Community wellbeing ranking · 2026

Safest Cities in America 2026

200 U.S. cities ranked by our Community Wellbeing Score: a composite of health outcomes, economic stability and healthcare access from CDC PLACES, Census and CMS data. It measures community wellbeing, not crime; for crime specifically, see each state's FBI UCR profile.

Data updated 2026-07-18

1,660
Cities evaluated
83.6
Top score (CA)
25K+
Min population
83.6
Highest Score
Cupertino, CA
California
Most Cities in Top 50
18 cities
4.1%
Avg Poverty Rate
Top 50 cities
21.9%
Avg Obesity Rate
Top 50 cities

Safest Cities Ranked Top 200

1 Cupertino, CA
83.6
2 Saratoga, CA
83.5
3 Lexington, MA
82.8
4 Los Altos, CA
82.8
5 McLean, VA
82.5
6 Mercer Island, WA
82.2
7 Sammamish, WA
82.1
8 Foster City, CA
82.1
9 Potomac, MD
81.7
10 Bethesda, MD
81.6
11 Wellesley, MA
81.5
12 Plainview, NY
81.3
13 Newton, MA
81.2
14 Manhattan Beach, CA
81.2
15 Needham, MA
81.2
16 Dublin, CA
81.1
17 Westfield, NJ
81.1
18 Wilmette, IL
81.0
19 Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
80.9
20 San Ramon, CA
80.8
21 Palo Alto, CA
80.8
22 Redmond, WA
80.7
23 Lafayette, CA
80.7
24 Arlington, MA
80.5
25 Issaquah, WA
80.5
26 Leawood, KS
80.4
27 Oakton, VA
80.4
28 Southlake, TX
80.4
29 South Pasadena, CA
80.4
30 Forest Hills, MI
80.4
31 Ridgewood, NJ
80.4
32 Upper Arlington, OH
80.3
33 Dix Hills, NY
80.3
34 Fremont, CA
80.2
35 Ellicott City, MD
80.2
36 Cerritos, CA
80.2
37 Northbrook, IL
80.2
38 Los Gatos, CA
80.2
39 San Carlos, CA
80.2
40 Sunnyvale, CA
80.1
41 Milpitas, CA
80.0
42 Apex, NC
79.9
43 Dublin, OH
79.8
44 Melrose, MA
79.8
45 Wildwood, MO
79.7
46 Bellevue, WA
79.6
47 Highlands Ranch, CO
79.6
48 Pleasanton, CA
79.6
49 Plymouth, MN
79.6
50 Catalina Foothills, AZ
79.6
51 East Honolulu, HI
79.6
52 Lake Oswego, OR
79.6
53 Milton, GA
79.6
54 Princeton, NJ
79.6
55 Chesterfield, MO
79.5
56 Danville, CA
79.5
57 Colleyville, TX
79.5
58 Johns Creek, GA
79.4
59 Edina, MN
79.4
60 West Islip, NY
79.2
61 North Bethesda, MD
79.1
62 Hillsborough, NJ
79.1
63 Park Ridge, IL
79.1
64 Olney, MD
79.1
65 Commack, NY
79.0
66 Kaysville, UT
79.0
67 Milton, MA
79.0
68 Carmel, IN
78.9
69 Brookline, MA
78.9
70 Brentwood, TN
78.9
71 Burke, VA
78.9
72 Mililani Town, HI
78.9
73 Naperville, IL
78.8
74 Elmhurst, IL
78.8
75 Ashburn, VA
78.8
76 El Dorado Hills, CA
78.8
77 Germantown, TN
78.8
78 Harrison, NY
78.8
79 Smithtown, NY
78.8
80 Zionsville, IN
78.8
81 Saratoga Springs, UT
78.8
82 Eden Prairie, MN
78.7
83 Bothell, WA
78.7
84 Highland Park, IL
78.7
85 Kirkland, WA
78.6
86 Menlo Park, CA
78.6
87 Holladay, UT
78.6
88 Chanhassen, MN
78.6
89 Cary, NC
78.5
90 Maple Grove, MN
78.4
91 Redondo Beach, CA
78.4
92 Huntersville, NC
78.4
93 Severna Park, MD
78.4
94 Centennial, CO
78.3
95 Hicksville, NY
78.3
96 Lehi, UT
78.2
97 Arcadia, CA
78.2
98 Minnetonka, MN
78.2
99 Holly Springs, NC
78.2
100 Matthews, NC
78.2
101 Newport Beach, CA
78.1
102 Troy, MI
78.1
103 Novi, MI
78.1
104 Aliso Viejo, CA
78.1
105 Brookfield, WI
78.1
106 Crofton, MD
78.1
107 Vernon Hills, IL
78.1
108 South Jordan, UT
78.0
109 Glenview, IL
78.0
110 Fishers, IN
77.9
111 Linton Hall, VA
77.9
112 Mason, OH
77.9
113 Santa Clara, CA
77.8
114 Yorba Linda, CA
77.8
115 Pearl City, HI
77.8
116 Edmonds, WA
77.8
117 Oceanside, NY
77.8
118 Ballwin, MO
77.8
119 Burlingame, CA
77.8
120 Walnut, CA
77.8
121 Cornelius, NC
77.8
122 Madison, MS
77.8
123 Prior Lake, MN
77.8
124 Parker, CO
77.7
125 Buffalo Grove, IL
77.7
126 Parkland, FL
77.7
127 Syracuse, UT
77.7
128 Belmont, CA
77.7
129 Rochester Hills, MI
77.6
130 Lakeville, MN
77.6
131 Newark, CA
77.6
132 Coppell, TX
77.6
133 Fruit Cove, FL
77.6
134 Maple Valley, WA
77.6
135 Walnut Creek, CA
77.5
136 Keller, TX
77.5
137 Campbell, CA
77.5
138 Pleasant Grove, UT
77.5
139 New City, NY
77.5
140 Ken Caryl, CO
77.5
141 Deer Park, NY
77.5
142 Lafayette, CO
77.5
143 Eagle Mountain, UT
77.5
144 Alpharetta, GA
77.4
145 Wheaton, IL
77.4
146 Oro Valley, AZ
77.4
147 Pacifica, CA
77.4
148 Arlington, VA
77.3
149 Livermore, CA
77.3
150 Reston, VA
77.3
151 Castle Rock, CO
77.3
152 Hoboken, NJ
77.3
153 Woodbury, MN
77.2
154 Parsippany, NJ
77.2
155 Claremont, CA
77.2
156 Poway, CA
77.1
157 Dunwoody, GA
77.1
158 Madison, AL
77.1
159 Westfield, IN
77.1
160 Danvers, MA
77.1
161 Bel Air North, MD
77.0
162 Kirkwood, MO
77.0
163 Shoreview, MN
77.0
164 Frisco, TX
76.9
165 Encinitas, CA
76.9
166 Saint Louis Park, MN
76.9
167 Sewell, NJ
76.9
168 Carlsbad, CA
76.8
169 Alameda, CA
76.8
170 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
76.8
171 Collierville, TN
76.8
172 Bartlett, IL
76.8
173 Westlake, OH
76.8
174 New Lenox, IL
76.8
175 Overland Park, KS
76.7
176 Torrance, CA
76.7
177 Broomfield, CO
76.7
178 Westerville, OH
76.7
179 Wake Forest, NC
76.7
180 West Linn, OR
76.7
181 Schaumburg, IL
76.6
182 Franklin, TN
76.6
183 Flower Mound, TX
76.6
184 West Hartford, CT
76.6
185 Royal Oak, MI
76.6
186 Medford, MA
76.6
187 Cypress, CA
76.6
188 Chatham, IL
76.6
189 Scottsdale, AZ
76.5
190 Sugar Land, TX
76.5
191 Somerville, MA
76.5
192 Rocklin, CA
76.5
193 Diamond Bar, CA
76.5
194 Culver City, CA
76.5
195 Hercules, CA
76.5
196 Folsom, CA
76.4
197 Arlington Heights, IL
76.4
198 Union City, CA
76.4
199 Levittown, NY
76.4
200 Wauwatosa, WI
76.4

States with Most Safe Cities (Top 50) 10

18
California
6
Massachusetts
5
Washington
3
Maryland
2
Virginia
2
New York
2
New Jersey
2
Illinois
2
Ohio
1
Kansas

Methodology

The Community Wellbeing Score is a composite index measuring overall community health and stability. It combines three dimensions of data from official U.S. government sources:

Component Weight Source Metrics Used
Health Outcomes 55% CDC PLACES 2023 Mental distress, physical distress, obesity, smoking, binge drinking, heart disease, stroke, diabetes
Economic Stability 30% Census ACS 2024 Poverty rate (60%), unemployment rate (40%)
Healthcare Access 15% CDC PLACES 2023 Percentage of residents lacking health insurance

How Scores Are Calculated

Each component is normalized to a 0-100 scale where higher values indicate better outcomes. For health and economic metrics, lower raw values (less distress, less poverty) produce higher scores. The final score is the weighted average of all three components.

Inclusion Criteria

  • City population of at least 25,000 (Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates)
  • At least 6 of 8 CDC PLACES health metrics available
  • Poverty and unemployment data available from Census ACS
  • 1,660 cities met all criteria out of 4,640 in the database

Important Limitations

  • No crime data: FBI crime statistics are not available at the city level in our dataset. This ranking measures community wellbeing through health and economic indicators, not crime rates.
  • Proxy measures: Research shows strong correlations between community health outcomes, economic stability, and overall safety, but this is not a direct safety measurement.
  • Data lag: CDC PLACES data is from 2023, Census ACS from 2024 (5-year estimates). Conditions may have changed.
  • Population threshold: Cities under 25,000 are excluded, which omits many small towns that may rank highly.
Data Sources

Health data from the CDC PLACES (2023 release). Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates). Hospital data from CMS Hospital Compare (2024).