The 11 Safest Cities In The US

For most Americans, safety is an important factor to consider when deciding where to live. To determine the safest cities in the United States, Quicken Loans used data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates,

the FBI Crime Data Explorer

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and NeighborhoodScout

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to rank 450 cities in four key safety areas. Read on to learn more about the 11 safest cities in the U.S.

1. Lehi, Utah

Several factors helped make Lehi the safest city in the U.S., but two in particular stand out: Lehi has the lowest violent crime rate and the lowest property crime rate in the whole study. Located south of Salt Lake City on the north shore of Utah Lake, Lehi is the only city in Utah to make the list. Economically, Lehi does well, boasting a median household income of $117,243 and an unemployment rate of just 4.4%.

2. Bloomington, Illinois

Located about 68 miles northeast of Illinois’ capital, Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the corporate headquarters for both State Farm Insurance and Country Financial. With a little more than 20 police officers for every 10,000 residents, Bloomington has a higher police per capita rate than Lehi. Also, Bloomington’s property crime and violent crime rates are well below the average of 50.52 violent crimes and 262.89 property crimes per 10,000 people.

3. Johns Creek, Georgia

Northeast of Atlanta, Johns Creek is the only city in Georgia to make our list of the 11 safest cities in the U.S. Johns Creek has the lowest violent crime rate and lowest property crime rate in Georgia. Johns Creek is on the wealthy side, having a median household income of $153,882. Moreover, households earning $200,000 or more make up 33% of all households in Johns Creek.

4. Bryan, Texas

Located about halfway between Houston and Waco, Bryan has the fourth-lowest violent crime rate and the lowest property crime rate in Texas. Texas A&M University is located in adjacent College Station, so it makes sense that education accounts for nearly 29% of employment in Bryan.

5. New Rochelle, New York

New Rochelle is the first New York city to rank on our list of the safest cities in the U.S. The town is northeast of the New York City borough of the Bronx. New Rochelle stands out for having the lowest property crime rate in New York and the state’s lowest violent crime rate.

6. Flower Mound, Texas

On the north shore of Grapevine Lake, northwest of Dallas, Flower Mound is the second of two Texas cities to make our ranking for the 11 safest cities in the U.S. Out of 450 cities analyzed, Flower Mound has the third-lowest rate of violent crimes, with only 4.8 per 10,000 citizens. Its property crime rate is lower than the average, with 79.2 property crimes per 10,000 people compared to the study’s average of 262.89 crimes per 10,000.

7. Naperville, Illinois

Naperville is a western suburb of Chicago. It’s an affluent city with a median household income of $143,754, and households earning $200,000 or more account for one-third of all households. With only 5.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents, Naperville’s rate is the fourth lowest in the study. Naperville is one of two Illinois cities to rank among the top 11 safest cities in the U.S.

8. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Located north of Philadelphia, right next to Allentown, Bethlehem is the #8 safest city in the U.S. Of all the Pennsylvania cities in our study, Bethlehem had the lowest violent crime, with only 8.8 crimes per 10,000 residents. Bethlehem’s property crime rate was also the lowest in the Keystone State. Bethlehem’s unemployment rate of 5.6% is higher than many of the safest cities in the U.S. but only slightly above the national average of 5.3%.

9. Fishers, Indiana

Fishers is the first Indiana city on this list. The northeast suburb of Indianapolis has the lowest property crime rate and the second-lowest violent crime rate in the state. Fishers is economically well off, boasting a median household income of over $126,000 and an unemployment rate of 2.5%, and only 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line.

10. Carmel, Indiana

Bordering Fishers on the west is Carmel, Indiana, which actually has the lower violent crime rate of the two. (Carmel reported 6.6 violent crimes per 10,000 people as opposed to Fishers having 8.1 violent crimes per 10,000 people.) Like Fishers, Carmel is a reasonably affluent suburb, having a median household income of $132,859. Plus Carmel has one of the lowest poverty rates in the country, at 3.6% of all residents, and one of the lowest unemployment rates, at a mere 2.6%.

11. O’Fallon, Missouri

O’Fallon is a large western suburb of St. Louis, and its violent crime and property crime rates are the lowest in Missouri. This city is economically prosperous, having an annual unemployment rate of just 3.1% and a low poverty rate of 4.5%.

Methodology: Finding The Safest Cities In The US

To determine the safest cities in the U.S., Quicken Loans used data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the FBI Crime Data Explorer and NeighborhoodScout. We analyzed 450 cities in terms of four criteria:

Each factor was given a score, with violent and property crime rates weighted by four and police officers per capita weighted by one-half. Scores were added up, and all cities were ranked from best to worst, with 100 being the highest score possible.

The Bottom Line

There is considerable geographic diversity in our list of the top 11 safest cities in the U.S. Five of the 11 cities are in the Midwest, and most of the safest cities in the U.S. have lower-than-average unemployment rates. Although crime rates are central to determining which neighborhood fits your conditions for living there, taking a holistic view is important, too. Factors such as the quality of educational institutions, taxes, traffic, access to entertainment, cultural and recreational activities, and home prices are significant factors that you should consider if you’re looking for a new place to call home.

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