leader · rank #42.20
5Ohio University-Main CampusAthens · 26,323 students26,32343% of the leader · rank #53.08
6Sinclair Community CollegeDayton · 19,415 students19,41532% of the leader · rank #60.46
7Miami University-OxfordOxford · 18,838 students18,83831% of the leader · rank #74.14
8Cuyahoga Community College DistrictCleveland · 17,840 students17,84029% of the leader · rank #80.67
9Bowling Green State University-Main CampusBowling Green · 17,594 students17,59429% of the leader · rank #91.14
10University of ToledoToledo · 14,358 students14,35823% of the leader · rank #102.16
11Cleveland State UniversityCleveland · 14,074 students14,07423% of the leader · rank #113.84
12University of Akron Main CampusAkron · 13,332 students13,33222% of the leader · rank #123.75
13Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland · 12,475 students12,47520% of the leader · rank #134.57
14Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown · 12,204 students12,20420% of the leader · rank #141.39
15Wright State University-Main CampusDayton · 10,603 students10,60317% of the leader · rank #152.36

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for Ohio: closest on tracked campus count (257 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (1.34/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Louisiana sits nearest on unweighted campus average (-0.13/1k). Inside Ohio, open Stark State College's campus sheet next.

Stark State College profile → | All states → | Ohio net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

Ohio campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in Ohio?

Among Ohio campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Stark State College has the lowest rate (0.10 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: Northwest State Community College (0.24/1k); Columbus State Community College (0.36/1k). 177 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in Ohio?

In Ohio, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Stark State College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.10/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in Ohio are compared?

This page covers 257 tracked higher-education institutions in Ohio, serving about 624,332 enrolled students combined across 130 cities. 80 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 177 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are Ohio State University-Main Campus (61,443); University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (45,026); Columbus State Community College (28,081). Nearby state averages for context: Louisiana (1.20/1k); Connecticut (1.48/1k); Michigan (1.18/1k); South Dakota (1.17/1k); Federated States of Micronesia (1.16/1k); Arkansas (1.11/1k).

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.