Delaware’s 10 Safest Cities of 2019

SafeWise is happy to release our 5th annual Safest Cities report. See if your city made the list.

Eight of this year’s safest Delaware cities can be proud of making the list for two years back-to-back. Among all 10 cities there was just one murder reported and 80% had fewer than 20 total violent crime incidents. Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that the state overall has a violent crime rate of 7.96 incidents per 1,000 people—over three points higher than the national rate of 4.49.

Every city that made the list kept violent crime below state and national rates. In fact, 90% of the safest cities saw fewer than four violent crimes per 1,000 in 2017. But property crime isn’t as low. Two of the top 10 cities reported more than 42 property crimes per 1,000 people—that’s 15 higher than the national average (27.11) and five more than the state average of 37.78. Arson was the least common property crime, with just two cities reporting it, and larceny-theft was the most common, with reports between 20 and 569 incidents.

Interesting Findings

• 80% of Delaware’s safest cities are repeats from 2018.
• Despite higher statewide property crime rates, 50% of the cities on the list reported fewer than 100 property crimes.
• 80% of the cities had fewer than 20 total violent crime incidents, with the top two cities (Lewes and Ocean View) reporting just four each.
• Digital security was the top concern for Delaware respondents on our State of Safety Survey.
• 64% named digital security a top safety issue, compared to 57% worried about violent crime and 60% concerned about property crime.
• 33% of State of Safety participants reported a personal digital security issue in the past year, compared to 24% nationwide.

The 10 Safest Cities in Delaware

How We Determined the Safest Cities

Learn how we identified the safest cities on our methodology page.

Beyond Safest Cities: What Are the Biggest Safety Concerns in Your State?

Crime statistics are one thing, but do they line up with what people are really worried about when it comes to safety? To find out, SafeWise conducted a nationwide survey. See what the biggest safety concern is in your state—and learn more about what your neighbors are nervous about—in our State of Safety report.

If you would like to contact a SafeWise Safest Cities Analyst, please email info@safewise.com.

Sources:

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, “2017 Crime in the United States”
SafeWise’s, “2019 State of Safety“