Washington’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

According to our most recent State of Safety report, people in Washington worry more about crime and safety on a daily basis than most of America, but they're less likely to experience crimes first-hand. 

Meanwhile, official FBI data confirms that crime rates are down across the state. This trend is also evident in Washington's 10 safest cities, many of which have seen impressive decreases in crime over the last couple of years.  

The violent crime rate in Washington is 4.35 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, Washington reported a higher violent crime rate of 4.7.

Property crime in The Evergreen State also decreased in recent years, falling slightly from 35.6 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 35.48 incidents in this year's report. Still, that's higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89 and is the third highest property crime rate in the country.

Washingtonians who took our State of Safety survey report a higher confidence level than the year before. About 50% say they feel safe in the state, up from 42%.

In our 2025 report, Washington residents were the most likely to experience package theft nationwide, with nearly half of our participants indicating they'd personally experienced this issue in the 8 months prior to our survey. In this year's report, Washingtonians saw a dramatic decline in their property crime and package theft experiences, and they're now less likely to experience them compared to the average American. 

• 19% said they personally experienced a property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 35% from the last two years (US 21%).  
• Concern about property crime fell year over year from 60% to 49% (US 46%).
• 27% of Washington residents said they experienced a package theft in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 48% the year before (US 31%). 
• Concern about package theft fell from 58% to 46% year over year (US 44%). 
• Washington residents prefer to protect their property with security cameras (48%), security systems (31%), and guard dogs (27%).

Washingtonians saw a decline in violent crime experiences year over year, and they're now less likely to experience violent crime than the average American. Gun violence experiences also decreased. Washingtonians worry about both issues equally.

• 9% said they personally experienced a violent crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 14% the year before (US 12%).
• Concern about violent crime fell slightly from 60% to 59% year over year (US 55%).
• 32% of Washingtonians use some form of personal protection. 
• Washington residents prefer to protect themselves with pepper spray (44%), firearms (38%), and pocket knives (34%).
• Washingtonians are more likely to use stun devices, keychain weapons, personal safety apps, and alarms or whistles than the average American. 

• 8% said they experienced gun violence first-hand in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 11% the year before (US 9%).
• Concern about gun violence fell slightly from 60% to 59% year over year (US 55%).
• Washington experienced 7 mass shooting events in 2025, up from 6 in 2024.

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.

• 82 cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Sedro-Woolley is this year's safest city in Washington.
• Property crime has decreased for the last three years in a row in Sedro-Woolley, resulting in a total decrease of 72%. The city's violent crime rate has decreased by 85% over the last two years.
• Sedro-Woolley is the only city to report no aggravated assaults. 
• Snoqualmie's property crime rate fell by 56% over the last two years and is back to about the same level as in the 2022 reporting year (11.8).
• Over the last two years, Sammamish's property crime rate declined by 41%, Camas and Battle Ground's declined by 37%, and Lake Stevens's declined by 35%.
• 60% of Washington's safest cities saw year-over-year decreases in violent crime.
• 1 murder was reported in Washington's safest cities. It happened in Kenmore.
• Sedro-Woolley reported zero aggravated assaults.
• All of Washington's safest cities reported 1 or more rapes. 

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