Kansas’s 20 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.

Crime rates and trends run higher than average in Kansas but decreased year over year. Kansans are the least likely Americans to think that crime is increasing but reported significant increases in crime experiences in our 2023 survey.

The Sunflower State’s crime rates sit above the national average but don’t top the charts. Like 17 other states, Kansas saw a year-over-year decrease in both violent crime and property crime.

According to our latest State of Safety survey, 44% of Kansans feel concerned about overall safety and security on a daily basis—lower than the national average of 50% but a 38% increase over the previous year.

About 47% of Kansas residents feel safe in their state, which is below the national average of 50%.

Most Kansans worry about property crime (48%). Gun violence causes the least concern among Kansas residents (43%). With that said, Kansans reported the lowest increase in first-hand property crime experiences during the 12 months prior to the survey (79% increase) and the largest increase in first-hand gun violence experiences (650% increase).

For our 2023 State of Safety Survey, we asked participants about their natural disaster concerns, preparations, and experiences. Most Kansans worried about strong or high winds (65% KS, 62% US). Hurricanes were of least concern (33% KS, 42% US).

Compared to the average American, Kansas residents were less likely to have a disaster protection strategy like an emergency kit (36% KS, 44% US) or a family emergency plan (36% KS, 40% US). On the other hand, Kansans were more likely to have modified their property (12% KS, 8% US) or to have considered relocating (12% KS, 10% US). 

About 7% of Kansas residents reported having to evacuate due to a natural disaster in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is lower than the national average of 11%.

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

View the complete 2023 State of Safety report.

Kansas’s violent crime rate decreased by 1% year over year, landing at 4.2 violent crimes per 1,000 people. That’s higher than the national average of 4.0.

Our State of Safety story paints a different picture, with 16% of Kansas respondents claiming to have experienced violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey—a 300% increase over the previous survey year. 

Kansas respondents’ experiences with gun violence increased by 650%, jumping from 2% to 15% for the 2023 survey year. 

• Aggravated assault represents 79% of all violent crime in Kansas, which is the fourth-highest percentage in the nation.
• Kansas is 1 of 15 states that reported more rapes than robberies.
• 39% of Kansas residents use some form of personal protection, which matches the national average.
• Of the Kansans who use personal protection, most (49%) prefer concealed firearms. 

• 43% of Kansans worry about gun violence (47% US).
• 15% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey (12% US).
• Kansans' gun violence experience increased 650% year over year.
• 3 mass shooting events occurred in Kansas during the 2022 reporting year.

Property crime in Kansas decreased by 5% year over year and occurred at a rate of 20.8 per 1,000 people. This is above the national average of 19.3 and the third-highest rate in Kansas’s region, topped only by Missouri (23.8) and North Dakota (21.9).

According to our State of Safety survey, Kansas residents experienced a 79% increase in property crime and a 93% increase in package theft. With that said, Kansans reported the twelfth-lowest percentage of package theft experiences in the nation (29% KS, 34% US).

• Most Kansas residents worry about property crime (48%) than any other crime, but package theft is a close second at 47%.
• Of the Kansans who use some form of property protection, most (35%) prefer guard dogs. 
• Most Kansans reported using no package theft prevention strategy (34%). Otherwise, doorbell cameras were the most popular option (25%).
• 30% of Kansas residents say they added or increased safety and security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is below the national average of 35% and the eighth-lowest percentage in the nation.

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.

• 53 Kansas cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Paola rocketed 20 positions up the list to land at number 13 this year, while Louisburg took the biggest hit and fell 10 positions to number 17.
• Only 5 of Kansas' 20 safest cities—Tonganoxie, Eudora, Ulysses, Lansing, and Paola—saw decreases in both property crime and violent crime compared to the previous reporting year.
• Most of this year's safest cities reported 0 murders, but Derby reported 1 and Olathe reported 2.
• 3 cities reported 0 murders, rapes, and robberies: Valley Center, Bel Aire, and Ulysses. 
• Tonganoxie is the only city on this year's list to report 0 burglaries.

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
• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras
• 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.