20 Cities With the Most Improved Safety Scores in the U.S.

Communities across the U.S. are seeing uneven crime trends — but in some cities, measurable progress stands out. SafeWise analyzed the most recent FBI crime statistics to identify the 20 cities with the largest year-over-year improvements in overall safety scores. Unlike our traditional “safest cities” rankings, this report highlights momentum: places where weighted crime rates declined most significantly compared to the previous reporting year.

Southern cities led the gains, with Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia accounting for nearly half of this year’s top 20. However, improvement was not limited to small towns — Wichita, Kansas, the largest city on the list, recorded a violent crime drop of more than 50%, earning the number two spot overall.

See if your city made the full list.

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.

Each year, SafeWise releases its annual Safest Cities rankings, spotlighting communities with the lowest violent and property crime rates in every state. But low crime is only part of the public safety story.

Improvement provides a different lens. A city may not yet rank among the safest overall, but sustained declines in crime rates can signal meaningful shifts — whether through local prevention efforts, policy changes, economic stabilization, or community engagement.

Year-over-year progress is particularly important because it reflects movement. While static rankings show where crime is lowest at a single point in time, improvement rankings reveal where safety trends are changing most significantly.

To determine this year’s most improved cities, we analyzed FBI crime data covering calendar year 2024 and compared it to the prior reporting year.

Nationally, crime trends remain uneven. Some regions experienced declines in violent crime, while others saw increases in specific property crime categories. That inconsistency makes concentrated improvement especially notable.

Among this year’s top-ranked cities, we observed:

• Double-digit declines in violent crime in several communities
• Significant reductions in aggravated assault and robbery
• Broad drops across burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny-theft
• Multiple cities reporting zero murders in the most recent reporting year

Rather than focusing solely on absolute crime rates, this report highlights cities with the largest upward shifts in their overall safety scores.

This year’s results show clear geographic patterns.

Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia each landed three cities in the top 20, making the Southeast the strongest region for year-over-year safety gains. In many of these cities, improvements were driven by simultaneous declines in both violent and property crime, suggesting broader shifts at the community level rather than isolated category changes.

Midwestern cities also saw notable gains. Wichita, Kansas, stands out as the largest city on the list, demonstrating that meaningful improvement isn't limited to smaller cities and jurisdictions. With nearly 400,000 residents, Wichita’s substantial decline in violent crime significantly improved its overall safety score.

Western representation was more limited, though Fife, Washington, claimed the top spot nationwide after posting significant reductions across multiple crime categories.

Taken together, this year’s data suggests that improvement is happening in concentrated pockets — often in communities that may have previously struggled with higher crime rates and are now seeing measurable gains.

VC= Violent crime, PC=Property crime; Crime rates per 1,000 people

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.

Demographic insights 

• 3,577 U.S. cities qualified for ranking.
• Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia each have three cities in the top 20.
• Las Vegas, New Mexico also landed on our list of the Safest Cities in New Mexico. 
• Home to nearly 400,000 people, Wichita, Kansas is the most populated city on the list. 

Crime insights 

• Waverly, Iowa reported the most significant year-over-year decline in violent crime of the top 20 cities, largely fueled by its 80% decrease in aggravated assault. 
• 3 of the top 20 cities reported zero murders in the 2026 reporting year: Newport, Arkansas; Sikeston, Missouri; and Emeryville, California.
• Las Vegas, New Mexico reported the largest year-over-year decline in rape among the top 20 cities (86% decrease).
• Prichard, Alabama reported the most significant year-over-year decline in robbery among the top 20 cities (65% decrease).
• Among the top 20 cities, Newport, Arkansas reported the largest year-over-year declines in burglary (66% decrease), motor vehicle theft (60% decrease), and larceny-theft (56% decrease). As a result, Newport reported a 59% decrease in property theft overall, the highest percentage among the top 20. 
• Bluefield, West Virginia was the only city in the top 20 to see a year-over-year increase in its property crime rate, largely fueled by a jump in larceny-theft. 
• Waverly, Iowa has the lowest property crime rate and violent crime rate of any city in the top 20.

Whether or not your city ranks high or low for per capita crime rates, there's a lot you can do to get a better grasp on how safe your neck of the woods really is. Stop wondering and start learning with these tips to find out more about what's happening in your neighborhood or city and how you can get involved.

• Take a look outside: Paying attention to your street or neighborhood can tell you a lot. Some things to look for that can make a neighborhood safer include: street lighting, safe walking and biking paths/lanes, access to emergency services, fire hydrants, clean sidewalks, roads, and parks.
• Check out online tools: There are safety apps and websites that offer things like real-time crime data and neighbor-shared concerns. These apps and sites also offer community resources for public safety, emergency responders, community programs and education, and other risks like natural disasters.
• Get involved with your community: Talk to neighbors, go to city council and school board meetings, and keep an eye on local and national policies that can impact your safety. Learn about how budgets (is public safety funded adequately?) and community resources can contribute to or detract from safety trends and security. Join or start neighborhood safety programs to advocate for things like better street lighting, safer sidewalks during winter months, etc.

This ranking is based on the same FBI crime data used in our annual Safest Cities report. We evaluate both violent crime (aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder) and property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft), calculating rates per 1,000 residents to allow for fair comparisons across cities of different sizes.

For the Most Improved Cities list, we analyzed year-over-year changes in those standardized rates and identified the cities that achieved the largest overall increase in their weighted safety scores.

Cities included in the analysis:

• Met minimum population thresholds
• Submitted complete crime data to the FBI
• Qualified under our standardized scoring methodology

Violent and property crimes are weighted equally in our scoring model. Cities are ranked based on the magnitude of their improvement — not by having the lowest crime rate overall.

This distinction is important. A city can rank among the most improved even if it does not yet rank among the safest in its state. What matters here is measurable progress.

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