Safest Cities in America 2024
Complete rankings based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. We analyzed violent crime rates for 333 US cities with 100,000+ residents to determine the safest places to live.
Key Insights
- →The safest large cities have violent crime rates under 100 per 100K — less than a third of the national average.
- →Texas suburbs dominate the safest list: Sugar Land, Frisco, League City, Allen, and McKinney all appear in the top 20.
- →Irvine, CA proves that large cities (316K) can be among the safest — its rate of 84 per 100K rivals small suburbs.
- →The gap between safest and most dangerous is staggering: you're 38x more likely to be a violent crime victim in Memphis than in Carmel, IN.
Key Findings
What Makes a City Safe?
Safety is measured by the FBI's violent crime rate — the number of violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) per 100,000 residents. The national average in 2024 was 359.1. Cities well below this threshold are considered among the safest in America.
Many of the safest cities share common characteristics: strong local economies, high median household incomes, well-funded police departments, and suburban or planned community layouts. Cities in the Midwest and Northeast tend to dominate the safest-cities rankings.
Top 50 Safest Large Cities (100K+ Population)
| Rank | City | State | Violent Rate | Murder Rate | Property Rate | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel | Indiana | 66.0 | 0.0 | 812.7 | 103,107 |
| 2 | Cary | North Carolina | 71.0 | 1.6 | 1317.4 | 181,793 |
| 3 | Fishers | Indiana | 72.9 | 0.9 | 658.6 | 105,680 |
| 4 | Ramapo Town | New York | 75.4 | 0.9 | 630.1 | 110,136 |
| 5 | Sugar Land | Texas | 78.0 | 0.9 | 1383.7 | 107,757 |
| 6 | Naperville | Illinois | 83.7 | 0.7 | 883.6 | 150,521 |
| 7 | Irvine | California | 84.0 | 1.6 | 1389.7 | 316,764 |
| 8 | Virginia Beach | Virginia | 92.3 | 2.9 | 1639.9 | 455,155 |
| 9 | Pearland | Texas | 95.9 | 2.3 | 1440.1 | 128,322 |
| 10 | Port St. Lucie | Florida | 99.0 | 2.0 | 749.0 | 245,394 |
| 11 | Frisco | Texas | 100.9 | 1.3 | 1002.7 | 232,961 |
| 12 | Thousand Oaks | California | 102.2 | 2.5 | 1020.7 | 122,363 |
| 13 | League City | Texas | 103.5 | 3.4 | 1160.2 | 116,881 |
| 14 | Amherst Town | New York | 103.8 | 0.0 | 2058.1 | 126,184 |
| 15 | Allen | Texas | 106.4 | 0.0 | 878.3 | 113,737 |
| 16 | Surprise | Arizona | 109.1 | 7.3 | 875.6 | 163,202 |
| 17 | McKinney | Texas | 117.3 | 2.7 | 815.5 | 219,132 |
| 18 | Pembroke Pines | Florida | 118.9 | 2.3 | 1419.6 | 175,757 |
| 19 | Cape Coral | Florida | 127.8 | 0.5 | 1067.7 | 199,503 |
| 20 | Simi Valley | California | 129.1 | 2.4 | 923.8 | 124,707 |
| 21 | Round Rock | Texas | 130.7 | 1.5 | 1940.7 | 133,868 |
| 22 | Gilbert | Arizona | 132.2 | 0.4 | 968.2 | 277,527 |
| 23 | Chandler | Arizona | 133.4 | 0.7 | 1504.4 | 281,117 |
| 24 | Toms River Township | New Jersey | 134.3 | 1.0 | 1120.4 | 102,734 |
| 25 | Coral Springs | Florida | 136.9 | 3.0 | 1093.5 | 135,157 |
| 26 | Carrollton | Texas | 137.1 | 0.8 | 1315.6 | 133,471 |
| 27 | Bellevue | Washington | 138.6 | 0.7 | 3339.5 | 151,520 |
| 28 | Sandy Springs | Georgia | 139.2 | 0.9 | 1460.5 | 105,580 |
| 29 | Richardson | Texas | 146.7 | 1.7 | 1833.6 | 117,962 |
| 30 | Meridian | Idaho | 146.8 | 0.7 | 571.4 | 140,353 |
| 31 | Lee's Summit | Missouri | 149.4 | 0.9 | 2294.1 | 105,053 |
| 32 | McAllen | Texas | 150.0 | 2.7 | 1835.6 | 148,017 |
| 33 | Lakewood Township | New Jersey | 150.5 | 1.4 | 584.6 | 144,876 |
| 34 | Temecula | California | 151.5 | 0.0 | 1679.3 | 110,880 |
| 35 | Plano | Texas | 151.6 | 1.0 | 1466.4 | 291,463 |
| 36 | Scottsdale | Arizona | 152.5 | 0.4 | 1875.3 | 245,237 |
| 37 | Rochester | Minnesota | 154.0 | 4.1 | 1368.4 | 122,694 |
| 38 | New Braunfels | Texas | 156.4 | 1.7 | 1283.5 | 118,268 |
| 39 | Stamford | Connecticut | 157.5 | 0.7 | 1225.1 | 136,483 |
| 40 | Concord | North Carolina | 159.0 | 5.4 | 1105.2 | 111,922 |
| 41 | Santa Clarita | California | 165.4 | 0.9 | 1176.7 | 221,303 |
| 42 | Buckeye | Arizona | 166.8 | 2.6 | 771.1 | 114,513 |
| 43 | Bend | Oregon | 168.5 | 2.8 | 1362.0 | 106,241 |
| 44 | College Station | Texas | 170.5 | 2.4 | 1102.6 | 126,702 |
| 45 | Miramar | Florida | 171.0 | 2.9 | 1082.9 | 138,613 |
| 46 | Boca Raton | Florida | 171.0 | 2.0 | 1676.7 | 100,557 |
| 47 | Centennial | Colorado | 172.8 | 0.0 | 1708.7 | 106,454 |
| 48 | Edison Township | New Jersey | 175.1 | 0.9 | 1876.5 | 109,086 |
| 49 | Santa Clara | California | 182.0 | 1.5 | 2501.9 | 131,901 |
| 50 | Goodyear | Arizona | 182.2 | 0.0 | 1462.9 | 116,892 |
Safest Mid-Size Cities (25K–100K Population)
| Rank | City | State | Violent Rate | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merrimack | New Hampshire | 0.0 | 29,650 |
| 2 | Westport | Connecticut | 3.6 | 27,606 |
| 3 | Randolph Township | New Jersey | 3.7 | 27,159 |
| 4 | Harrison Town | New York | 6.3 | 31,718 |
| 5 | Greenwich | Connecticut | 9.4 | 63,651 |
| 6 | Bernards Township | New Jersey | 10.4 | 28,921 |
| 7 | Cranberry Township | Pennsylvania | 11.4 | 34,970 |
| 8 | Muskego | Wisconsin | 11.8 | 25,389 |
| 9 | Monroe Township, Middlesex County | New Jersey | 12.1 | 49,652 |
| 10 | Columbus | Indiana | 13.5 | 51,867 |
| 11 | Cheshire | Connecticut | 13.6 | 29,399 |
| 12 | Genoa Township | Ohio | 14.2 | 28,085 |
| 13 | Middletown Township | Pennsylvania | 15.4 | 45,516 |
| 14 | East Hampton Town | New York | 15.5 | 25,765 |
| 15 | Simsbury | Connecticut | 15.9 | 25,108 |
| 16 | Westfield | New Jersey | 16.1 | 31,111 |
| 17 | Westtown-East Goshen Regional | Pennsylvania | 16.9 | 29,610 |
| 18 | Northbrook | Illinois | 17.9 | 33,610 |
| 19 | Newtown | Connecticut | 17.9 | 27,890 |
| 20 | Wallingford | Connecticut | 18.4 | 43,561 |
| 21 | Moscow | Idaho | 18.7 | 26,684 |
| 22 | Avon Lake | Ohio | 19.1 | 26,167 |
| 23 | Raritan Township | New Jersey | 20.0 | 25,018 |
| 24 | Northampton Township | Pennsylvania | 20.1 | 39,879 |
| 25 | Upper Macungie Township | Pennsylvania | 20.6 | 29,196 |
| 26 | Zionsville | Indiana | 21.1 | 33,121 |
| 27 | Buffalo Grove | Illinois | 21.3 | 42,283 |
| 28 | Haverford Township | Pennsylvania | 21.8 | 50,544 |
| 29 | Peachtree City | Georgia | 22.0 | 40,820 |
| 30 | Farmington | Connecticut | 22.3 | 26,852 |
How We Calculate Safety Rankings
Our rankings are based on the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data, specifically the violent crime rate per 100,000 residents. This includes four categories of violent crime: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
We focus on per-capita rates rather than raw numbers because a large city with more total crimes may actually be safer per resident than a smaller city. Only cities with reliable reporting data are included in our rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest city in America?
Based on 2024 FBI data, Carmel, Indiana has the lowest violent crime rate among cities with 100,000+ residents, at just 66.0 per 100,000 people.
What violent crime rate is considered safe?
The national average violent crime rate in 2024 was 359.1 per 100,000. Cities below 200 are generally considered very safe, while cities below 100 are exceptionally safe.
Are suburban cities safer than urban cities?
Generally yes. Many of the safest cities on this list are suburban communities near major metro areas. However, some mid-size cities and even some larger urban areas also rank among the safest.
Demographic Context
Safety varies significantly across demographic groups. While these cities have the lowest overall crime rates, national data shows that victimization is not equally distributed — Black Americans face homicide rates 6-8x higher than white Americans nationally.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2024 Offenses Known to Law Enforcement. Rates per 100,000 residents. The FBI cautions against using crime data to rank or compare communities due to varying factors.