Minnesota’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In our most recent State of Safety survey, residents of Minnesota were less likely to worry about their safety on a daily basis than most Americans, but less than half (47%) feel safe in the state. Minnesotans are less likely to experience property crime, violent crime, and gun violence experiences compared to the average American, but package theft is slightly higher than average in the state.

Meanwhile, Minnesota's 10 safest cities report exceptionally low crime rates, and two saw no violent crime at all in the past year. 

The violent crime rate in Minnesota is 3.18 incidents per 1,000 people, which is lower than the national average of 4.43. We weren't able to report a statewide violent crime rate last year due to insufficient data, but in our 2024 report, Minnesota reported a slightly higher violent crime rate of 3.4.

In contrast, property crime in The North State increased in recent years, rising from 19.9 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 21.62 incidents in this year's report. On the plus side, that's lower than the national property crime rate of 22.89. 

Minnesotans feel a little more safe in their state compared to last year's report, with the confidence level climbing from 44% to 47%. This still falls below the nationwide average of 52%. 

Our data doesn't suggest a clear reason for this lower-than-average confidence level. Minnesotans are among those least likely to worry about crime in general, with just 43% saying they feel concerned about their safety and security on a daily basis. Minnesotans also reported significant drops in first-hand experiences with crime.

In our most recent survey, Minnesotans told us they experienced far less property crime and package theft than the year before, but their level of concern about these crimes hasn't decreased.

• 17% of Minnesotans experienced property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, a significant drop from 30% the year before (US 21%).
• The percentage of Minnesotans who worry about property crime on a daily basis increased from 41% to 46% year over year (US 46%).
• 33% of survey respondents reported experiencing package theft in the 8 months prior to the survey, down considerably from 46% the year before (US 31%).
• The percentage of Minnesotans who worry about package theft remained at 48% year over year (US 44%).
• 30% of respondents said they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey.
• Minnesotans prefer to protect their property with security cameras (47%), guard dogs (36%), and security systems (26%).

In our State of Safety survey, Minnesotans reported a decrease in violent crime experiences and a drop in daily concern about violent crime. 

• 11% of survey participants reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 8 months prior to our survey, down from 14% (US 12%).
• 52% of Minnesotans worry about violent crime on a daily basis, down from 69% the year before (US 55%).
• 23% of respondents use some form of personal protection.
• Minnesotans prefer to protect themselves with pepper spray (61%), firearms (35%), and keychain weapons (30%).

• 5% of Minnesotans said they had experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to our survey, a substantial decrease from 10% the year before (US 9%).
• 58% of Minnesotans said they were concerned about gun violence on a daily basis, up from 51% the previous year (55%).
• Minnesota are less likely to use firearms for personal or property protection than other Americans.
• There were 9 mass shootings in Minnesota in 2025, the same amount as the year before.

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.

• 139 cities qualified for ranking this year.
• Montevideo held on to the #1 spot for the fourth consecutive year, but this year Elko New Market tied for #1. Both cities reported zero property crimes and zero violent crimes.
• Montevideo reported zero violent crimes for three years in a row and zero property crimes for two years in a row.
• No city reported more than 1 violent crime per 1,000 residents.
• Every safest city reported fewer than 7 property crimes per 1,000 people.
• Becker lowered its property crime rate by 64% year over year.
• Dayton decreased its violent crime rate by 60% year over year.
• Becker and Dayton were the only two cities that saw year over year decreases in both property crime and violent crime.
• Most of Minnesota's 10 safest cities are suburbs of the Twin Cities. Montevideo, a small town in southwest Minnesota, is a notable exception.

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