100 Safest Cities in the U.S.

Despite FBI reports that crime across the US is declining, many Americans still feel that crime is on the rise. In fact, only 16% of our State of Survey respondents agree that crime is decreasing—and only about half (52%) said they felt safe in their home state in 2025.

But plenty of cities remain relatively immune to crime trends and headlines that often plague America’s larger metro areas. The 100 cities and towns that made our list this year reported drastically lower per-capita crime rates than nationwide averages, collectively coming in at 0.2 incidents per 1,000 people (on average) for violent crime and a collective average of 2.2 incidents per 1,000 for property crime.

Comparatively, the US violent crime rate, as calculated by our data analyst, is 4.43 incidents per 1,000 people, while the property crime rate is 22.89 incidents per 1,000.

Curious about cities in your state? Check out the safest cities in every state report.

See if your city made the full list.

• Crime rates
• Interesting findings
• The Safest Cities
• Methodology
• How to make a safe home anywhere
• How other cities compare
• How other states compare

Crime rates and other statistics give us one way to measure "safety" across cities, but this data only scratches the surface. Safety can't be reduced to numbers alone, which don't account for factors like how secure people feel in their communities, access to resources, and the underlying social and economic conditions that influence crime and safety.

One of the biggest challenges in ranking safe cities is that we rely on self-reported FBI crime data, which only captures certain aspects of public safety. It doesn't reflect issues like racial and economic disparities or even the impact of sudden policy changes — like deportations, or shifts in law enforcement priorities — that can make communities feel more or less safe.

This ranking of the 100 safest cities in the U.S. relies on self-reported crime data from law enforcement agencies across the country. It's the most comprehensive dataset, covering the most cities and towns, but it uses only one dimension of safety. Our intention is to get people thinking about safety, jump-start conversations, and inspire action in big and small cities, regardless of their per capita crime rates.

Jump to our tips to better evaluate safety in your community and help make a difference.

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.

While there’s no one thing that indicates if a city will report higher or lower numbers of crimes, we’ve noticed some things that stand out about the 100 cities on our list. Here’s a rundown of some of the most interesting factors we’ve uncovered during our analysis.

Crime insights 

• The violent crime rate among the safest cities is 0.2 incidents per 1,000 people—that’s about 96% lower than the national rate of 4.43.
• The property crime rate among the safest cities is 2.2 incidents per 1,000—that’s 90% lower than the national rate of 22.89.
• Only 1 city reported 10 or more total violent crimes, and 18 reported zero.
• 83% of the cities reported fewer than 50 total property crimes. 
• 96% of the cities had no murders reported, including the two largest cities on the list: Columbus, Indiana, and Hampden Township, Pennsylvania.
• 14 cities reported zero burglaries, and only 1 saw more than 40.
• 13 of the 100 safest cities are the number one safest city in their state: CT, IL, IN, IA, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, and UT.

Demographic insights 

• Shawangunk, NY is the safest city in the U.S. for 2026.
• New Jersey leads the way with 17 cities making the list, the most of any state.
• 21 states are represented, 4 fewer than last year.
• The average population of the safest cities is 13,995—showing that safety isn’t limited to just small towns.
• Eldridge, Iowa, is the smallest city on the list, with a population of 6,886.
• Columbus, Indiana, is the largest city on the list, with 51,867 residents—significantly larger than most other cities in the top 100.

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

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.

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