Minnesota’s Safest Cities of 2024

Alina Bradford
Mar 18, 2024
Icon Time To Read3 min read
SafeWise is pleased to release the 10th annual Safest Cities report.

Here are the 10 Safest Cities in Minnesota for 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In our most recent State of Safety survey, residents of Minnesota (43%) were less likely to worry about their safety on a daily basis than most Americans (47%). This makes sense since Minnesota’s crime rates fall below the national rates for both property crime and violent crime.

All of Minnesota's 20 safest cities reported violent crime and property crime rates well below the state average.

In this report

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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 2022.

2024 Minnesota crime rates

Image: SafeWise

Minnesota's violent crime rate rose from 3.2 incidents per 1,000 people to 3.4, while property crime decreased from 20.6 per 1,000 to 19.9.

Even with the increase in Minnesota's violent crime rate this year, the state remained below the national average (4.0), coming in as the fifteenth lowest state for per capita violent crime. Its property crime rate is 4% lower than the national rate of 20.7 incidents per 1,000 people.

Property crime in Minnesota: Fear vs. reality

This is the second consecutive year where property crime has gone down statewide. Even so, the state is ranked twentieth highest in property crime.

  • Minnesotans reported more personal experiences with property crime this year (28%)—17% higher than last year.
  • 41% of survey respondents reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey (US 35%).
  • 37% of respondents said they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey.
  • 29% of Minnesotans surveyed say they don't use any form of property protection (US 25%).
  • The top form of property protection in Minnesota this year is security cameras with 39% using them (US 39%).

What security measures do Minnesotan use most?

Security measures used most in Minnesota: security cameras, guard dogs, firearms.

Image: SafeWise


Compare the best home security systems


What crimes are Minnesota residents concerned about most?

Image: SafeWise

Violent crime in Minnesota: Fear vs. reality

A slight rise in Minnesota's violent crime rate this year reflects that more than four in 10 survey respondents (41%) don't feel safe in the state. This growing unease is out of step with a decrease in personal experiences with violent crime and gun violence compared to the last reporting year.

  • 41% of Minnesota residents report feeling safe in their state compared to 45% of Americans.
  • 12% of survey participants reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to our survey—7 percentage points lower than the previous year, and the tenth-lowest in the US.
  • Although this is the fourth consecutive year the violent crime rate has risen, Minnesota still has the fifteenth lowest violent crime rate in the nation.
  • 29% of respondents use some form of personal protection—lower than the national average of 36%.
  • Pocket knives are the most-used form of personal protection, followed by pepper spray.

Attitudes about gun violence in Minnesota

Overall, gun violence is a bigger concern for The North Star State than the year before with a 27% increase in gun violence worries. Fortunately, fewer survey respondents reported a personal experience with gun violence this year (12%) compared to last year's report (16%).

  • 56% of Minnesotans said they were concerned about gun violence—lower than the US average of 51%.
  • There were 12 mass shootings in Minnesota in 2023, matching the two previous years.
  • 31% of respondents use a concealed firearm for personal protection and 23% use a firearm to protect their home.

A closer look at the safest cities in Minnesota

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.

  • 142 cities qualified for ranking this year.
  • 5 of the top 20 safest cities are new to our list this year: Goodview, Elko New Market, Lonsdale, Bayport, and St. Charles.
  • No city reported more than 1 violent crime per 1,000 residents.
  • Montevideo held on to the #1 spot for the second consecutive year.
  • Goodview and New Ulm join Montevideo with zero violent crimes reported in the reporting year.
  • Belle Plaine made a big move on this year's report, jumping 38 spots to round out the top 20.
  • Every safest city reported fewer than 8 property crimes per 1,000 people.
  • 5 cities saw zero burglaries: Montevideo, Goodview, Elko New Market, Bayport, and Hibbing.

The 20 safest cities in Minnesota

Image: SafeWise

Geographic location of Montevideo, MN
#1
Montevideo
(
-0-
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    5,180
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.0, 0.4, 0.8
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.0, 3.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#2
Goodview
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    4,137
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.0, N/A, 1.2
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.5, N/A, 13.6
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
New Ulm, Minnesota map
#3
New Ulm
(
+15
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    14,067
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.0, 0.5, 0.7
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    1.6, 9.6, 9.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Elko New Market, Minnesota
#4
Elko New Market
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    4,995
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.2, N/A, 0.0
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    3.0, N/A, 4.5
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
La Crescent, Minnesota
#5
La Crescent
(
+2
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    5,222
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.0, 0.8
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    1.9, 8.8, 16.3
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Corcoran, MN map
#6
Corcoran
(
-4
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    7,295
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.3, 0.1, 0.0
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    3.4, 5.5, 3.6
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#7
Lonsdale
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    4,908
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, N/A, 0.5
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    2.6, N/A, 8.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Big Lake, Minnesota
#8
Big Lake
(
-4
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    12,625
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.6, 0.4, 1.1
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    2.6, 4.9, 4.1
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Bayport, Minnesota
#9
Bayport
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    3,912
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.5, N/A, 0.3
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    4.1, N/A, 7.1
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
St. Joseph, MN map
#10
St. Joseph
(
+4
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    6,937
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.6, 0.3
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    4.9, 5.8, 8.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Dayton, MN map
#11
Dayton
(
-5
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    9,078
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.2, 0.5, 0.4
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.5, 4.9, 7.3
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Medina, Minnesota map
#12
Medina
(
-0-
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    6,753
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.1, 0.7
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    5.0, 9.2, 10.8
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
South Lake Minnetonka, MN map
#13
South Lake Minnetonka
(
+2
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    12,391
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.3, 0.6, 0.6
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.1, 6.3, 6.7
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#14
Buffalo
(
-1
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    16,531
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.1, 0.4, 0.7
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    7.5, 7.7, 13.7
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Rosemount, Minnesota
#15
Rosemount
(
+5
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    27,503
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.5, 1.0, 0.3
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    5.9, 6.9, 6.8
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Minnetrista, Minnesota map
#16
Minnetrista
(
-5
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    10,959
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.3, 0.6
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.8, 8.0, 4.6
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
West Hennepin, MN map
#17
West Hennepin
(
-14
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    5,311
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.4, 0.2, 0.0
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.8, 5.9, 8.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#18
Hibbing
(
-13
Down
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    15,980
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.3, 0.3, 1.3
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    7.8, 6.2, 12.2
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
St. Charles, Illinois
#19
St. Charles
(
New
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    4,001
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.7, N/A, 0.5
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    5.5, N/A, 9.8
  • Info
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Belle Plaine, Minnesota
#20
Belle Plaine
(
+18
Up
)
  • Circle Population
    Population
    7,440
  • Circle Gun
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.7, 1.4, 1.1
  • Circle Property
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.6, 10.6, 7.2
  • Info
    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

Over 6 in 10 Americans surveyed don't have a home security system, despite over 50% of all burglaries being residential. Unfortunately, a majority of people who have a security system added it after they had a break-in. One of the best ways to stop a burglary before it happens—and get immediate help if a break-in is detected—is to add a monitored home security system.

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Find out which companies we recommend for every budget and lifestyle in our roundup of the Best Home Security Systems—and learn the basics with our guide on Everything You Need to Know About Home Security

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Best professional home securityNo *
Most trusted security brandYes
Best customer ratingNo *
Best DIY home securityNo

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Find the safest cities in each state

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Endnotes and sources

Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

  • 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
    • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
  • 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.

For over 11 years, SafeWise experts have conducted independent research and testing to create unbiased, human reviews. Learn how we test and review.

Alina Bradford
Written by
Alina is a safety and security expert that has contributed her insights to CNET, CBS, Digital Trends, MTV, Top Ten Reviews, and many others. Her goal is to make safety and security gadgets less mystifying one article at a time. In the early 2000s, Alina worked as a volunteer firefighter, earning her first responder certification and paving the way to her current career. Her activities aren’t nearly as dangerous today. Her hobbies include fixing up her 100-year-old house, doing artsy stuff, and going to the lake with her family.

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