Nebraska’s 5 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.

In our latest State of Safety survey, less than half of Nebraskans (38%) said they worried about their safety, which is less than the average American (50%). This may be because there was a decrease in Nebraska's violent crime rate, while the state's property crime rate went down for the fourth year in a row. The Cornhusker State's top five safest cities reported lower crime rates than the state at large.

Nebraska's violent crime rate was dramatically lower than last year, decreasing from 3.3 per 1,000 people to 2.5. The property crime rate had an equally impressive decrease year-over-year from 19.1 per 1,000 to 15.5.

Nebraska comes in under US averages for violent crime and property crime.

Nebraskans feel very safe in their home state compared to most Americans—even though they reported more personal experience with violent crime than last year's survey. Overall, 42% of respondents in The Cornhusker State said they were worried about violent crime.

• 64% of Nebraska residents reported feeling safe in their state compared to 50% of Americans.
• 15% of Nebraskans reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the last 12 months—up 150% from last year.
• Murder is an uncommon violent crime in The Cornhusker State, making up less than 1% of violent crimes.
• 35% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—slightly lower than the US average (39%).
• 38% of Nebraska residents say their personal safety has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 44% of Americans.

• 44% of those surveyed named gun violence a safety concern (US 47%). That's up 63% from the year before.
• 10% of Nebraskans reported having an experience with gun violence (US 12%), a 900% increase from the year before.
• Nebraska experienced 5 mass shootings in the 2023 reporting year, up 400% from the year before.
• Concealed guns are the most popular form of protection in the state (37%).

While Nebraskans told us they experienced more property crime year over year, the state's property crime rate greatly dropped. This discrepancy is likely because not all crimes get officially reported. 

• 42% of residents say they are concerned about property crime (US 50%).
• More Nebraskans (19%) reported personal experiences with property crime this reporting year compared to last year (17%).
• Larceny-theft is the most common of all property crimes in The Cornhusker State. There were more than 24,000 reported in the state.
• 22% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the last 12 months, putting Nebraska below the US average of 34%.
• 27% of people in Nebraska use no form of property protection. This is close to the 24% national average.
• The second top form of property protection in Nebraska this year was security cameras with 27% of survey respondents using them. This is a lower adoption rate than the national average of 38%. Firearms came in first with 29%. 
• 20% of Nebraskans say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the security of their property—this is noticeably higher than the US average of 28%.

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.

• Every safest city reported fewer than 1.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.
• Every safest city reported fewer than 11.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
• The top 11 cities reported zero murders.
• Nebraska’s safest city, Schuyler, is new to the list and reported zero murders, motor vehicle thefts, and robberies.
• Columbus is new to the list and lands in fourth place.

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
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• 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.