What if we told you the safest city in the country also produced the atomic bomb and American country and gospel quartet the Oak Ridge Boys? Believe it!
Each year, we look forward to the list of the safest and most dangerous cities in the United States, determined by neighborhood search engine and data provider NeighborhoodScout. To determine the lists, NeighborhoodScout drew on FBI data on the number of property and violent crimes (e.g., burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, murder, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault).
The current safest city in the country, Oak Ridge, TN, beat the competition with a remarkably low crime rate: Just 1 in 4,186 people hanging out in the town falls victim to a crime per year. Last year there were just seven crimes total.
Hmm, but is it too sleepy to have any interest at all?
“Within that area there are some of the most amazing features: lakes, mountains, hiking, biking, science museums, locally owned eateries, and some of the kindest people you will ever have the pleasure to meet,” says Julia Hurley, a Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty in the Oak Ridge area. It’s also host to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest Department of Energy laboratory for science and energy.
The other cities that made the cut are a mix of towns that you may have heard of only if you live in the state. Take a look at the top 10 safest cities—and see if your hometown is among them.
The 10 safest cities in the U.S.
Oak Ridge, TN
Shoreview, MN
Ridgefield, CT
Franklin, MA
Zionsville, IN
Bergenfield, NJ
Lake in the Hills, IL
Lexington, MA
Bartlett, IL
Reading, MA
With the exception of Oak Ridge (although it is close to Knoxville, with its state university), these are small cities that lie within reach of larger metropolises: Minneapolis, New York City, Boston, Indianapolis, and Chicago. This was also a common thread among the cities on last year’s list.
“The same trend continues to play out across the country,” explained Andrew Schiller, CEO of NeighborhoodScout, in a statement. “These safe commuter towns … have residents who can afford access to opportunity. An easy commute to high-paying jobs in the city, combined with decent schools and quality of life in the suburbs, increases home values and lowers crime.”
The 10 most dangerous cities in the U.S.
East St. Louis, IL
Monroe, LA
Alexandria, LA
Camden, NJ
Wilmington, DE
St. Louis, MO
Bessemer, AL
Detroit, MI
Birmingham, AL
Memphis, TN
Last year’s most dangerous city, East St. Louis, IL, sits at the top of the 2017 list as well, with an unnervingly high crime rate of 1 in 16. In the U.S., 97% of cities are safer than East St. Louis, and within Illinois, 99% of communities have a lower crime rate.
One of the contributing factors is the number of murders: NeighborhoodScout’s analysis shows that East St. Louis experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation.
For the full top 100 lists, click here for the safest cities and here for the most dangerous cities, and see how the lists changed from last year.
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