Is Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati Safe?

Is Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati Safe?

Mt. Lookout, located on the east side of Cincinnati, is full of historic houses and beautiful green spaces. The neighborhood was named for the Cincinnati Observatory, which is located just north of its boundaries. Today it’s one of Cincinnati’s most affluent and well-established neighborhoods, with proximity to downtown and other popular neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Oakley.

Mt. Lookout also has the distinction of being one of Cincinnati’s safest neighborhoods, routinely landing on lists of the safest places in the city to live. With a great safety track record, a variety of homes for sale, and a thriving commercial area, Mt. Lookout is a perfect choice for people looking to purchase a home and settle down in Cincinnati.

We’ll dive into the statistics behind Mt. Lookout’s standing as one of Cincinnati’s safest neighborhoods, including:

  1. Ohio’s Overall Safety
  2. Cincinnati’s Crime Rates
  3. Mt. Lookout’s Crime Rates
  4. Opportunities For Community Involvement

Ready to learn more? Keep reading to see why Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati is a safe, smart bet if you’re looking to purchase a home in this part of town.

Ohio’s Overall Safety

If you’re new to not just Cincinnati but Ohio in general, let’s talk a bit about the state’s overall track record when it comes to crime and safety.

Crime rates in the state of Ohio have been declining for the past decade, with rates of both violent crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault and property crimes including arson, burglary, and motor vehicle theft steadily dropping over the years.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report, Ohio has routinely clocked below the national average rate of violent crimes. In 2009 the state had an annual violent crime rate of 331.9 crimes per 100,000 people, which dropped to 293.2 crimes per 100,000 people by 2019. That’s compared to the average national crime rate for 2019 was 379.4 crimes per 100,000 people.

While Ohio did rank above the national average for property crimes rates for several years, that state rate declined until it dropped below the national average in 2018. Today Ohio has a property crime rate of 2055.7 crimes per 100,000 people, compared to the national rate of 2109.9.

A recent report from Wallethub.com that compared various safety rankings of all 50 states put Ohio in 35th place for overall state safety. However, Ohio ranked higher than that for both road safety and workplace safety.

Aside from the data showing declining crime rates, Ohioans also perceive their state to be safe. A survey from Homes.com asked Americans how secure they felt walking home at night in their state on a scale from one to five, with one benign “very unsafe” and five being “very safe.” Ohio’s results showed that residents perceived their overall safety at a 3.58.

Cincinnati’s Crime Rates

Let’s take a closer look into the crime rates for the City of Cincinnati overall. As with Ohio’s crime rates, local crime rates have also been declining steadily over the past decade. The Cincinnati Police Department’s 2020 Year End Crime Review found that combined rates of property and violent crimes fell 10.6% between 2019 and 2020 and had decreased 20.2% compared to a five-year average.

In 2004, the city had a violent crime rate of 360.5 crimes per 100,000 people. In 2018, that rate had fallen to 231.2, lower than the national average of 368.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people. When it comes to property crimes, Cincinnati’s rates are declining and below the national average. The city’s property crime rates fell from 3671.6 per 100,000 people in 2004 to 2033.4 in 2018, lower than the national average of 2199.5.

Compared to similarly-sized metropolitan areas such as Orlando, FL, San Antonio, TX, Portland, OR, and Charlotte, NC, Cincinnati has lower violent and property crime rates.

Mt. Lookout’s Crime Rates

If you ask a resident  “Is Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati safe?” the answer you’ll get is likely an energetic yes. And there is strong data backing up why Mt. Lookout is regularly named one of Cincinnati’s safest neighborhoods. From 2017 to 2020, Cincinnati’s reported crime data dashboard showed that Mt. Lookout had just 526 total crimes reported, one of the lowest totals out of any neighborhood in Cincinnati. 

Of those 526 reports,s the vast majority were for property or minor crimes, with 56 burglaries, 215 thefts, and 154 other minor, non-violent crimes reported. The Mt. Lookout only have 14 total violent crimes during that four-year period, with six rapes and eight robberies reported. 

A report released in 2019 placed Mt. Lookout as the third safest neighborhood in Cincinnati, just below Sayler Park and Hyde Park. That report showed that the neighborhood’s crime rate for that year sat at just 14 crimes per 100 people, or .14 crimes per person. Compare that to the rate for English Woods, the neighborhood found by the report to be the least safe in Cincinnati, with a per-person crime rate of 2.3 crimes per year.

Mt. Lookout has also received high marks from Niche.com, a website that assigns letter grades to neighborhoods based on factors such as schools, housing, diversity, crime, safety, and more. In total, the neighborhood received an A score for livability, a B- when it comes to crime and safety, and an A for being good for families. The website also ranked Mt. Lookout as number two on its list of the best neighborhoods to buy a house in Cincinnati.

Area Safety Ratings

Mt. Lookout also has the benefit of being bordered by other neighborhoods that are regularly named as some of the safest in Cincinnati. Those neighborhoods include:

  • Hyde Park, to the west of Mt. Lookout
  • Oakley, located northwest of Mt. Lookout
  • Columbia-Tusculum, located just south of Mt. Lookout
  • Linwood, to the east of Mt. Lookout

The safety ratings for this part of Cincinnati make Mt. Lookout an easy, excellent choice if you’re in the market for a home in a safe and exciting neighborhood.

Opportunities For Community Involvement

A great sign that a neighborhood takes its safety seriously is the community groups available for residents to discuss local issues and work toward solutions.

In Mt. Lookout, residents can take part in the Mt. Lookout Community Council, a volunteer-led organization that aims to inform residents of the neighborhood and improve their quality of life. The Mt. Lookout Community Council also has the distinction of being the oldest continually-operated civic organization in Ohio, founded in 1906. 

When it comes to community safety, the council has a Community Liaison Officer from the Cincinnati Police Department’s District 2 who presents bi-monthly reports at the group’s public meetings.

Another way to get involved in the Mt. Lookout community is through its Nextdoor forum, an online resource for connecting with other residents and discussing issues or happening around the neighborhood.

Safe, Secure Living In Mt. Lookout

So, is Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati safe? If safety is high on your list of priorities when trying to decide which Cincinnati neighborhood to call home, Mt. Lookout is a perfect choice. Its combination of low crime rates, established community groups, and great houses make it one of Cincinnati’s safest, most attractive neighborhoods for homebuyers.

If you’re interested in putting down roots in Mt. Lookout, talk to me today about the current properties available!