Franklin #2 in Safest City Survey

Alan Earls Editor

This year, research for NeighborhoodScout’s Safest Cities in America list showed significant shifts in rankings across the nation. Notable improvements include Oswego, IL, jumping from a ranking of 86 to 12; Wakefield, MA, moving from 47 to 18; and Brandon, MS, shifting from 83 to 30. There were also a few cities that dropped in ranking, including Hutto, TX, moving from a ranking of 10 to 88; Cheshire, CT, changing from 14 to 68; and Rahway, NJ, falling from 32 to 85.

List regular Franklin, MA was replaced by Ridgefield, CT as the Safest City in America after a two-year run. With only seven violent crimes and 42 property crimes, Ridgefield has an overall crime rate of 1.9 per 1,000 population and is considered safer than 92% of U.S. cities. Interestingly, cities located in Massachusetts dominated the list this year, a total of 26 which includes Franklin, and were sprinkled in rank across the list, most of which are close to the hub of Boston. One city of note is Marshfield, with a violent crime rate of 1.01 per 1,000 population and is safer than 86% of U.S. cities.

As a reminder, our research reveals the 100 safest cities in America with 25,000 or more people, based on the total number of property and violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. Data used for this research are 1) the number of total crimes reported to the FBI to have occurred in each city, and 2) the population of each city. Based on the latest national data available at the time of publication, representing calendar year 2021 and released in October 2022, this report reveals interesting patterns about safety from crime in America.

Areas with a township form of government are eligible for the safest cities list for the fist time in 2023. Qualifying townships must have their own police departments, at least 25,000 population and a unique name recognized by the US Postal Service. Safest townships appearing on the list include: Montclair, NJ (# 86); Commerce Township, MI (# 38); West Bloomfield, MI (# 22); and White Lake, MI (# 15).

For more information, see our FAQ on how we rank the safest cities in America.

Click on any city in the list below to see a full crime report and neighborhood crime map.