How Safe Is Your Hometown?

How Safe Is Your Hometown?

Where are the safest places in the U.S.? Maybe not where you’d think.

The FBI says the Northeast — New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the six New England states — actually has the lowest crime rates per capita, followed by the Midwest and the South. Crime rates are highest in the West — the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain states, plus Alaska and Hawaii.

Of course, some of this is because of the big differences within each region. Maine and New Hampshire are the safest states in the nation, but there have already been more than 200 murders this year in New York City. Idaho is the nation’s third-safest state, but is counted in the high-crime West.

What about the size of your city? The FBI says the rate of violent crime in mid-size cities (population 250,000-500,000) has been almost flat over the past decade. But in both big cities as well as towns with fewer than 100,000 people, it’s up by about 12%.

  • The most dangerous cities per capita for homicide: Detroit, Memphis, and Milwaukee.
  • Memphis and Milwaukee are also two of the top three cities for armed robbery, with Houston the third.
  • The safest big cities: San Diego, El Paso, and San Jose.

How do you feel about crime rates where you live? Let us know by taking our poll.

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