What are the 10 Safest Cities in the United States?
Ten safe heavens from the chaos of today’s violence
Whether you are relocating for a job, or you just want to start over in a new place, you want a city that makes you feel safe and secure. Needless to say, you don’t want to be in an area in which crimes of any kind are high. The question is which are the safest cities?
To determine the safest cities, we looked at a number of different factors on the largest 200 cities in the US. Violent crimes were our primary metric, but we also considered other measures of safety, like vehicle accidents and air quality. After collecting the data, we ranked each city according to each metric, and we averaged those rankings.
After averaging the overall rankings, we gave a score that ranged from 0 to 100 based on the ranking. The statistics we used for the violent crimes came from the FBI, the local police department, and city websites. Data on automobile accidents came from countyhealthrankings.org. The information on air quality came from EPA.
Without further ado, here is the top 10 List of safest cities in the U.S
1. Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale ranks as the safest city in America. It is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and the crime rate is well below average.
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the epitome of island living. The violent crime rate is 230 per 100,000 per year. Moreover, the rate for vehicle accidents is low due to the fact that most residents walk, bike, or take public transportation.
3. Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is situated across Lake Washington from Seattle. In recent times, the population has increased tremendously, almost 2.7% each year from 2010 to 2014. While for some cities that might present a challenge as far as safety is concerned, it seems not to have affected this city. Of the largest 200 cities in the US, Bellevue ranks the 22nd lowest.
4. Cary, North Carolina
Cary has the 6th lowest violent crime rate of any major US city, at just 84 crimes per 100,000 residents. On the other hand, Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, has 648 crimes per 100,000 residents.
5. Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is just a few miles away from Washington, DC and is the 5th safest city in the US. Furthermore, it is part of the DC’s metro rail system, which makes it convenient for most residents to get to work in the DC area, thereby reducing the number of automobile accidents. There is a lot of history to this city so whether you are passing through or moving, make sure to learn about the rich America history behind Alexandria.
6. San Jose, California
San Jose is one of the three largest cities in the Bay Area, and it is the safest. This is surprising that a California city even make the top 10 with all of the gangs and violence there. San Jose is surrounded by violent cities but it has a safehaven of it’s own. Oakland and San Francisco have violent crimes rates well above the rate of San Jose. Moreover, Oakland and San Francisco have a high rate of drug use, which could be a reason for the largest number of violent crimes.
7 – McAllen, Texas
McAllen is a border town, located in the Rio Grande Valley. While border towns typically have a bad reputation, McAllen bucks the trend. The violent crime rate is 122 per 100, 000 residents.
8 – Fremont, California
Fremont is just north of San Jose. This city boasts to having one of the lowest rates of vehicular deaths in all of the US (5.88 per 100,000 residents). That is less than 1/3 of the national average.
9 – Salem, Oregon
Salem possesses the third lowest air pollution of any major city in the US. Residents here breathe some of the cleanest air found in America. While there are many reasons for respiratory diseases and other health issues, environmental factors can play a key role.
10 – Frisco, Texas
Frisco is situated 30 miles north of Dallas. A city of around 145,000 residents, it has the 4th lowest violent crime rate of any major city in the US; the rate is 80 per 100,000 residents.
If you are considering moving to one of the cities on this list, we are glad we could help. But before you get too comfortable, we have to let you know that crime in the United States every year averages at 12 million. This is more than any other place on the planet.
Regardless of where you decide to live, we want you to be safe. This is why we constantly recommend buying a home security system. It provides everything from personal safety to carbon monoxide detection. This way, you will feel protected wherever you are in the United States.
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If you can’t move to any of these cities at least make sure you stay away from the 25 most dangerous cities in the US. If you have a city you would like to add please comment below and let us know! There are dozens of crime free areas and towns that didn’t make this list so please add your Name and location below to help us build this list! If this is not enough, check this article from one of our top companies Vivint Security.
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William is a tech buff and former corporate security officer turned cybercrime analyst. Computers have few secrets left for him, but home security and alarm systems… Well, those have plenty of secrets for their users, which William is now uncovering and explaining. His articles on home security helped many people take the matter seriously, invest in highly performing systems, and avoid becoming victims of burglaries.
Mischka says
I am eyeing to actually working in San Jose, California so I am super happy to know it’s in your list of safest cities in the US. I think the worklife in the place is much more relaxed to where I’m coming from so I would say I am definitely looking forward to my transfer.
Thomson says
A huge part of my mother’s side of the family lives in San Jose, California! And boy how happy are they, I did go for a visit once and the neighborhood where my family lived was very peaceful. I stayed more in New York so I felt the slower paced environment was really helpful for my soul as I needed a break from how much New York’s pace. Maybe I would consider retirement in California, it would be a nice breather.
Jimmy I says
You’re doing an excellent job with this review website. I’ve been helped many times with the knowledge I gained from reading your articles. Keep it up. I thought my place, Stockholm, Sweden would make it to your list. With an overall score of 86.72%, personal security ranking of 9 in the whole world, and safety ratings of 13, 10 and 4 for digital security ranking, health security ranking and infrastructure security ranking, Reconcile with this figure and update if possible. – Jimmy I.
Seadals says
I would be surprised if I couldn’t find Honolulu on the list. It’s just a city anyone will desire to live in. Since the time I had moved here, I have never for once regretted that decision.
Jones says
This makes me want to visit Sunnyville, California to see how friendly the folks there are. I wonder what it takes to get a city to generally be full of outstanding citizens… I bet a lot of people want to move there!
Jenny R. says
I live in Alexandria, Virginia and I can attest to it’s level of safeness. It’s the suburbs and Fairfax County is the second richest county in the country. The cost of living is high here so it’s pretty expensive to live around here. I’ve lived here almost all of my life and have never experienced crime. The surrounding cities such as Fairfax, Arlington, Chantilly, Centreville and others are all also safe havens. If you are looking for a safe place to live, northern Virginia is a nice area and does not have a high crime rate.
Craig Smith says
I’m also from the Northern Virginia Area too! It’s a really safe area, and did you know that Loundon County, which is the country next to Fairfax county is first richest county? The reason is because we are so close to the White House and all the government workers generally live in northern VA.
Shelley Ayres says
While crime rate continues to increase throughout the country, I appreciate the usefulness of this article but everybody can not live in this 10 listed cities as that alone would defeat the purpose of it being safe. Hence the need to be extremely safety-conscious and install a formidable home alarm system that works. Your alarm system reviews have been really helpful in that light. Thanks for your help.
Rose says
I was considering moving to California do I’m glad I came across this article. I’m definitely going to check these areas out. I’m sure it’s still probably a good idea to get an security system though. No where is crime free!
CJean says
Although this is not the definitive list of the safest cities in the United States, I’d say it’s a good information to have especially when you’re trying to factor in crime rates in your decision to move to a new city. There are many similar lists out there and you’d find different results because of different metrics and variables. Of course, living in a “safe” city doesn’t mean there’s absence of crime that’s why we still need to have a home security system in place.
BMarkham says
I used to live in San Jose, CA and I can say that it’s relatively safer than in San Francisco, where I live now. That’s not to say that residents can relax because the surrounding areas have high crime rates due to violent crimes, which is the worst kind of crime. This is an interesting information that would be useful for families who plan to move to these cities.