Ottawa's overall rate of crime is sufficiently low that NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows the village to be one of the safest in the nation among cities and towns of all sizes, although not one of the very lowest in Ohio (14% of the state's communities have a lower crime rate). Overall a very safe village, Ottawa's crime rate is just 2 per 1,000 people, which means that a person's chance of becoming a victim in Ottawa is one in 553.

Additionally, NeighborhoodScout analyzed all cities and towns in America with a similar population size to Ottawa, and we found that the crime rate in Ottawa is one of the lowest in the nation for its size. This means Ottawa is one of the safest places in America in which to live for its size, a very important finding.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Ottawa does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Ottawa.

For Ottawa, NeighborhoodScout found that the violent crime rate is well below the national average for all communities of all population sizes. Violent crimes such as assault, rape, murder and armed robbery happen less often in Ottawa than in most of America. One's chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime here is one in 4426, which is a violent crime rate of 0 per one thousand inhabitants.

Furthermore, our research shows that motor vehicle theft, arson, burglary, and larceny are not very common in Ottawa compared to most US cities and towns. In fact, the rate of these property crimes in Ottawa is just 2 per one thousand people, far below the national average. Based on this rate, Ottawa is one of the safer communities in America with regard to incidences of property crime.