Top 100 Safest Cities in America

How large are the safest cities in the United States?

The average population of the United States’ 100 safest cities is 17,373, indicating that smaller cities tend to have lower crime rates and are safer, overall, than larger cities. 

Let’s break the cities down by population: 

• 10,000 to 14,999: 47 cities
• 15,000 to 19,999: 27 cities
• 20,000 to 24,999: 9 cities
• 25,000 to 29,999: 10 cities
• 30,000 to 34,999: 4 cities
• 35,000 to 39,999: 2 cities
• 40,000 to 44,999: 0 cities
• 45,000 to 50,000: 1 city  

As you can see, 74 cities have populations ranging from 10,000 to 19,999, accounting for a considerable majority of the list.  Few large cities make the cut: only 7 cities in the top 100 have a population of 30K or more, and Monroe Township, the largest city to make the list, has a population of just 45,597.

While the safest cities in the United States mostly have populations between 10,000 and 30,000, that doesn’t mean that larger cities are unsafe, necessarily. Small cities are mainly residential, while larger cities have more sizable commercial areas that offer greater opportunity for people to commit property crimes such as theft and vandalism. Higher levels of property crime are common in larger cities with populations topping 30K, even for those with very low violent crime, which is the reason they mostly don’t make the cut in this ranking. 

What are the average crime rates for a top 100 city?

The average city in the top 100 has a mean violent crime rate of 0.36 offenses per 1,000 people and a mean property crime rate of 3.31 offenses per 1,000 people. For comparison, the United States had a 3.69 per 1,000 violent crime rate and a 21.99 per 1,000 property crime rate in 2018. Therefore, an average city in the top 100 has 10 times less violent crime and 6 times less property crime than the United States, overall.

For an international perspective, the average top 100 city has a violent crime rate slightly lower than Japan’s 2018 violent crime rate of 0.46 per 1,000. Japan is a famously safe country, meaning that the U.S.’s top 100 safest cities are in very good company. 

Source: Statista

The 10 Safest Cities in the US

Culled from a list of over 2,800 U.S. cities, the municipalities in our top 100 have already distinguished themselves with their safety records. However, 10 cities posted crime rates low enough to separate themselves from the pack, making up the upper echelon of safe American cities. While New Jersey has the largest share of cities in the top 100, Massachusetts wins the top 10 as it is the location of half the cities on the list. 

10. River Vale Township, New Jersey

The sole New Jersey community in the top 10 truly earns its spot. The Bergen County township of 10,157 recorded just 1 violent crime in 2018, granting it the 2nd lowest violent crime rate among America’s top 10 safest cities.

9. South Park Township, Pennsylvania

The first of two Pennsylvania municipalities in the top 10, South Park Township is a community of about 13.3K in Allegheny County near the city of Pittsburgh. South Park Township logged just 3 violent crimes and 23 property crimes in 2018.

8. Bedford Town, New York

Bedford Town is an affluent community in Westchester County located about 45 miles northeast of New York City. The town was founded by Puritan settlers all the way back in 1680, and is the location of Stepping Stones, the historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson, co founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Though Bedford Town had slightly higher crime than #9 South Park Township in 2018, its law enforcement-to-residents ratio of 2.38 per 1,000 gives it the most well-staffed police force of any city in the top 10. 

7. Penn Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 

There are at least 14 Penn Townships in Pennsylvania, but only one earned the lowest property crime rate in the United States, and that’s Penn Township of Westmoreland County. The town of 19.3K logged just one property crime in 2018, resulting in a rate of 0.05 offenses per 1,000 people. 

6. Norton, Massachusetts

With a population near 20,000, Norton is the largest of the United States’ 10 safest cities. The host city of the Dell Technologies Championship PGA golf tournament had remarkably low crime in 2018, including a 0.70 per 1,000 rate of violent crime and a 1.15 per 1,000 rate of property crime.

5. Norfolk, Massachusetts

Norfolk, a small town on the periphery of the Boston metro, is home to 4 state correctional centers. Thankfully, their presence hasn’t affected Norfolk’s crime situation in any way: the city earned the same 1.85 per 1,000 total crime rate as #6 Norton, but Norfolk gets the edge due to its better-staffed police force. 

4. Clinton, Massachusetts

Clinton, a Worcester County town of 14,000, logged just 28 total crimes in 2018. While Clinton doesn’t have the lowest crime rates on the list, the town’s stellar safety record, coupled with its well-staffed police department, earns Clinton its position in the ranking.

3. Hopkinton, Massachusetts

While many of the uber-safe Massachusetts communities on this list are similar in character and appearance, Hopkinton is unique due to the fact that it is the starting point of the Boston Marathon, one of the most famous annual long distance races in the country. Hopkinton’s low 0.11 per 1,000 rate of violent crime is another thing the town can hang its hat on.

2. Frederick, Colorado

Due to its location in the Denver metropolitan area–thousands of miles from the rest of the Northeastern communities on this list–Frederick is a bit of an outlier. Nevertheless, Frederick earns the honor of being the 2nd safest municipality in America, as the town recorded just 7 total crimes in 2018.

1. Wayland, Massachusetts

Wayland is the safest place in the United States, and in a league of its own in terms of crime rates. The Middlesex County town logged just 2 total crimes in 2018, making it a virtually crime-free community. Wayland police must have a lot of extra time on their hands. 

In Summary

Looking at the list of the top 100 safest cities in the United States, it’s easy to draw parallels between the entries. Most of them are small, with a population between 10K and 20K, located in the Northeast, have higher-than-average median family incomes, and earned crime rates closer to those of Japanese cities than American ones.

However, there are outliers that prove that a safe city doesn’t need to fit a particular image or belong to a certain part of the country. These are the cities that offer hope to communities all around the country that they may reduce their crime levels.,