Columbus, IN has a A+ safety grade (98/100) with a violent crime rate of 14 per 100,000, 96% below the national average.
FBI UCR 2024 · per-capita rates · large city
At 51,867 residents, Columbus is a large city: FBI UCR Table 8 rates (per 100,000) here are read against IN and U.S. averages before the offense-family breakdown.
Data updated 2026-09-05
Columbus, IN is among the safest cities in the country, and earns an A+ PlainCrime safety grade, where violent crime runs 96% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, Columbus, IN shows violent crime at 13.5 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 82.9 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 96% below the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade A+ from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
Property-offense composition
Larceny-theft is 0.0% of reported property offenses in Columbus, against a cohort median of 82.0%. The remainder is burglary (43) and motor vehicle theft (0). Composition differences of this size usually track what kinds of places and property are present in a jurisdiction.
Small-count caution
Columbus reported 7 violent offences in 2024 against a population of 51,867. At this volume one additional or one fewer report moves the per-100,000 rate noticeably, so the figure is better read as a data point than as a precise measurement, and year-to-year swings here are expected.
2020–2024 direction
Across 4 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 80.4 per 100,000 in 2020 to 13.5 in 2024 (-83.2%). The highest observed value was 80.4 in 2020 and the lowest 13.5 in 2024. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Position in the state cohort
At 13.5 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, Columbus ranks 107 of 113 — above 6 of the 112 other Indiana cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is -91.6% against the cohort median of 161.0. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
Comparable rate records
The nearest comparable 2024 records to Columbus's 13.5 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Batesville (13.5), Dyer (12.3), Porter (19.2), Auburn (7.1). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
Property counts dominate Columbus's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; cities that fail the completeness test stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Based on 7 reported violent incidents in a population of 51,867. At this volume, one additional or one fewer report can shift the rate and letter grade noticeably; small-city crime counts are inherently more volatile year to year than large-city counts, so treat this grade as a data point, not a precise ranking.
On a large city row, these are citywide reported offense totals - not neighbourhood advice. Conditions vary by place and time; reporting rates differ across jurisdictions.
Across 28.7 Census sq mi, Columbus logged 1.5 property and 0.2 violent offenses per square mile in 2024.
Columbus's 2024 book concentrates in burglary (86% of 50 offenses; mix index 7,596).
Violent offenses are only 14% of the municipal total - a property-led book.
Columbus offense mix (2024)
Density uses Census Gazetteer land area (28.7 sq mi); mix index is HHI x 10,000 on the offense-type shares above. Distinct from the per-100K rates in the hero.
| Offense | Count | Rate /100K |
|---|---|---|
| Property Crime | 43 | 82.9 |
| Burglary | 43 | 82.9 |
| Arson | 1 | 1.9 |
| Larceny-Theft | 0 | 0 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 0 | 0 |
| Violent Crime | 7 | 13.5 |
| Robbery | 7 | 13.5 |
| Murder | 0 | 0 |
| Rape | 0 | 0 |
| Aggravated Assault | 0 | 0 |
The chart omits 2022 rather than drawing an unsupported zero or partial-coverage dip. The table preserves the year and marks the gap.
Lead series · fell across 4 comparable years · FBI UCR
Secondary series · fell · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
| Year | Coverage | Population | Violent Rate | Property Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Comparable | 48,505 | 80.4 | 1385.4 |
| 2021 | Comparable | 48,902 | 22.5 | 124.7 |
| 2022 | Insufficient reporting | 50,748 | - | - |
| 2023 | Comparable | 51,658 | 21.3 | 125.8 |
| 2024 | Comparable | 51,867 | 13.5 | 82.9 |
Columbus Police Department filed the 2024 UCR row behind Columbus's 50 reported offenses (4-year span 2020-2024, with internal gaps).
This agency reports via NIBRS, the incident-based system that captures more detail per offense (multiple crimes per incident, victim/offender data) than the older summary counts.
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the Indiana cities closest to Columbus in population. Their populations run from 44,906 to 59,995, against 51,867 here. Or use our side-by-side compare tool to benchmark two cities directly.
Columbus sits at 13.5/100K violent (grade A+); the Indiana cities below are the nearest matches after size peers are removed.
Columbus at 13.5/100K violent and 82.9/100K property - matched below outside Indiana (≥10k pop, latest UCR vintage; not the in-state lists above).
13.5/100K here; nearest out-of-state matches.
82.9/100K here; violent-rate peers above excluded.
In 2024, Columbus reported 7 violent crimes and 43 property crimes, for a total of 50 reported offenses.
From 2023 to 2024, Columbus's violent crime rate decreased by 36.6%, and the property crime rate decreased by 34.1%.
The most common crime type in Columbus is burglary, accounting for 86.0% of all reported crimes (43 incidents in 2024).
Large-city read: Columbus's rates come from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, CIUS Table 8, vintage 2024.
Incomplete reporters stay out of rate rankings. Cross-check population with Census ACS; state UCR programs for statewide context. Primary verify links: FBI.gov UCR, Census QuickFacts.
Disclaimer (large city): informational crime rates only - not legal, insurance, or personal-safety advice. Source: FBI UCR. Ask a qualified professional before acting.
Large-city rate methodology for how Columbus's large city row is sourced and ranked.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 Columbus, IN rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.
Bulk download: city crime dataset (CSV/JSON)
Put this to use
Put the Columbus, IN FBI UCR record to work: compare peers, open the state atlas, or look up another city.
A citywide UCR rate is a starting point, not a neighbourhood verdict: read the full profile and the year coverage notes before drawing conclusions.
Every figure on PlainCrime is rendered directly from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Columbus is scored here as a large city UCR reporter (51,867 on the row). See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.