Maine’s 10 Safest Cities of 2020

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

Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Maine for 2020. 

1. Cumberland
2. Cape Elizabeth
3. Sabattus
4. Eliot
5. Yarmouth
6. Gorham
7. Hampden
8. Kennebunk
9. Gardiner
10. Oakland

Get more details about our list.

Folks in Maine show much less concern about safety than the rest of the nation. And residents of its safest cities enjoy some of the lowest crime rates in the country. 

See the full list of Maine’s 20 safest cities of 2020. 

A paltry 29% of participants in our 2020 State of Safety survey reported worrying about their safety on a daily basis—that’s 17 points below the national average of 46%.

View the complete 2020 State of Safety report.

Maine’s low crime rates may be one reason its residents aren’t staying up at night fretting about safety. The state’s violent crime rate is 1.1 incidents per 1,000 people, which is less than half the national rate of 3.7. Property crime in Maine occurs at a rate of 13.6 incidents per 1,000, compared to 22.0 nationwide.

Not surprisingly, people in the Pine Tree State report far fewer personal experiences with crime. Even though experience with both violent (9%) and property (15%) crime increased year over year, Maine’s reports are still under national averages of 12% for violent crime and 26% for property crime.

Violent Crime in Maine: Fear vs. Reality

Maine respondents named mass shooting as the violent crime they worry about most, although they feel they’d be more likely to fall victim to a physical assault or being robbed on the street. 

• 25% indicated high concern about mass shooting incidents, compared to 38% nationwide. 
• Only 10% think a mass shooting is likely to happen, versus 23% nationally. 
• 4% reported that they, or someone they know, has been personally affected by a mass shooting at some point in their lives. Across the country, 7% report the same. 
• There has been one mass shooting in Maine this year. Three people were killed and one injured in the February Machias rampage.
• Maine had two mass shootings between 2014 and 2019, resulting in nine deaths and one injured. There were no mass shooting incidents in Maine in 2018 and 2019.
• Nationwide, there were 2,087 mass shooting incidents between 2014 and 2019.
• Physical assault by a stranger and being robbed on the street tied for the violent crime survey respondents considered most likely to happen, with 16% of Maine respondents calling each out versus 26% nationwide. 
• Assault was the second most worrisome crime in the state (24.5% versus 24.8% for mass shooting).
• 41% of the violent crimes reported in the safest cities were aggravated assault, and it made up 53% of all violent crime across the state.  
• Robbery comprised 23% of the violent crime in the safest cities, and 15% statewide.

Property Crime in Maine: Fear vs. Reality

People in Maine reported the highest concern about someone breaking into a home while the residents are out. But having digital property stolen (like files or photos) is the property crime they think is most likely to actually occur.

• 57% expressed high concern about someone breaking in while not at home, compared to 62% nationwide.
• Burglary made up only 18% of all property crime among the safest cities and 15% statewide.
• 32% felt that having digital property stolen is the crime they’re most likely to experience, versus 36% nationally. 
• Last year, digital security was the most concerning safety issue overall in Maine.
• Just 9% of Maine respondents have a home security system. The national average is 24%.
• Having a dog or other guard animal is the most common security measure used in Maine, with 28% naming it. That’s five points below the number of people who use a guard dog nationwide (33%). 
• A whopping 45% use no form of protection or security at all. That number is 29% across the US.
• 15% experienced a property crime in the past 12 months, compared to 26% nationwide.
• Larceny-theft was the most common property crime, accounting for 79% of all property crime in the safest cities and 81% statewide. 50% named it their top concern, and 27% felt most likely to be a victim of property theft.

A Closer Look at Maine’s Safest Cities of 2020

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

• Cumberland held on to the top spot for the second year in a row, with fewer than 20 total crimes reported.
• 70% of the cities improved their rank year over year.
• Oakland had the biggest jump, climbing 28 spots, followed by Eliot with 24 spots, and Sabattus, which moved up 22 places to become the third safest city in Maine.
• Just two cities dropped in rank this year—Hampden moved down five places and Gardiner dropped from number six to nine.
• There were only 22 violent crimes reported by Maine’s 10 safest cities. 
• All cities came in under both state (1.1) and national (3.7) violent crime rates. No city reported more than 0.5 incidents per 1,000.
• Eliot had the lowest violent crime rate at 0.0, but a higher property crime rate of 7.1 per 1,000 landed it at number four on the list.
• Kennebunk had the most violent crime incidents with a grand total of six.
• All cities are below the state property crime rate of 13.6, and none reported more than nine incidents per 1,000.
• Cumberland had the lowest property crime rate at 2.1, with a total of 17 property crimes reported.

The 10 Safest Cities in Maine

VC = Violent Crime
PC = Property Crime

How We Determined the Safest Cities

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

How to Make a Safe Home Anywhere

Whether your city made our list or not, we recommend adding extra security to your home with monitored security services provided by the nation’s leading home security providers.

To learn more about your home security options, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems.

Didn’t Find Your City in the Top 10?

We calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met our population threshold, which is based on the median population of the state. See how the remaining cities ranked in the list below.

NOTE: If you don’t see your city on the list, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2018.

Sources

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, “2018 Crime in the United States”
SafeWise, “2020 State of Safety”
US Census Bureau, “American Fact Finder”
BestPlaces, “Find a Place Search Tool”
Gun Violence Archive (GVA), “Mass Shootings Reports”

Mass Shooting Definition:

SafeWise uses the GVA definition of a mass shooting: “If four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not involving the shooter, that incident is categorized as a mass shooting based purely on that numerical threshold.”