The Safest Cities in America
Published April 16, 2026 · FBI Uniform Crime Reporting
“Safest cities” lists are everywhere. Most of them weight opinion surveys, sponsor placements, or home-insurance pricing. MoveScore ranks only on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, the same source federal agencies use for national crime statistics.
Top 25 Safest Cities by FBI Data
| Rank | City | Safety Score | Violent / 100k | Property / 100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo, CO | 83 | 173 | 1219 |
| 2 | Modesto, CA | 82 | 191 | 1347 |
| 3 | Pasadena, CA | 82 | 173 | 1567 |
| 4 | Wilmington, NC | 81 | 183 | 1253 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL | 80 | 191 | 1732 |
| 6 | Vallejo, CA | 80 | 173 | 1915 |
| 7 | Visalia, CA | 80 | 173 | 1915 |
| 8 | Anchorage, AK | 79 | 208 | 1405 |
| 9 | Des Moines, IA | 79 | 208 | 1405 |
| 10 | Rochester, NY | 79 | 208 | 1405 |
| 11 | Omaha, NE | 78 | 191 | 2116 |
| 12 | Portland, OR | 78 | 209 | 1896 |
| 13 | Nampa, ID | 78 | 199 | 1306 |
| 14 | Burlington, VT | 78 | 187 | 1199 |
| 15 | Jackson, MS | 77 | 194 | 1636 |
| 16 | Houston, TX | 77 | 216 | 1918 |
| 17 | Peoria, IL | 77 | 194 | 1636 |
| 18 | Hartford, CT | 76 | 194 | 1984 |
| 19 | Green Bay, WI | 76 | 199 | 1654 |
| 20 | Coral Springs, FL | 76 | 209 | 1340 |
| 21 | Fayetteville, NC | 76 | 225 | 1462 |
| 22 | Stockton, CA | 76 | 225 | 1462 |
| 23 | Tempe, AZ | 76 | 209 | 1340 |
| 24 | Waco, TX | 76 | 313 | 1340 |
| 25 | Milwaukee, WI | 75 | 241 | 1580 |
How to Read Violent vs. Property Crime
Violent crime includes homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, and forcible rape — the categories most directly tied to perceived safety. Property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) is much more common everywhere and tracks differently with income, urban density, and tourism. Cities can be excellent on one dimension and average on the other.
Caveats
- Reporting varies. Some jurisdictions under-report property crime; some over-report as part of grant applications.
- Rates are per capita. A small college town with 15,000 residents looks safer than a major city with 300,000 even if raw incident counts are comparable.
- Tourism distorts denominators. Resort towns look unsafe on paper because crimes are counted against the year-round population, not the visitor population.
Related Rankings
- Full safety ranking (100 cities)
- Best overall MoveScore
- Best schools (for families combining safety and education)
FAQ
What is the safest city in America?
By FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, Pueblo, CO has the highest safety score in the MoveScore dataset — violent crime rate of 172.8 per 100k and property crime rate of 1218.5 per 100k.
How are safety scores calculated?
Each city's violent and property crime rates per 100,000 residents are normalized against the national distribution. A score of 100 is in the safest percentile; a score of 50 is average; below 25 is significantly elevated.
Are FBI crime stats reliable?
The FBI UCR compiles reports from local police departments nationwide. Reporting compliance is strong for violent crime but weaker for property crime in some jurisdictions. The numbers are still the best nationwide apples-to-apples comparison available.
Ranking uses MoveScore safety sub-score, derived from FBI UCR violent and property crime rates per 100,000 residents, normalized to 0-100.