The 20 Safest Cities in Washington—2017

Rebecca Edwards May 22, 2017

Cities across Washington are coming together to create inclusive communities that embrace all citizens of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. These initiatives work to establish communities “without boundaries where people take care of each other regardless of their differences.”

Taking care of one another is something we believe helped Washington’s twenty safest cities minimize crime, as reported in the FBI’s 2015 crime report. Our number-one city, Mattawa, is home to helpful citizens and a proactive law enforcement community.

“I’m very blessed to be in the city of Mattawa at this time in its history,” former Chief of Police, John A. Turley, said. “I was with the sheriff’s office when we were [dealing with a lot of] gang-related issues. I came out of retirement to hopefully do what is now happening in the city.” Chief Turley retired from this post in September 2016, and the city’s stellar safety record is a testament to his commitment.

Mattawa captured our top spot thanks to reporting just four total violent crimes and only twenty-three property crimes on the FBI crime report. In addition, 90% of the cities on our list reported fewer than fifteen violent crimes, and 75% claimed fewer than 200 property crimes overall.

Across the nation, Washington comes in seventeenth for violent crimes and forty-seventh for property crime. However, all twenty cities on our list have property crime rates that are well below the national average—and, in fact, each city’s property crime rate is lower than any state’s.

Find out below if your Washington city is one of the safest in the state this year. You can help your town climb the list by educating yourself on community safety programs and crime prevention resources compiled in our comprehensive Washington Safety Directory.

How We Chose the Safest Cities in Washington

To identify the safest cities in Washington, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with 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 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. Mattawa ↑

Previous rank: 3

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.87
Property Crime per 1,000: 4.99

2. Duvall ↑

Previous rank: 6

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.25
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.22

3. Connell ↑

Previous rank: 5

Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.22
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.27

4. Sammamish

Previous rank: 4

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.23
Property Crime per 1,000: 7.49

5. Moxee ↓

Previous rank: 2

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.77
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.97

6. Everson

Previous rank: Not ranked

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crime per 1,000: 8.15

7. Dupont ↓

Previous rank: 1

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.94
Property Crime per 1,000: 7.92

8. Pullman ↑

Previous rank: 15

Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.03
Property Crime per 1,000: 8.58

9. La Center ↓

Previous rank: 7

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.32
Property Crime per 1,000: 9.89

10. Lynden

Previous rank: 10

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.89
Property Crime per 1,000: 10.25

11. Steilacoom ↑

Previous rank: 24

Violent Crime per 1,000: 2.09
Property Crime per 1,000: 9.31

12. West Richland ↑

Previous rank: 23

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.87
Property Crime per 1,000: 10.94

13. Oak Harbor ↑

Previous rank: 25

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.90
Property Crime per 1,000: 11.01

14. Selah ↓

Previous rank: 12

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.13
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.13

15. Black Diamond ↓

Previous rank: 9

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.68
Property Crime per 1,000: 11.64

16. Snoqualmie ↓

Previous rank: 13

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.23
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.63

17. Brier ↓

Previous rank: 11

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.31
Property Crime per 1,000: 13.19

18. Bainbridge Island ↑

Previous rank: 19

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.43
Property Crime per 1,000: 13.58

19. Orting ↑

Previous rank: 47

Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.49
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.57

20. Kenmore ↓

Previous rank: 17

Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.63
Property Crime per 1,000: 14.57

Didn’t see your city rank in the top 20?

Check the remaining cities below, and take a look at the most recent FBI crime data here.

21. Camas	22. Clyde Hill	23. Liberty Lake
24. Ridgefield	25. Montesano	26. Maple Valley
27. Pacific	28. Zillah	29. Prosser
30. Grandview	31. Buckley	32. Kirkland
33. Mill Creek	34. Colville	35. Mercer Island
36. Normandy Park	37. Lake Forest Park	38. Algona
39. Washougal	40. Newcastle	41. Medina
42. Pasco	43. Lake Stevens	44. Edgewood
45. Battle Ground	46. Sultan	47. Ferndale
48. Bonney Lake	49. University Place	50. Cheney
51. Shoreline	52. Ocean Shores	53. Stanwood
54. Sunnyside	55. Richland	56. Fircrest
57. Granger	58. Edmonds	59. Mukilteo
60. Enumclaw	61. Mountlake Terrace	62. Bothell
63. Kennewick	64. Redmond	65. Forks
66. Issaquah	67. Port Townsend	68. East Wenatchee
69. Anacortes	70. Ellensburg	71. Bellevue
72. College Place	73. Des Moines	74. Milton
75. Hoquiam	76. Woodinville	77. Blaine
78. Wenatchee	79. Vancouver	80. North Bend
81. Poulsbo	82. Covington	83. Lacey
84. Marysville	85. Sedro Woolley	86. Othello
87. Woodland	88. Mount Vernon	89. Tumwater
90. Monroe	91. Snohomish	92. Bremerton
93. Arlington	94. Ephrata	95. Olympia
96. Wapato	97. Bellingham	98. Kent
99. Burien	100. Lakewood

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.

If you would like to contact a SafeWise Safest Cities Analyst, please email safestcities@safewise.com.