Ranked: America’s 15 Safest Cities, According To A New Report (2024)

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Searching for the safest cities in the United States? With crime on the rise, MoneyGeek—a personal finance technology company—has issued its annual report on the safest cities in America. The report, which analyzes FBI crime data alongside the economic costs associated with crime, offers a comprehensive look at urban safety, examining not only the safest cities in the country, but also the most unsafe cities.

“Cities are ever changing, and having the most recent information at hand for an area informs people of where places are safer and allows them to understand how different communities respond to varying levels of crime over time,” Anja Solum, data journalism manager at MoneyGeek, told me in an interview.

In addition to serving as a guide for people looking to relocate or travel, Solum says that the report also provides a resource for local governments looking to implement effective crime reduction strategies.

The report also shows where crime is headed. According to MoneyGeek, the cost of crime per capita in U.S. cities is on the rise. It went up to $2,221 in 2022 (the most recent year of available data)—which represents a 20% increase over 2021. Violent crime costs communities more than $2,000 per capita, while property crime costs an average of $198.

The Safest Cities in the U.S.: Methodology

To determine the safest cities in the U.S., MoneyGeek created two lists, based on population. It evaluated 302 locations with populations over 100,000, and it also looked at large cities with populations over 300,000.

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MoneyGeek then analyzed the FBI’s crime statistics for 2022 (the most recent year of available data), including violent crimes such as murder, rape and aggravated assault, as well as property crimes such as home burglary and motor vehicle theft.

By integrating these figures with academic research on crime’s societal costs, MoneyGeek established a per capita cost of crime for each city, which reflects both the frequency and severity of crimes. “This metric goes beyond basic crime rates, offering insights into the real-world effects of crime,” says Solum. “It helps in understanding the overall safety of a city.”

MoneyGeek then ranked the cities using this combination of crime rates with the economic impact of these crimes on communities. Unlike other lists that just look at crime rates alone, this methodology provides a more accurate picture of safety by considering the broader implications of crime. It also levels the playing field because the cost of crime per capita demonstrates the severity of the crimes happening, since murders and high-level assaults have higher costs than larceny or simple theft.

Another benefit of this analysis: “The cost of crime makes the impact of crimes in an area more tangible, and understanding the differences between different cities, especially as it relates to population size,” says Solum. “Estimating the cost to society of individual crimes is essential to the economic evaluation of many social programs, such as substance abuse treatment and community policing.”

Determining The Safest Cities in The U.S.

This year, Thousand Oaks, California—a city in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles—tops the list as the safest city in America. Thousand Oaks has the lowest crime cost of cities with a population over 100,000, at $241 per capita. The report suggests that a combination of strong community policing strategies and effective social programs has contributed to this ranking. “Thousand Oak, California’s violent and property crime rates dropped this year, which had a tremendous impact on its ranking,” says Solum. “Violent crime, especially, has a larger societal impact in terms of cost, so decreases in that category can have a steeper impact.”

Following closely on the list are Fishers, Indiana (at $296 per capita) and Pembroke Pines, Florida (at $322), ranking them in the top three for low crime costs nationwide.

MoneyGeek also ranked the safest large cities, looking at places with populations over 300,000. Irvine, California, leads this list, with a crime cost per capita of $364, making it not only the No. 1 safest large city but also the No. 6 safest city overall. It is followed by Henderson, Nevada (at $673 per capita), and Virginia Beach, Virginia (at $773).

In its report, MoneyGeek also ranks the 15 least safe cities in America—determined by the places with populations over 100,000 with the highest per-capita crime rate. Birmingham, Alabama leads the list with the highest crime cost at $11,392 per capita, followed by New Orleans (at $11,094 per capita) and St. Louis, Missouri (at $11,055). “When you compare the factors to the societal cost of crime, Birmingham, Alabama, ranks as the most dangerous city in America,” says Solum. “The violent and property crime rates for the city, given its size (a population of just under 200,000), are quite high. A handful of places have higher crime rates, but they’re also substantially larger (in terms of population).”

So are larger cities safer or more dangerous? According to MoneyGeek’s analysis, only one larger city (population of 300,000 or more) made the top 10 overall safest list, but 10 out of the 15 most dangerous cities were large cities. “However, safer urban living can be found in some large cities,” writes Deb Gordon, the author of the report.

Why is this list useful for travelers? “Travelers exploring new areas can use this crime analysis to better understand a city’s or adjacent city’s safety,” says Solum. “For instance, two California cities (San Francisco and Oakland) are roughly 25 minutes apart by car. However, the violent crime rate in the latter is more than double that of the former despite Oakland’s population being nearly half that of San Francisco.”

Read on to see the lists of the safest cities in the U.S. and the safest large cities. You can find the list of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. in MoneyGeek’s full report, which also offers other detailed findings.

Ranked: 15 Safest Cities in the U.S. (with a population over 100,000)

The figure next to each city reflects the per-capita crime rate.

Thousand Oaks, California ($241)
Fishers, Indiana ($296)
Pembroke Pines, Florida ($322)
Pearland, Texas ($328)
Gilbert, Arizona ($356)
Irvine, California ($364)
Coral Springs, Florida ($375)
Naperville, Illinois ($402)
Simi Valley, California ($404)
Carmel, Indiana ($405)
Surprise, Arizona ($418)
Plano, Texas ($420)
Elk Grove, California ($427)
McKinney, Texas ($437)
Temecula, California ($461)

Ranked: 15 Safest Large Cities in the U.S. (with a population over 300,000)