The 20 Safest Cities in Missouri—2017

Whether you’re drawn to a small-town vibe or feel right at home in a big city, Missouri has a place for you. And there’s plenty to do, like explore any one of the state’s eighty-seven parks and historic sites or take part in numerous cultural celebrations. One more thing we love about the Show-Me State? Its safety record. Missouri boasts plenty of safe cities, and we’re honoring the top twenty.

All crime is worrisome, but violent crime is especially disconcerting. With that in mind, we were pleasantly surprised that all but three of the cities on our list reported fewer than ten crimes of this type. What’s more, Ballwin—with over 30,000 residents—cited only nine violent crimes, and Portageville reported none. In all, the twenty safest cities in Missouri cited one murder and just twenty robberies. Considering a violent crime occurs approximately every twenty-six seconds in the United States, it’s fair to say these cities earned their prestigious designation as the safest in the state.

Along with violent crime, many people are also concerned about property crime. Burglary is one of the most-feared crimes of this type, but thankfully, it isn’t much of a problem among the cities on our list. In fact, 75% of these cities reported fewer than twenty break-ins. Equally impressive is the fact that only four cities reported any incidents of arson.
Our featured communities are certainly committed to safety, but Missouri as a whole has a lot to brag about, too—including its progressive initiatives to combat human trafficking. These regulations are the first of their kind in the nation, and we applaud the leaders and residents of Missouri for adopting stringent laws to fight this serious crime.

Review our list to find out which Missouri cities are the safest. Then help lessen crime in your community by referring to our Missouri Safety Directory for safety resources, home security information, and a map of the state’s most and least burglarized counties.

How We Chose the Safest Cities in Missouri

To identify the 20 safest cities in Missouri, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 3,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.
From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To further level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.

Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.

1. Greenwood ↑

Previous rank: 5

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.08 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.79

2. Cottleville  ↔

Previous rank: 2

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.73
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.39

3. Bonne Terre ↓

Previous rank: 1

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.43
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.66

4. Ballwin ↓

Previous rank: 3

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.29
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.03

5. Portageville ↓

Previous rank: 4

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.61

6. Holts Summit ↑

Previous rank: 8

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.95
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.69

7. Savannah ↑

Previous rank: 11

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.58
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.17

8. Smithville ↑

Previous rank: 12

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.54
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.59

9. Kearney ↑

Previous rank: 19

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.06
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.08

10. Pleasant Valley ↑

Previous rank: 24

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.32
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.39

11. Webster Groves ↑

Previous rank: 14

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.99
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.94

12. Vandalia ↑

Previous rank: 73

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.95
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.49

13. Pleasant Hill ↑

Previous rank: 18

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.36
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.47

14. O’Fallon ↑

Previous rank: 20

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.65
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.96

15. Higginsville ↑

Previous rank: 23

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.43
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.71

16. Wright City ↑

Previous rank: 34

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.44
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.37

17. Town and Country ↓

Previous rank: 13

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.27
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.54

18. Ladue ↑

Previous rank: 22

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.47
Property Crimes per 1,000: 13.50

19. Waynesville ↑

Previous rank: 51

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.64 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.41

20. Willard ↑

Previous rank: 31

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.36 
Property Crimes per 1,000: 14.19

How Safe is Your Home?

Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. 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 the home security options available to you, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems of 2018 or select the city nearest you in the drop down menu below.