The 20 Safest Cities in New York—2017

New York ranks second in the nation for the lowest rate of property crime among the states SafeWise profiles for safest cities. The Empire State comes in at twenty-seven for violent crime, but it’s still below the national average. Overall, major crimes in the state hit a record low in 2016, falling 20% over the past decade. In that ten-year period, New York’s property crime rate plunged a whopping 23% and the violent crime rate dropped by 9%.

The state’s good news doesn’t stop there. Our twenty safest cities reported only eighty-one violent crimes altogether, as noted in current FBI crime data. The top city, Lewisboro, claims the number-one spot again and had just one crime reported in 2015, a larceny-theft. While 75% of the safest cities reported no incidents of rape, a full 65% had no counts of either rape or murder. Twelve of the communities we’ve highlighted were robbery-free, and only three cities reported two or more robberies.

None of these safe cities experienced more than 157 property crimes, and sixteen held the total number of incidents under eighty. Arson was absent in sixteen cities, and 65% reported fewer than ten burglaries. Motor vehicle thefts were limited, with seven cities reporting zero incidents and 85% reporting three or fewer.

Read on to find out if your New York city is one of the safest in the state. If you’re not happy with your city’s ranking or simply want to find out what more you can do to help your town stay safe, refer to our New York Safety Directory. You’ll find comprehensive resources about general safety, crime prevention, and home security.

How We Chose the Safest Cities in New York

To identify the twenty safest cities in New York, we reviewed the 2015 FBI crime report statistics and population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 2,000 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 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. Lewisboro Town ↔

Previous rank: 1

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.08

2. Highlands Town ↑

Previous rank: 4

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.36
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.45

3. Kirkland Town ↑

Previous rank: 35

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 2.51

4. Malverne Village ↓

Previous rank: 2

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 2.91

5. Rye ↑

Previous rank: 6

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.06
Property Crimes per 1,000: 2.99

6. New Castle Town

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.11
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.16

7. Kent Town ↑

Previous rank: 17

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.15
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.44

8. Croton-on-Hudson Village ↑

Previous rank: 13

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.48
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.26

9. Floral Park Village ↓

Previous rank: 5

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.19
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.69

10. Waterford Town and Village ↑

Previous rank: 22

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.36
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.60

11. Briarcliff Manor Village ↓

Previous rank: 3

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.99

12. Harrison Town ↓

Previous rank: 9

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.14
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.92

13. Sleepy Hollow Village ↑

Previous rank: 16

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.78
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.30

14. Cornwall Town ↓

Previous rank: 10

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.53
Property Crimes per 1,000: 3.68

15. Bedford Town ↑

Previous rank: 23 

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.22
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.490

16. Carmel Town ↑

Previous rank: 19 

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.20
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.56

17. North Castle Town ↓

Previous rank: 12

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.32
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.79

18. Stony Point Town ↑

Previous rank: 27

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.45
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.95

19. Tarrytown Village ↑

Previous rank: 32

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.78
Property Crimes per 1,000: 4.74

20. Glen Cove ↓

Previous rank: 7

Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.55
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.07

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.