Idaho’s 10 Safest Cities of 2023

The SafeWise Team is pleased to release the ninth annual Safest Cities report.

See if your city made the full list.

Idaho boasts some of the lowest violent and property crime rates in the nation, but it still saw an increase in violent crime for the 2023 reporting year. Most Idahoans feel safe in The Gem State and were the least likely Americans to have experienced violent crime or gun violence.

Although Idaho saw a 3% increase in violent crime year over year, its violent crime rate of 2.5 is the ninth-lowest in the nation and the second-lowest in the Mountain region. 

This aligns with our State of Safety survey results: 4% of Idahoans claimed to have experienced violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey. That’s the lowest percentage in the nation and 11 percentage points lower than the national average. 

• Robbery accounts for 4% of violent crime in Idaho, which is one of the lowest percentages in the nation. The national average is 11%.
• Rape accounts for 23% of violent crime in Idaho, which is the fifth-highest percentage in the nation. The national average is 13%. 
• Idaho reported 174 robberies in the 2023 reporting year, which is the fifth-lowest number in the nation. 
• 39% of Idaho residents use some form of personal protection (US 39%), with concealed firearms (49%) and pocket knives (46%) leading the way.

• 24% of Idaho residents worry about gun violence, which is the lowest percentage in the nation (47% US).
• 2% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is also the lowest percentage in the nation (12% US).
• Idaho residents' gun violence experiences increased 100% year over year.
• 0 mass shooting events occurred in Idaho during 2022.

Idaho’s property crime rate of 10.5 is the second-lowest in the nation (behind Massachusetts) and the lowest in the Mountain region, sitting well below the regional average of 19.3. Idaho saw a nearly 13% decrease in property crime year over year. 

That said, 25% of Idaho respondents to our State of Safety survey claimed they experienced property crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is a 79% increase. 

• 30% of Idaho respondents claimed to have experienced package theft in the 12 months prior to our survey, which is a year over year increase of 76%.
• Motor vehicle theft accounts for 9% of Idaho’s total property crime, which is 5 percentage points lower than the national average.
• Of the Idaho residents who use some form of property protection, guard dogs are the most popular at 51%.
• "None of the above" was the most common response (29%) among Idaho residents when asked about their package theft prevention strategies. Otherwise, popular methods include using doorbell cameras (24%), leaving in a safe spot (23%) or using verified delivery (23%).

Idaho’s violent crime and property crime rates fall well below the national and regional averages. Still, The Gem State's violent crime rate of 2.5 per 1,000 people represents a 3% increase year over year.

View the complete 2023 State of Safety report.

According to our latest State of Safety survey, Idaho residents are some of the least likely Americans to worry about crime on a daily basis. This makes sense considering they’re also the number-one least likely Americans to have experienced violent crimes (4% ID, 15% US) or gun violence (2% ID, 12% US) in the 12 months prior to the survey.

In terms of property crime, Idaho residents are the second-least worried about property crime in the nation (38% ID, 50% US) but reported a 79% increase in property crime experiences during the 12 months prior to the survey.

Idahoans are the ninth-most likely to feel safe in their state (64%). Only 50% of Americans nationwide feel safe in their states. 

For our 2023 State of Safety Survey, we asked participants about their natural disaster concerns, preparations, and experiences. Most Idahoans were most worried about fire or smoke (57%) or drought (57%). Hurricanes (24%) and flooding (30%) were the least of their concerns. 

Compared to the average American, Idahoans were more likely to have emergency kits (47% ID, 44% US) and to have modified their property (10% ID, 8% US) to prepare for natural disasters. 

About 8% of Idaho residents reported having to evacuate during the 12 months prior to the survey, which is lower than the national average of 11%. 

We asked Idaho residents which crimes they worry may happen to them. See if Idahoans are concerned about the same crime issues as the rest of the country.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• Rexburg, the safest city in Idaho for the second year in a row, also appears on our latest reports of the 100 Safest Cities in America and 50 Safest College Towns in America. 
• Meridian, number 5 on this year's list, is also featured on our list of Safest Cities to Raise a Family.
• Only Hailey, Middleton, Jerome, and Coeur d'Alene saw decreases in both violent crime and property crime compared to the previous reporting year.
• The one murder reported in Idaho's 10 safest cities occurred in Coeur d'Alene.
• 5 of Idaho’s 10 safest cities reported 0 robberies: Rexburg, Middleton, Sandpoint, Moscow, and Rupert.

We calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met our population threshold, based on the state’s median population as calculated using FBI data. To request a report of the remaining cities in your state email info@safewise.com with the subject line: Safest Cities Full Report.

NOTE: If your city is missing from our full report, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2021.

• Best Home Security Systems
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• Burglary Stats & Facts
• The Most Burglarized City in Every State
• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation
• The State of Safety in America in 2022

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed February 6, 2023.

• 2021 and 2020 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2021 NIBRS Estimation Tables

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, "Offenses Known to Law Enforcement [2019]." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

US Census Bureau, "2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables." Accessed February 6, 2023.

SafeWise, "2022 State of Safety survey." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "General Methodology." Accessed February 6, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Past Summary Ledgers." Accessed January 3, 2023.

Gun Violence Archive, "Congress."

• 2022 totals: Accessed January 3, 2023.
• 2021 and 2020 totals: Accessed December 19, 2022.