The 9 Safest Cities in America

Are you thinking of moving soon or spending some time on a sunny beach for vacation? Below is a list of popular cities, metropolitan areas, and tourist attractions that we think earned their spot among the safest cities in America, relatively speaking. You will find safer cities than the ones mentioned today but we chose to exclude them since they don't exactly fit the bill as being active in town activities, supportive of child rearing, having great infrastructure, or having low unemployment rates. 

The criteria we used to qualify the following cities is based on their population, crime rates, and the margin between the two. A city can have more crime and still be considered safer than cities with a lower number of incidents if they happen to have a relatively large or metropolitan population.

A recurring theme that you'll notice with the crime figures mentioned below is that property crimes are always greater than the number of violent crimes of any given city. But first, let's give a brief rundown of the national average in terms of property and violent crimes in order to have a frame of reference.

The Nation's Violent & Property Crime Rates

According to the latest data collected by the FBI report, it was found that 1,197,704 incidents of violent crime and 7,993,631 property crimes occurred nationwide in 2015. Considering our latest known population figure to be 321.4 million, the nation's total crime rate amounts to 2,487 for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Of those violent crimes committed, 15,696 of them were murders, 90,185 were rapes, 327,374 of them were robberies, and 764,135 of them were aggravated assaults.

Property crimes in 2015 accounted for 1.60 million burglaries, 5.71 million larceny-thefts, 708 thousand motor vehicle thefts, and 41.4 arsons. What resulted from these crimes over a 12-month period was $14.3 billion worth of losses.

Top 9 Safest Popular Cities in America

Moving in descending order of safety, we're going to talk about the top nine safest popular cities in America.

1. Salt Lake City, UT

Known for its beautiful high-elevation scenery, Utah's capital, Salt Lake City sits just west of Grandview Peak whose landscapes will take your breath away, and they're perfect for climbers, hikers, and mountaineers. Luckily for fellow adventurers, the city bordering the Great Salt Lake is one of the safest cities in the country by 95.9%.

2. Irvine, CA

Known for its North Lake in Woodbridge and business complex, Irvine, CA, is surrounded by gorgeous scenery such as that of Laguna Coast's wilderness park and limestone canyon's regional park. In 2015, Irvine had 144 violent crimes and 3,868 property crimes. With a population of 258 thousand, Irvine's total crime rate was 155.4 in 2015 - that makes it safer than 94% of the country.

3. Sunnyvale, CA

Sharing the San Francisco bay with Mountain View, Palo Alto, Newark, and others, Sunnyvale easily earns third place on our list due to its low crime rate (164.9 per 100,000 inhabitants) which is 93.4% lower than the national crime rate. Last year, the 'City of Destiny' saw 158 violent crimes and 2,355 property crimes, having little impact on communities except for a trace.

4. Bellevue, WA

Sitting between Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington, Bellevue, WA makes its way as the fourth safest entry on our list. With 4,331 property crimes and 152 violent crimes, Bellevue has a crime rate of 323.6 for every 100,000 residents. Despite the subsequent 3% increase of residents over the past few years, Bellevue is yet to show a chink in the armor.

5. Honolulu, HI

It's not going to get any more natural and prettier than this. Only in a city like Honolulu could you get an interior plateau of coral reefs surrounding the coastline of rich marine life, surfers, and fun-loving people. The best thing about Hawaii's capital is how densely close everything is to one another without ever feeling congested. The only thing that's potentially risky to the city's inhabitants is the Diamond Head crater threatening a population of nearly 1 million.

With a total crime rate of 335.5 per 100,000, Honolulu sets itself safer than 86.5% of all other cities. 

6. Alexandria, VA

Alexandria is situated west of the Potomac River that is shared by Arlington and Washington D.C. Home to the Torpedo Factory Art Center and The Birchmere's music hall, the Commonwealth city is very safe with relatively few incidents of total crime; 312 violent crimes and 2,854 property crimes, making it 83.4% safer than the rest of the country.

7. Eugene, OR

Located 500 miles east of the Pacific coastline, Eugene has parks, the Day Island, the Lokey Science Complex, many local markets, libraries, and other landmarks and facilities that support a healthy life for a child to grow up in. It's not surprising to see how well it holds up against criminals as it has a total crime rate of 419 per 100,000 residents. 

8. Fort Lauderdale, FL

Running along the Atlantic coastline as Miami, Hollywood, and West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale is as upscale as they get from their apartment buildings and luxury hotels to their seafood restaurants and bars. The Fort Lauderdale Beach Park is a great place for kids to play and families to picnic.

Considering that the population adds up to about 179 thousand, the number of total crimes committed wane in comparison by 609.6 incidents of crime per 100,000 inhabitants, this is great news for relocating families and newlyweds. 

9. Orlando, FL

Home to Walt Disney World, Orlando is a great place for kids to be raised and a major tourist destination in its own right. Orlando, Florida, is tremendously varied in its way and cost of living; depending on the area you wish to reside in, the cost of a home will range between the very expensive and the very reasonable.

Throughout last year, Orlando saw 18,673 crimes - 2,525 of which were violent crimes and 16,148 were property crimes - that makes it 72% safer than the rest of America's cities.