City safety — or lack thereof — can lead to great disparity in quality of life and return on dollars invested by residents, businesses and government alike. With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked 50 of the largest U.S. cities — including Chicago, which ranked 38th — to determine the safest based on violent crime, property crime, vehicular deaths, drug overdose deaths and excessive drinking. Access to safety data can help Americans weigh the tradeoffs between locations, lifestyles and opportunities when considering where to take a job, buy a home, raise a family or retire.
Key Findings
- San Jose, California, is the safest major city. San Jose ranked among the top 10 for every safety metric considered. Relative to its adult population, San Jose had the third-fewest violent crimes (5,185 total) and fifth-fewest property crimes (25,715). It had the fourth-lowest rate of drug overdose deaths at 17 per 100,000 people, and ranked ninth-best both for fewest vehicular deaths (7 per 100,000 people) and excessive drinking (17.8% of adults).
- Three Texas cities are among the top 10 safest. Fort Worth, Arlington, and El Paso ranked third, seventh and eighth, respectively. Fort Worth and Arlington residents have a similar cost of living, with monthly housing costs at roughly $1,450 compared to a median income of around $75,000. El Paso is less expensive with monthly housing averaging $1,044, even when compared to the lower median income of $58,734.
- San Francisco ranks 37th safest despite having the second-highest housing costs. Despite their close proximity, similar cost of living and intermingled economies, safety statistics in San Francisco look very different than those in San Jose. San Francisco does maintain particularly low rates of violent crime (5,712) and vehicular deaths, but performed poorly when it comes to property crimes (45,322 total), drug overdose deaths (63 per 100,000 people), and excessive drinking (24.7% of adults).
- Washington, D.C. ranked 40th safest out of 50 cities. The nation’s capital had the second-highest rate of drug overdose deaths of major cities at 64 per 100,000 residents. For property crime, D.C. sits in the middle of the pack with a rate of 4.2 property crimes per year per 100 adults, or 28,229 total crimes in one year. When it comes to violent crime, D.C. ranked 12th-best accounting for its size, with 7,112 violent crimes reported in all. D.C. did have one of the lowest rates of fatal car accidents, however.
- Chicago ranked 38th safest of 50 cities. Across the 50 largest cities, Chicago had the fourth-worst violent crime rate, with an estimated 3.2 people per 100 experiencing a violent crime each year (86,506 total crimes reported). Property crime was also worse than average, with an estimated 6.1 incidents per 100 adults (163,211 total). Excessive drinking was another problem area, with 21.5% of adults qualifying.
Weighing the numbers
Chicago’s rankings:
- Violent crime per capita: 0.0325
- Violent crimes reported: 86,506
- Property crime per capita: 0.0613
- Property crimes reported: 163,211
- Traffic deaths per 100,000 people: 7.7
- Drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people: 39.2
- Percentage of adults reporting excessive drinking: 21.49%
- Median monthly housing costs: $1,502
- Median household income: $75,134
The city’s traffic-related death rate (7.7 per 100,000 residents) remains well below the national average, and public-health indicators such as excessive drinking (21.5%) are consistent with other large metropolitan areas.
At the same time, Chicago’s median household income ($75,134) and median monthly housing cost ($1,502) reflect a market that, while expensive relative to other Midwest cities, remains more accessible than many coastal metros.
