Top 100 Safest Cities in the U.S. (Boston, Springfield: low crime, neighborhoods)

[MikePRU]

just posted their annual list of top 100 safest cities. Five MA cities/towns were listed in the top 20 this year. I'd post a link to the article, but I have a feeling the mods would consider it a competing site and delete the link. Anyway, here's the list so that you don't need a link:

100Mason, OH
99San Clemente, CA
98San Juan Capistrano, CA
97Hoffman Estates, IL
96Elmhurst, IL
95Goleta, CA
94Leawood, KS
93Northbrook, IL
92Milton, MA
91Winter Springs, FL
90Pacifica, CA
89Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
88Upper Arlington, OH
87San Ramon, CA
86Lakeville, MN
85Danville, CA
84Lake Oswego, OR
83Brunswick, OH
82Chino Hills, CA
81Foster City, CA
80Shelton, CT
79Marion, IA
78Holly Springs, NC
77Mission Viejo, CA
76Walnut, CA
75Carol Stream, IL
74West Chicago, IL
73Vernon, CT
72Park Ridge, IL
71Midland, MI
70Kaysville, UT
69Yorba Linda, CA
68Palatine, IL
67Soledad, CA
66North Andover, MA
65Leander, TX
64Keller, TX
63Peachtree City, GA
62Lake Forest, CA
61Spring Hill, TN
60Menomonee Falls, WI
59Melrose, MA
58Mount Prospect, IL
57Hanover Park, IL
56Cupertino, CA
55Germantown, TN
54Dublin, OH
53Weston, FL
52Mundelein, IL
51Plainfield, IL
50Parker, CO
49Fair Lawn, NJ
48Lincoln, CA
47Ballwin, MO
46Shoreview, MN
45Ossining, NY
44Bethel Park, PA
43Moorpark, CA
42Logan, UT
41Westfield, N
J40Temple City, CA
39Milton, GA
38Laguna Niguel, CA
37Lexington, MA
36West Linn, OR
35Buffalo Grove, IL
34Merrimack, NH
33Carmel, IN
32Castle Rock, CO
31Flower Mound, TX
30Brentwood, TN
29Cheshire, CT
28Glastonbury, CT
27Fort Lee, NJ
26Dracut, MA
25Andover, MA
24Aliso Viejo, CA
23Los Altos, CA
22Long Beach, NY
21North Ridgeville, OH
20Friendswood, TX
19Fishers, IN
18Little Elm, TX
17Florence, AZ
16Needham, MA
15Wellesley, MA
14Johns Creek, GA
13Glen Cove, NY
12Rexburg, ID
11Agawam, MA
10Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
9Shrewsbury, MA
8Sammamish, WA
7Saratoga, CA
6Ridgewood, NJ
5Bella Vista, AR
4Bartlett, IL
3Greenwich, CT
2Bergenfield, NJ
1Franklin, MA


As with any "ranking" list, I suggest you take it for what it is: someone else's opinion. Apparently, Lexington has become a pretty rough place to live coming in at #37 on the list.

[pennyone]

Perhaps I am just picking over semantics, but little places like Milton (my hometown), Wellesley and Needham are NOT "cities"...they are little towns with very uniform socio-economic demographics. Hence there is no real point to this ranking.

The only really impressive cities in Massachusetts is Newton, with more than 80,000 people, and still one of the safest cities in all of the US to live. Cambridge, fast gentrifying Somerville, and middle class Quincy round out the top four for Massachusetts in terms of safety for real size cities.

The dinky little towns you have on that list SHOULD be safe...because they are so small and so homogeneous in so many ways. It just means that if you really want safety, go somewhere with absolutely no diversity...that's fine for some, and not so for others. It's also a no-brainer common sense conclusion...kind of like the conclusion that people who do not exercise tends to get flabby.

[miu]

Where's Newton on that list?

[CityLight]

I just gave you a reputation point providing this wonderful information. Thanks for sharing!

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by miu

Where's Newton on that list?

It didn't make the cut on this list. There is a different survey that ranks cities of over 75,000 or something like that, where Newton usually ranks near the top in. No other cities in MA make that top 100 (I think Warwick and maybe Cranston, RI are the only 2 other N.E. cities on there).

This survey is for places over 25,000, which is why you see places like Franklin and Andover ranked. I barely consider Newton a city, and certainly wouldn't call these places cities (while there are places like Chelsea that really are cities despite their smaller size). Population doesn't tell the whole story.

[City Guy997S]

I like these lists but just to point out how varied they can be: Palm Beach County, FL is one of the largest counties in Florida and ranges from Palm Beach Island (Donald Trump, Madoff, Rush Limbaugh etc) to Boca, north to Jupiter and west to small ghetto farm towns like Belle Glade/Pahokee.

My point: Palm Beach County has about 120 murders per year, yet the WHOLE STATE of NH has about 10. PBC is one county in Florida (which happens to be one of the wealthiest) vs. the whole state of NH.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by pennyone

Perhaps I am just picking over semantics, but little places like Milton (my hometown), Wellesley and Needham are NOT "cities"...

I couldn't agree with you more that this list is completely mislabeled. It shouldn't say cities as many of the locations on the list are towns.

Originally Posted by pennyone

they are little towns with very uniform socio-economic demographics. Hence there is no real point to this ranking. The only really impressive cities in Massachusetts is Newton, with more than 80,000 people, and still one of the safest cities in all of the US to live. Cambridge, fast gentrifying Somerville, and middle class Quincy round out the top four for Massachusetts in terms of safety for real size cities.

The dinky little towns you have on that list SHOULD be safe...because they are so small and so homogeneous in so many ways. It just means that if you really want safety, go somewhere with absolutely no diversity...that's fine for some, and not so for others. It's also a no-brainer common sense conclusion...kind of like the conclusion that people who do not exercise tends to get flabby.

I agree with you. It's not hard to make a largely affluent town safe. However, it's not a list of places with the most effective police forces. It's a list of safe places. Does it matter that any of these places are "obvious" choices? Perhaps there are people out in California who wouldn't know Franklin from Quincy who read this list too.

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

I like these lists but just to point out how varied they can be: Palm Beach County, FL is one of the largest counties in Florida and ranges from Palm Beach Island (Donald Trump, Madoff, Rush Limbaugh etc) to Boca, north to Jupiter and west to small ghetto farm towns like Belle Glade/Pahokee.

My point: Palm Beach County has about 120 murders per year, yet the WHOLE STATE of NH has about 10. PBC is one county in Florida (which happens to be one of the wealthiest) vs. the whole state of NH.

Florida is a whole different ball game from Massachusetts. I lived in Miami while I was in college and crime seems to find you there. It doesn't matter where you live.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I couldn't agree with you more that this list is completely mislabeled. It shouldn't say cities as many of the locations on the list are towns.



I agree with you. It's not hard to make a largely affluent town safe. However, it's not a list of places with the most effective police forces. It's a list of safe places. Does it matter that any of these places are "obvious" choices? Perhaps there are people out in California who wouldn't know Franklin from Quincy who read this list too.



Florida is a whole different ball game from Massachusetts. I lived in Miami while I was in college and crime seems to find you there. It doesn't matter where you live.

The whole "city vs. town" phenomenon is only a New England concept. In the rest of the world, the term "city" is meant for any incorporated municipality with a zip code. I mean, Flower Mound, Texas is on the list. Trust me, that's no "city" as New Englanders know it, either. We're comparing apples to apples, so it's fair game game.

[pennyone]

"Trust me, that's no "city" as New Englanders know it, either. We're comparing apples to apples, so it's fair game game"...

Fine, then use a disclaimer like the size of the population so that people can understand the point, or pointlessness of the list. To lump a little place like Franklin with a huge place like Springfield in MA is just pointless. If you want to use that list here on the MA forum, then qualify it.

By the way, what's is so newsworthy about wealthy small suburbs with very homogeneous populations having low crime rates? Any middle school kid can figure this out. Do we seriously need to have a survey group to confirm it? When everyone is similarly educated, cultured and have the same aspiration, there is a "detente" that maintains peace and safety in a small town (and so the shock when something horrific happens n those little places). But you also pay for it with very limited horizon and higher cost of housing. Like I said, it's great for some, and boring for others, or unaffordable for still others. The rising popularity of urban and larger, more diverse neighborhoods these days is testament to a more diverse view. I grew up in Milton, and while the town is close to Boston and far more diverse than most others, it still bored the SH*&^T out of me.

[konfetka]

By the way, what's is so newsworthy about wealthy small suburbs with very homogeneous populations having low crime rates?

But not every small homogeneous town is on the list, and Melrose and North Andover are not that homogeneous or wealthy, so it does give you some information and actually disproves your point.

But I was surprised to see Melrose since I remember at least one gas station robbery and a bank hold up during a year when I lived there, which I thought was due to it being right next to Malden.

It would be nice to see just a Mass list.