The city you reside in should truly feel like your sanctuary: a place where you can freely go about your daily activities with an assurance of safety.
This can be a bit tricky sometimes, particularly in some of the largest cities in the country.
Some are safer than others, of course, and a new study from SmartAsset tried to determine which of the country’s major cities is the safest.
To determine this, SmartAsset evaluated 50 of the largest cities across the nation according to their population, taking into account various factors such as violent crime rates, property crime rates, vehicular death rates, and several other indicators.
Topping the list is San Jose, California, located on the West Coast. Scoring within the top 10 for every studied metric, San Jose boasted the third-lowest incidence of violent crimes in the nation relative to its population, as well as the fifth-lowest rate of property crimes.
Located five hours south of San Jose, Los Angeles emerged as the second safest city nationwide, mirroring similar crime statistics and notably showcasing a much lower traffic death rate (measured per 100,000 people) compared to San Jose.
Additionally, three Texas cities made their mark in the top 10 rankings: Fort Worth at number 3, Arlington at number 7, and El Paso at number 8. These cities reported lower percentages of adults engaging in excessive drinking compared to their top 10 counterparts, with the exception of San Jose, which also reported a lower percentage.
Here’s how the top 25 safest cities shook out on SmartAsset’s rankings.
- San Jose, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Fort Worth, TX
- Omaha, NE
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Arlington, TX
- El Paso, TX
- Charlotte, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Long Beach, CA
- Miami, FL
- San Diego, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Sacramento, CA
- Atlanta, GA
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Dallas, TX
- Boston, MA
- Tucson, AZ
- Mesa, AZ
- Seattle, WA
- Tulsa, OK
- Houston, TX
- New York, NY
Conversely, Memphis, Tennessee, was identified as the most dangerous large city in the U.S. Right before Memphis, Albuquerque was designated the second most dangerous city, followed by Detroit as the third.
To see the full rankings and stats, check out SmartAsset’s study on their website.
