Category Archives: Columbus History

Crime Rates by City

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Crime rates by city

One of the big factors in determining both relocations and local quality of life is crime rates by city. These rates give people an idea, or at least the perception, of which cities are safe and which are not. In this first part of a series, we take a look at violent and property crime rates for all US cities with populations at or above 250,000.

To make the comparison, I used the FBI’s Uniform Crime data, which generally goes back to the 1980s. I won’t be going back quite that far, but I will compare 3 different more recent years for each city and rank them.

Some caveats with the data: UCI collects voluntary data, so cities provide the data themselves to the FBI rather than the FBI collecting it directly.  This means that cities can potentially fudge the data if they want to by reporting fewer crimes than actually occurred.  Cities, especially those in high tourism states, have some incentive to do this given perceived safety is extremely important to economic outcomes.  That said, it’s not exactly a free-for-all reporting system, either.  There are certain standards that have to be met for data to be accepted, and reported numbers are occasionally rejected and not included in the UCI data.

In any case, this is going to be a big post, so bear with me!

City Violent Crime Rate Per 100,000 People By Year
2000————————————-2010———————————2020
1. Atlanta: 2781.2———————1. Detroit: 2377.9——————–1. Memphis: 2418.2
2. Baltimore: 2457.6——————2. Las Vegas: 2166.7————–2. Detroit: 2248.4
3. Detroit: 2324.5———————-3. St. Louis: 1943.4—————-3. St. Louis: 1995.2
4. St. Louis: 2279.2——————-4. Memphis: 1607.8—————-4. Cleveland: 1689.1
5. Miami: 2173.1———————–5. Oakland: 1603.9—————-5. Milwaukee: 1629.7
6. Orlando: 2111.3———————6. Baltimore: 1500.3————–6. Kansas City: 1558.6
7. Tampa: 2102.8———————-7. Cleveland: 1393.3————–7. Baltimore: 1460.1
8. Nashville: 1645.8——————-8. Stockton: 1382.6—————8. Las Vegas: 1391.8
9. Kansas City, MO: 1626.3———9. Buffalo: 1377.3—————-9. New Orleans: 1358.1
10. St. Petersburg: 1623.1———10. Atlanta: 1368.8————–10. Albuquerque: 1337.7
11. Chicago: 1606.4——————11. Washington DC: 1241.1—11. Oakland: 1282.9
12. Washington DC: 1507.2——–12. Kansas City: 1227.3——–12. Houston: 1278.9
13. Philadelphia: 1503.2————13. Miami: 1221.4—————–13. Stockton: 1254
14. Newark, NJ: 1495.9————-14. Cincinnati: 1217.4———–14. Wichita: 1225.6
15. Memphis: 1479.2—————-15. Philadelphia: 1214.6——–15. Anchorage: 1192.1
16. Charlotte: 1389.7—————-16. Indianapolis: 1175.7———16. Minneapolis: 1168.7
17. Los Angeles: 1359.8————17. Nashville: 1131.4————-17. Nashville: 1153.2
18. Dallas: 1349.7——————–18. St. Petersburg: 1126.8——18. Lubbock: 1109.1
19. Las Vegas: 1327—————–19. Tulsa: 1098.2——————19. Tulsa: 1102.7
20. Cleveland: 1262.7—————20. Orlando: 1080.2—————20. Toledo: 1007.5
21. Oakland, CA: 1261.1———–21. Houston: 1071.3———-21. Washington DC: 990.2
22. Lubbock, TX: 1256.7———–22. Milwaukee: 1065.2————22. Chicago: 967.9
23. Buffalo: 1249.6——————23. Minneapolis: 1062.3———–23. Buffalo: 931.2
24. Boston: 1242.8——————24. Chicago: 1053.6—————-24. Charlotte: 916.4
25. Stockton, CA: 1219.2———-25. Newark: 1041——————-25. Greensboro: 904.2
26. Jersey City: 1189.7————-26. Toledo: 993.7——————–26. Louisville: 901.5
27. Minneapolis: 1151————–27. Boston: 942.2——————–27. Aurora: 899.1
28. Albuquerque: 1144.9———-28. Pittsburgh: 919.2—————-28. Denver: 884.5
29. Tulsa: 1122.3——————-29. Oklahoma City: 914.5———-29. Dallas: 882.7
30. Jacksonville, FL: 1115.8—–30. Sacramento: 881.5————–30. Cincinnati: 881
31. Houston: 1100.1—————31. Lubbock: 871.6——————31. Indianapolis: 873.7
32. Portland, OR: 1076.9——–32. N. Las Vegas: 847.2———-32. Corpus Christi: 872.1
33. New Orleans: 1063.6——–33. Anchorage: 833.4—————-33. Durham: 863.1
34. N. Las Vegas: 1036.5——-34. Wichita: 794.5———————34. Phoenix: 848.6
35. Durham, NC: 987————35. Albuquerque: 786.1—————35. Orlando: 820.6
36. Pittsburgh: 976.5————-36. Dallas: 764.8——————–36. San Antonio: 806.4
37. Milwaukee: 956.7————37. Honolulu: 755.5——————37. St. Paul: 744.7
38. New York: 945.2————–38. New Orleans: 754.2————38. Los Angeles: 740.8
39. Tucson: 933.2—————–39. St. Paul: 740.9——————-39. Tucson: 708.2
40. Fresno, CA: 898.6———–40. Jersey City: 739.1————-40. Oklahoma City: 707.4
41. Indianapolis: 875.1———–41. San Francisco: 713.7———-41. Honolulu: 686.7
42. Greensboro, NC: 845.1—–42. Durham: 706.9——————42. St. Petersburg: 686
43. Columbus: 843—————-43. Columbus: 695.3————–43. Jacksonville: 676.5
44. Cincinnati: 840.1————–44. Corpus Christi: 677.6——–44. Sacramento: 675.7
45. San Francisco: 836.7——–45. Charlotte: 668.7—————45. Fresno: 656.7
46. St. Paul: 833.4—————–46. Jacksonville: 665.5———–46. Seattle: 655.6
47. Omaha: 811.3——————47. Tampa: 646.4——————-47. Boston: 644.4
48. Riverside, CA: 786.2———48. Tucson: 640.4——————48. Omaha: 623.8
49. Oklahoma City: 780.6——–49. San Antonio: 635.4——-49. Colorado Springs: 604.6
50. El Paso: 779.9—————–50. Louisville: 625.1—————50. Miami: 598.1
51. Seattle: 769.1——————51. Fresno: 613.3——————51. Columbus: 559.2
52. Sacramento: 765.8———–52. Bakersfield: 605.5————-52. Reno: 552.7
53. Toledo: 758.9—————–53. New York: 593.1—————-53. Tampa: 550.4
54. Corpus Christi: 758.3——-54. Long Beach: 588.4———–54. San Francisco: 548.8
55. Raleigh, NC: 742.1———-55. Lexington: 582.8—————-55. Fort Worth: 547.3
56. Phoenix: 738.4—————56. Fort Worth: 580.3—————56. New York: 544.7
57. Lexington, KY: 724.7——–57. Seattle: 577.5——————-57. Arlington: 543.3
58. Fort Worth: 713.7————58. Los Angeles: 566.5————58. Portland: 531
59. Long Beach, CA: 696.8—-59. Denver: 564.4——————-59. N. Las Vegas: 509.3
60. San Antonio: 690.9———-60. Greensboro: 560.7————-60. Long Beach: 502
61. Arlington, TX: 647.8———62. Omaha: 556———————-61. Bakersfield: 497.5
62. Honolulu: 619.4————–62. Phoenix: 553.5——————-62. Austin: 485.6
63. Wichita: 604.4—————-63. Arlington: 526.8——————63. Newark: 478.9
64. Mesa, AZ: 603.7————-64. Portland: 522.6——————-64. Pittsburgh: 478.3
65. Anchorage: 585.5———–65. Reno: 493.4———————–65. Riverside: 473.3
66. San Diego: 585.3———–66. Lincoln: 486.9———————66. Santa Ana: 460.6
67. San Jose: 550.6————67. Laredo: 483.7———————-67. San Jose: 431.8
68. Laredo, TX: 550.5———-68. Austin: 479.5———————–68. Fort Wayne: 425.9
69. Aurora, CO: 547.4———–69. Riverside: 476.5—————–69. Raleigh: 404.3
70. Santa Ana, CA: 541.2——-70. Colorado Springs: 470.9——70. Jersey City: 399
71. Lincoln, NE: 532.4———–71. Santa Ana: 465.3—————-71. Mesa: 388.7
72. Denver: 520.2—————–72. Aurora: 445.7———————72. San Diego: 382.4
73. Chula Vista, CA: 487.5——73. El Paso: 440.7——————-73. Philadelphia: 363.4
74. Austin: 471.9——————-74. Raleigh: 430.8——————-74. Anaheim: 357.8
75. Colorado Springs: 455——-75. San Diego: 429.6—————75. Lincoln: 344.2
76. Reno, NV: 454.4—————76. Mesa: 407.7———————76. Chula Vista: 332.5
77. Anaheim, CA: 430.8———–77. Madison: 402.6—————-77. Laredo: 325.8
78. Irving, TX: 409.2—————78. Anaheim: 345.3—————–78. Lexington: 323.3
79. Fort Wayne, IN: 398.6——–79. San Jose: 339.9—————-79. El Paso: 319.2
80. Madison, WI: 327.3————80. Fort Wayne: 294.1————-80. Madison: 312
81. Bakersfield, CA: 289.8———81. Chandler: 292.6—————81. Irving: 303.7
82. Plano, TX: 280.3—————-82. Chula Vista: 271.8————-82. Atlanta: 269.5
83. Henderson, NV: 265.1———83. Irving: 244.6———————83. Henderson: 214.7
84. Chandler, AZ: 252————–84. Henderson: 210.7————–84. Chandler: 196.7
85. Virginia Beach, VA: 221.7—-85. Virginia Beach: 189.7———-85. Plano: 158.3
86. Irvine, CA: 154.5—————86. Plano: 186.3———————-86. Gilbert: 106
87. Gilbert, AZ: 112.4————–87. Gilbert: 98.8———————87.Virginia Beach: 96.9
88. Louisville, KY: N/A————-88. Irvine: 56.5————————88. Irvine: 49.4

In the above ranking, red cities were those that saw their violent crime rankings worsen vs. the previous decade, while blue cities have seen their rankings improve vs. the previous decade. Black cities are those that saw no ranking change. Keep in mind that although rankings may have changed for the better or worse, their actual violent crime rates may have moved in the opposite direction.

Top 25 Best Violent Crime Rate Changes By Period
2000-2010————————-2010-2020————————-2000-2020
1. Tampa: -1456.4—————–1. Atlanta: -1099.3—————–1. Atlanta: -2511.7
2. Atlanta: -1412.40—————2. Philadelphia: -851.2————2. Miami: -1575
3. Orlando: -1031.1—————3. Las Vegas: -774.9————–3. Tampa: -1552.4
4. Baltimore: -957.3—————4. Miami: -623.3——————–4. Orlando: -1290.7
5. Miami: -951.7——————–5. Newark: -562.1——————5. Philadelphia: -1139.8
6. Los Angeles: -793.3————6. Buffalo: -446.1——————-6. Baltimore: -997.5
7. Charlotte: -721——————7. Pittsburgh: -440.9—————7. St. Petersburg: -937.1
8. Dallas: -584.9——————–8. St. Petersburg: -440.8——–8. Jersey City: -790.7
9. Portland: -554.3—————–9. Jersey City: -340.1————-9. Chicago: -638.5
10. Chicago: -552.8————–10. N. Las Vegas: -337.9———10. Los Angeles: -619
11. Nashville: -514.4————-11. Cincinnati: -336.4————–11. Boston: -598.4
12. St. Petersburg: -496.3——12. Oakland: -321——————12. Portland: -545.9
13. Newark: -454.9—————13. Indianapolis: -302————-13. N. Las Vegas: -527.2
14. Jersey City: -450.6———-14. Boston: -297.8——————14. Washington DC: -517
15. Jacksonville: -450.3———15. Orlando: -259.6—————–15. Pittsburgh: -498.2
16. Kansas City: -399————16. Lexington: -259.5————–16. Nashville: -492.6
17. Lubbock: -385.1————–17. Washington DC: -250.9——17. Charlotte: -473.3
18. Albuquerque: -358.8——–18. Oklahoma City: -207.1——–18. Dallas: -467
19. New York: -352.1————19. Sacramento: -205.8————19. El Paso: -460.7
20. El Paso: -339.2————–20. San Francisco: -164.9———-20. Jacksonville: -439.3
21. St. Louis: -335.8————-21. Laredo: -157.9——————-21. Lexington: -401.4
22. Raleigh: -311.3—————22. Lincoln: -142.7——————22. New York: -400.5
23. Riverside: -309.7————23. Columbus: -136.1————–23. Raleigh: -337.8
24. New Orleans: -309.4——-24. Detroit: -129.5——————-24. Buffalo: -318.4
25. Boston: -300.6—————25. Stockton: -128.6—————-25. Riverside: -312.9

Top 25 Worst Violent Crime Rate Changes By Period
2000-2010—————————2010-2020—————————-2000-2020
1. Las Vegas: +839.7————1. Memphis: +810.4—————-1. Memphis: +939
2. Cincinnati: +377.3————-2. New Orleans: +603.9———–2. Milwaukee: +673
3. Oakland: +342.8—————3. Milwaukee: +564.5————–3. Wichita: +621.2
4. Bakersfield: 315.7————-4. Albuquerque: +551.6———–4. Anchorage: +606.6
5. Indianapolis: +300.6———-5. Aurora: +453.4——————-5. Cleveland: +426.4
6. Anchorage: +247.9————6. Wichita: +431.1—————–6. Denver: +364.3
7. Toledo: +234.8—————–7. Anchorage: +358.7————-7. Aurora: +351.7
8. Wichita: +190.1—————-8. Greensboro: +343.5————8. New Orleans: +294.5
9. Stockton: +163.4————–9. Kansas City: +331.3————9. Toledo: +248.6
10. Honolulu: +136.1———–10. Denver: +320.1—————–10. Bakersfield: +207.7
11. Oklahoma City: +133.9—11. Cleveland: +295.8————–11. Albuquerque: +192.8
12. Cleveland: +130.6———12. Phoenix: +295.1—————–12. Houston: +178.8
13. Memphis: +128.6———-13. Louisville: +276.1———–13. Colorado Springs: +149.6
14. Buffalo: +127.7————-14. Charlotte: +247.7—————-14. San Antonio: +115.5
15. Sacramento: +115.7——15. Lubbock: +237.5—————-15. Corpus Christi: +113.8
16. Milwaukee: +108.5——–16. Houston: +207.6—————-16. Phoenix: +110.2
17. Madison: +75.3————-17. Corpus Christi: +194.5———17. Reno: +98.3
18. Detroit: +53.4—————18. Los Angeles: +174.3————18. Honolulu: +67.3
19. Denver: +44.2————–19. San Antonio: +171—————19. Las Vegas: +64.8
20. Chandler: +40.6———–20. Durham: +156.2——————-20. Greensboro: +59.1
21. Reno: +39——————–21. Colorado Springs: +133.7—–21. Cincinnati: +40.9
22. Colorado Springs: +15.9–22. Fort Wayne: +131.8————22. Stockton: +34.8
23. Austin: +7.6——————23. Dallas: +117.9——————–23. Fort Wayne: +27.3
24. Gilbert: -13.6—————-24. Minneapolis: +106.4————24. Oakland: +21.8
25. Tulsa: -24.1—————–25. San Jose: +91.9——————25. Minneapolis: +17.7

It’s somewhat surprising just how dangerous many Sun Belt cities were in the early 2000s- and still are in some cases- despite never earning nearly any negative reputation that cities like Chicago, New York, Philly and others had. Even today, cities like Chicago are constantly mentioned for being a violent city, but yet Las Vegas, Miami, Houston, Orlando, Indianapolis and many other cites all have higher violent crime rates. It’s a classic example of both how perception is often not supported by the evidence, and how media can push skewed narratives.
Looking at Ohio cities, specifically, the picture overall is not great.  Both Cleveland and Toledo are in the top 25 cities with the highest violent crime rates, and both rates increasing.  Cincinnati was somewhat all over the place, with its rate skyrocketing 2000-2010, but then plummeting 2010-2020 to fall out of the top 25.  Columbus, meanwhile, has been in a consistent- if not slower- decline that put it outside of the top 50 by 2020.

Overall, the majority of cities saw their violent crime rates fall between 2000-2020. This, again, goes contrary to the existing narrative that cities are becoming more dangerous. The pandemic and its economic effects have caused some spikes in some places, but long-term, it remains to be seen if these trends continue or abate.

In upcoming posts, we will examine cities by both homicide rates and property crime rates. Stay tuned!



Columbus Economy April 2022

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Columbus economy April 2022

For the Columbus economy April 2022 report, we look at how the situation has continued to improve from the pandemic-related crash of 2020. High inflation rates had yet to affect things like hiring, which remained strong. Let’s break it down.

Overall Metro Area April 2022 and Change from April 2021
Labor Force: 1,120,035 +13,475
Employed: 1,087,123 +37,439
Unemployed: 32,912 -23,964
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% -2.2
Total Non-Farm Jobs: 1,111,100 +25,100

The 2.9% April unemployment rate for the Columbus metro was the lowest rate since May 2001, and only a few tenths of a percent off the lowest since at least 1990.

Overall Metro Area April 2022 and Change from February 2020 (Pre-Pandemic)
Labor Force: 1,120,035 -769
Employed: 1,087,123 +10,283
Unemployed: 32,912 -11,052
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% -1.0
Total Non-Farm Jobs: 1,111,100 -300
The metro area overall is just about where it was pre-pandemic, though more people are employed now than at that time.



Now let’s view the results by industry.

Mining/Logging/Construction
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
40,300————44,800———45,900
This industry has been recovering nicely from pandemic lows, and should hit all-time highs over the summer.

Manufacturing
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
63,400———–71,800———-72,800
Manufacturing has nearly fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Trade/Transportation/Utilities
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
190,200———-220,200———235,800
This industry completely recovered and consistently hitting record highs.

Information
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
15,400———–15,400———-16,600
Information has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but only just. This industry has been fairly stagnant, if not in decline, since 2001.

Financial Activities
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
83,700———–85,200———-82,900
Unlike other industries, financial activities did not drop significantly during the crash. It did fully recover all lost jobs, but is now sliding down further than during the pandemic. It’s unclear why.

Professional and Business Services
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
162,900———-177,800———178,600
This industry did recover most pandemic losses, but plateaued in 2016 and has been unable to do much since then.

Education and Health Services
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
142,100———-159,600———157,900
Hit extremely hard during the pandemic, the industries of health and education have not yet been able to fully recover. Healthcare in particular is having an extremely difficult time finding workers, and is losing people to burnout.

Leisure and Hospitality
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
56,100———-93,100———-101,500
This industry was arguably hit the hardest of any during the pandemic crash. These jobs fell by nearly 50%. They’ve made a strong comeback, but not quite yet to pre-pandemic levels.

Other Services
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
29,600———–39,400———-41,500
This industry is on track for full recovery by late summer.

Government
4/2020———–4/2021———-4/2022
178,400———-178,700———177,600
While the fall during the pandemic was not as dramatic as other types of jobs, government jobs have largely stagnated since the crash well below their pre-pandemic levels. It’s unclear if its local level or state and federal level jobs that have not returned.

All said, the metro area has just about fully recovered from pandemic effects- and is doing better now than before in some respects- but some industries continue to lag behind. Inflation and energy prices are hitting people hard, and that is not just true in the United States. Nearly all nations are seeing similar effects, and the longer these global conditions last, the more likely it is that it harms the upward movement of the economy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the source of this data, is useful for local employment data for any metro area in the United States.