What are the safest big cities in America? A new study ranked American cities with populations greater than 250,000, and the researchers discovered that two of the top five are in Virginia. The state of Tennessee, on the other hand, didn’t fare nearly as well.
Using a composite score based on four metrics — violent crime rate, property crime rate, motor vehicle fatality rate, and catastrophe risk — researchers ranked 83 U.S. cities from safest to least safe.
According to the study conducted by SmartAsset, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is America’s safest big city. On the flip side, Memphis, Tennessee, is the most dangerous big city in the United States.
Virginia Beach received its top ranking due to a modest motor vehicle mortality rate of roughly seven per 100,000 persons, as well as below-average rates of property and violent crime (0.9 and 16.4 per 1,000 residents, respectively). Its high ranking is also supported by its “relatively low” FEMA disaster risk rating, which measures anticipated disaster losses, societal vulnerability, and community resilience.
Meanwhile, a “relatively high” FEMA catastrophe risk rating, along with high rates of crime and motor vehicle fatalities, makes Memphis the lowest ranked on the list.
While Virginia is also home to another top-five safest big city in America, Chesapeake, and Tennessee is home to another one of the 10 least safe big cities, Nashville, the state of Texas also deserves special mention. The rankings include twelve cities in Texas, and the Lone Star State is the only one that has cities in both the 10 safest (Plano and Laredo) and 10 least safe (Dallas and Houston) categories.
California also joined Tennessee at the bottom of the list, with two cities being ranked the most dangerous in America, though they are barely separated by any geography: Oakland and San Francisco.
The 10 safest and 10 most dangerous big cities in America
Overall, the 10 safest big cities in America are as follows: Virginia Beach, Virginia; Plano, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; Honolulu, Hawaii; Chesapeake, Virginia; Laredo, Texas; Lexington, Kentucky; Boston, Massachusetts; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The 10 most dangerous big cities in America, according to the study were: Memphis, Tennessee; Houston, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; San Francisco, California; Kansas City Missouri; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oakland, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Detroit, Michigan.
It is also interesting to note that none of the 10 safest big cities in America were named in a recent study of the best places to live in America. Carmel and Fishers, Indiana, both suburbs of Indianapolis (which ranked 66th on the safest big cities list), were ranked among the best places to live, suggesting that smaller towns can offer both safety and desirability.