Safest Cities 2008
-
Mel Evans, AP
America's Safest Cities
The results of CQ Press's 15th annual Safest City Award rankings are in -- and a new city has taken the top spot.
The report ranks 397 American cities in six different crime areas -- murder, rape, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. The end result of these rankings were used to compile our list of the safest cities in America. Countdown the 25 safest and see if your town makes the list.
First Up: No. 25-24 SafestMore From WalletPop:
-
Cranston (Victoria Arocho, AP)
No. 25: Cranston, RI
Cranston's crime rate is 62% below the national average.
No. 24: Canton Township, MI
Canton Township is 62.97% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 23-21More From WalletPop:
-
Gilbert (Matt York, AP)
No. 23: Gilbert, AZ
Gilbert's crime rate is 64.3% below the national average.
No. 22: Missouri City, TX
Missouri City is 64.79% below the national crime rate average.
No. 21: Troy, MI
Troy is 65.97% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 20More From WalletPop:
-
Orem (Douglas C. Pizac, AP)
No. 20: Orem, UT
Orem's crime rate is 66.25% below the national average.
Next: No. 19More From WalletPop:
-
Round Rock (Matt Slocum, AP)
No. 19: Round Rock, TX
Round Rock's crime rate is 67.25% below the national average.
Next: No. 18More From WalletPop:
-
Thousand Oaks (Danny Moloshok, Getty Images)
No. 18: Thousand Oaks, CA
Thousand Oaks' crime rate is 67.39% below the national average.
Next: No. 17-16More From WalletPop:
-
Sugar Land (Steve Campbell, AP)
No. 17: Sugar Land, TX
Sugar Land's crime rate is 68.64% below the national average.
No. 16: Frisco, TX
Frisco is 69.31% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 15More From WalletPop:
-
Cary, NC
No. 15: Cary, NC
Cary's crime rate is 70.38% below the national average.
Next: No. 14More From WalletPop:
-
Toms River Township (Mel Evans, AP)
No. 14: Toms River Township, NJ
Toms River Township's crime rate is 70.73% below the national average.
Next: No. 13More From WalletPop:
-
Chino Hills (Damian Dovarganes, AP)
No. 13: Chino Hills, CA
Chino Hills' crime rate is 70.84% below the national average.
Next: No. 12More From WalletPop:
-
AFP/Getty Images
No. 12: Lake Forest, CA
Lake Forest's crime rate is 71.86% below the national average.
Next: No. 11-8More From WalletPop:
-
Irvine (Orange County Register/MCT)
No. 11: Irvine, CA
Irvine's crime rate is 71.99% below the national average.
No. 10: Colonie, NY
Colonie is 73.88% below the national crime rate average.
No. 9: Allen, TX
Allen is 74.72% below the national crime rate average.
No. 8: Greece, NY
Greece is 74.95% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 7-5More From WalletPop:
-
Amherst (David Duprey, AP)
No. 7: Amherst, NY
Amherst's crime rate is 75.49% below the national average.
No. 6: Clarkstown, NY
Clarkstown is 78.51% below the national crime rate average.
No. 5: Brick Township, NJ
Brick Township is 79.65% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 4-3More From WalletPop:
-
O'Fallon (AP)
No. 4: Newton, MA
Newton's crime rate is 81.28% below the national average.
No. 3: O'Fallon, MO
O'Fallon is 82.05% below the national crime rate average.
Next: No. 2More From WalletPop:
-
Mission Viejo (Orange County Register | MCT)
No. 2: Mission Viejo, CA
A year ago Mission Viejo was the safest city in America. This year it still ranks in the top 5 percent of all six categories and has no reason to feel bad about being the second safest city in the country.
Next: The Safest City in AmericaMore From WalletPop:
-
Town of Ramapo
No. 1: Ramapo, NY
Ramapo's crime rate is 89.18% below the national average. Ramapo had the fewest burglaries, the second fewest motor vehicle thefts, and also ranked in the top 10 for fewest robberies. In all, Ramapo had only 688 incidents of reported crime over the past year.
Next: Most Dangerous Cities in U.S.More From WalletPop:
-
More on WalletPop.com:
Most Dangerous Cities
You've seen the safest cities, now check out the 15 most dangerous cities in America. CQ Press's 15th annual crime report ranks over 300 American cities in six different areas -- murder, rape, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. Detroit topped the list last year -- see which city is most dangerous this year.
Start New Gallery:
Most Dangerous CitiesMore on WalletPop.com:
Mortgages
- Foreclosures
- Loans
- Home Equity Loans
- Real Estate
- Real Estate Blog Posts
- Refinancing
- Mortgage Calculators
- Mortgage Confidential Blog Posts
PERSONAL FINANCE
- Bargains
- Banking
- Budgets
- Calculators
- College Finance
- Community
- Credit
- Debt
- Economizer
- Fraud
- Insurance
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Recalls
- Recession
- Retirement
- Saving
- Simplification
- Specials
- Taxes
FROM THE BLOG
- Ask WalletPop
- Consumer Complaints
- Daily Deal
- Fantastic Freebies
- Kids and Money
- Relationships
- Ripoffs and Scams
- Sex Sells
- Simplification
- The Dolans
INVESTING
- Stock Quotes
- Stock Charts
- Stock Ticker
- Portfolio
- Stock Screener
- Broker Center
- Mutual Fund Center
- ETF Center
- Money
- 24/7 Wall St.
- Financial Glossary
SMALL BUSINESS
Our Most Popular Features
Recent Comments
BMPorter15 12:43:37 PM Mar 23 2009
How about MA where do they fall into play?? they are pretty safe. And why is all the crime in the dirty south?
asi845 12:22:50 PM Mar 23 2009
Ramapo. Safe. SIKE. We have a lot of crimes up there because of Spring Valley n the schools. Clarkstown should be number one because all of the goody goodies go there.
Ahogtyed 10:45:12 AM Dec 25 2008
Those cities are most likely predominantly WHITE cities . Race based? Damn right, it's the truth. Face it. admit it. Look around you and look at the news- 85 % of crime is committed by 13% of the population. FACTS ARE FACTS.
jacksmom14 09:04:28 AM Dec 25 2008
Ramapo? They've got to be kidding! With Spring Valley the largest village in the town of Ramapo, it's a hotbed of crime among the residents. Now, Clarkstown, which is #6, is right next to Ramapo. The only reason it's lower on the list is the monstrosity called the Palisade Center Mall which draws all kinds of people from the NYC area for shoplifting and other larceny. That skews the report, as it isn't actually crimes against the residents. Overall, the residents in Clarkstown are actually safer than the residents of Ramapo.You should also take into account that these two areas are townships, not cities. They are comprised of smaller incorporated villages or hamlets. There's still a bit of rural area in both. They are both primarily suburban bedroom communities to NYC.
Bjw555 08:35:12 PM Nov 29 2008
Come on people, the top 10 safest largest cities are as follows: Number One: San Jose with 30% HispanicNumber Two: El Paso with 76% Hispanic (white minority)Number Three: Honolulu with 4.4% HispanicNumber Four: Austin with 30.5% HispanicNumber Five: New York with 27% HispanicNumber Six: Louisville with 1.9% HispanicNumber Seven: San Diego with 25.4% HispanicNumber Eight: San Antonio with 58% Hispanic (largest City W/Hispanic Maj.)Number Nine: San Francisco with 14% HispanicNumber Ten:Ft Worth with 29.8% Hispanic So re-do your thinking!Per statetats
queenalo6 01:40:47 PM Nov 29 2008
Honestly I just want to break it down to DJOMIDOMO as to why so many cities with blacks or hispanics as majorities rank so high in crime. It's because of white flight. White people see a couple minorities families move in and assume "there goes the neighborhood" so they leave en masse. The property value weakens more minorities move in because they can afford the area now. Usually those minorities don't purchase the land but the rent instead. Education and many other important parts of city depend on property taxes. Well, in a city of renters then the schools go untended along with everything else. So in fact those cities suffer from racism. The vicious cycle continues with every city and also the lack of education. Racism too stems from a lack of education.
Cbjm29 06:03:10 AM Nov 28 2008
Compare the photos of the safest with the worst "cities" in America. The photos of the safest cities have happy, middle class caucasians exercising in nearly every photo. now look at the worst cities (photos). Not sure if the editors of these lists have done this on purpose to stir the pot or not. I know there are many African-Americans in Round Rock (I live in the school district and help in an elementary school).
Pottspanz 02:05:32 PM Nov 27 2008
What's funny is that #3 O'Fallon, MO is where the MySpace mom Lori Drew lives. Her neighborhood is listed as Dardenne Prairie now because that little town decided to seperate themselves from the bigger city of O'Fallon and form their own zip code. All in all, it's one in the same. It really is a nice place to live.
MHRedding 12:28:35 PM Nov 27 2008
As i said, get a grip and try to not make every article race based.
Acts of Money Kindness
Do You Have a Story?
What is the nicest money-related thing someone has ever done for you?
Regifting Gone Wrong
Oops! Did you try to regift something only to realize after the fact that you gave it back to the giver? Or did you accidentally leave the original name tag on it?
Mortgage Basics
How familiar are you with the mortgage process? Mortgage terms? Mortgage fees and costs? Learn about them all here.
- Types of Mortgage Loans
- How Much House Can You Afford?
- Obtaining Preapproval for Mortgages
- Should You Rent or Buy a Home?
- Save Money on Mortgages
- Improve the Value of Your Home
- Mortgages From the Blog
The $64,000 question: Could you live in an 800-square foot home?
Everyone likes a little room to stretch out at home, but with the new homes that KB Home is selling, that may be a little difficult. As new homeowners look to find a mortgage that fits their budget,...
Isn't it time to just ban ARM loans outright?
On Monday, Freddie Mac reported that 97% of prime borrowers who refinanced adjustable-rate mortgages in the fourth quarter opted to switch into fixed-rate loans. Of borrowers who were refinancing...
Photographer Annie Leibovitz, overexposed, is forced to sell her life's work
Famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz is broke. The woman who shot John Lennon on the same day that Mark David Chapman did, the one who has done portraits of everyone from Queen Elizabeth to a...
Stimulus money: SF has fewest homes that qualify for Obama rescue
The San Francisco Bay Area has the fewest homeowners in the country who are eligible for the refinancing included in President Obama's housing rescue package, according to a San Francisco Chronicle...