Last Updated: 12/21/2021 Show
Advertising & Editorial Disclosure quality verified Quality Verified On This Page Featured Experts Safety has taken on new significance in 2021, amid record infections and deaths from COVID-19. Despite progress overall, crime still impacts America’s communities. Crime and safety are intertwined with prosperity, income and economic opportunity. Crime is costly to individual victims, perpetrators, communities and society at large. MoneyGeek analyzed the most recent crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to estimate the cost of crime in nearly 300 cities across the United States. Key Findings:
The Safest Cities in AmericaWe ranked 297 cities with populations over 100,000 people from most to least safe in this analysis. The following summaries show the safest cities overall, the safest large cities, and the most dangerous cities from the analysis and their total and per capita cost of crime. The full data set including the city's population, cost of crime and crime rates by type of crime are included at the end of this study. There's an ongoing stereotype that larger cities are more dangerous. While no larger cities (population of 300,000 or more) made the overall safest list, fewer than half of the 15 least-safe cities in the U.S. were large cities. 20 Safest Cities in AmericaScroll for more 15 Safest Large CitiesScroll for more 15 Most Dangerous CitiesScroll for more Mass ShootingsMass shootings are a particular scourge on American life. According to Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as any single incident in which four or more people are shot, there were 611 mass shootings in 2020 and 676 as of December 2021. Mass shooting events are included in the safest and most dangerous cities rankings. Though they are relatively rare, we did not adjust our rankings for these events. The emotional impact of mass shootings is incalculable, traumatizing families and entire communities. To quantify the economic impact, MoneyGeek calculated the total cost of mass shootings in 2019 to be $6 billion, which is about 3% of the total cost of crime in the approximately 300 cities analyzed. Scroll for more How the Cost of Crime Changed from 2019 to 2020The year 2020 was marked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide lockdowns and mass protests resulting in high profile, violent crimes. Amidst these events, the cost of crime increased by an average of 15% from 2019–2020. To assess the way crime costs changed from 2019–2020 in the 297 cities included in our analysis, MoneyGeek calculated percentage decreases or increases in crime costs for each city and counted the number of cities that fit into various ranges of change. MoneyGeek found that the median change in crime across these cities was 11%. Chicago and Philadelphia had some of the most significant increases in crime among large cities in the U.S., with 29% and 28% increases, respectively. Safety and the Cost of CrimeThe direct economic costs of crime to individuals and society include medical and mental health care needs of victims, damage to and loss of property and police and corrections costs. Aside from the imminent danger of crime, people living in higher crime areas see depressed home values and pay higher prices for crucial needs, including home, renters and auto insurance. To assess the safest cities, MoneyGeek analyzed crime data, including violent crimes such as murder, rape and aggravated assault and property crimes such as home burglary and motor vehicle theft. MoneyGeek calculated each city's cost of crime and ranked the cities based on the cost of crime per capita. Additionally, researchers have quantified how much more violent crimes cost a community than property crimes. While perceptions of safety are vital, crime statistics do not capture any city or community's whole story. "Behind all these averages that people like to cite about the crime rates in different communities are individual people and their decisions about how they choose to engage in their community," says Jesse Bruhn, Annenberg assistant professor of education and economics at Brown University who researches education issues and inner-city gang violence. "There's a lot more heterogeneity in these patterns that we just can't measure." Despite genuine threats, Bruhn says, it may be surprising how safe people can feel in neighborhoods with high crime rates. Expert Panel: The Impact of Crime on CommunitiesThough the relationship between crime rates and poverty levels is well established, experts caution against oversimplifying the relationship between socioeconomic indicators and real or perceived safety in communities. "We live in an unequal society," said Geoffrey T. Dancy, associate professor of political science at Tulane University. "One often overlooked indicator of that inequality is who gets to engage in the politics of safety. Those who are objectively safe often fear crime and act on it in the counterproductive policies they support. Those who are actually victimized by crime and terrorized by gun violence pay the price and are rarely heard."
Jesse Bruhn Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University Angela P. Christiana Massachusetts Chapter Leader, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Geoffrey T. Dancy Associate Professor of Political Science Megan Ranney Emergency Physician and Researcher Leonard A. Sipes, Jr. Owner of CrimeInAmerica.net MethodologyTo rank the safest cities in the United States, MoneyGeek started with standardized crime statistics reported to the FBI. The population of each city was added to the analysis to determine crime rates per 100,000 people, and this information was also accessed via data provided by the FBI. When cities with more than 200,000 people did not have data available in the FBI dataset, MoneyGeek conducted individualized research on standardized crime statistics for each specific city. MoneyGeek relied on research by professors Kathryn McCollister and Michael French of the University of Miami and Hai Fang of the University of Colorado Denver to determine the cost of crime to society. We then integrated their findings into the broader dataset to better understand the societal cost of crime within individual cities. To calculate the change in the cost of crime from 2019 to 2020, MoneyGeek analyzed 2019 FBI crime statistics according to the methodology above and compared them with our 2020 analysis results. Lastly, MoneyGeek used data provided via Wikipedia on the number and nature of mass shootings in the United States in 2020. Full Data Set
About the Author sources
What is the safest place in the USA to live?Rankings for the safest cities to live. Zionsville, IN. Population: 31,702. ... . Boston, MA. Population: 654,776. ... . Naples, FL. Population: 21,750. ... . Glen Cove, NY. Population: 28,131. ... . Santa Clarita, CA. Population: $224,593. ... . Lake in the Hills, IL. Population: 28,945. ... . Glens Falls, NY. Population: 14,722. ... . Ridgefield, CT. Population: 25,011.. What is the 1 safest city in America?First up on our list of the Safest Cities in the US is Frisco, Texas. We begin our list by looking at Frisco, Texas. This city is just north of Dallas and is home to over 200,000 people.
What city has the lowest crime rate in America?Safest Cities in the U.S.. What US state has the lowest crime rate?Washington, DC also had the highest violent crime rate, at 1,000 crimes per 100,000 residents. This was 19% higher than Alaska, the state with the next-highest violent crime rate. Maine had the lowest violent crime rate, at 109 per 100,000 residents.
|