America’s Safest Big Cities – 2026 Study

Choosing where to live can involve balancing opportunity and security. Big cities offer diverse job markets, extensive amenities and greater access to public services. But they also sometimes come with more acute safety concerns. While no major population center is entirely free from danger, some are more successful than others at creating environments where people can live, work and travel with confidence.

In this follow-up to SmartAsset’s America’s Safest Midsize Cities study, SmartAsset examined 83 U.S. cities with populations of 250,000 or greater — more than 90% of America’s big cities — to identify the nation’s safest. Cities were ranked using composite scores based on violent crime, property crime, traffic fatality rates and disaster risk.

Key Findings

Virginia Beach is America’s safest big city. Virginia Beach, Virginia, has below-average violent and property crime rates — 0.9 and 16.4 per 1,000 residents, respectively — and a modest motor vehicle fatality rate of about seven per 100,000 residents. Its “relatively low” FEMA disaster risk rating, a metric measuring expected disaster losses, social vulnerability and community resilience, helps support its top-tier rank.
Memphis ranks last. High crime and motor vehicle fatality rates, along with a “relatively high” FEMA disaster risk rating, combined to place Bluff City at the bottom of the rankings.
Texas is home to some of America’s safest and least safe cities. Twelve Texas cities were included in the rankings, and the Lone Star State is the only one with cities among both the 10 safest (Plano and Laredo) and the 10 least safe (Dallas and Houston).
Disaster risk can affect otherwise safe cities. Despite moderate violent and property crime rates, Irvine, California (No. 12), and Santa Ana, California (No. 20), both landed outside the top 10 safest cities. The two cities share the highest possible disaster risk ratings, driven in part by exposure to earthquakes and wildfires.

10 Safest Big Cities

1. Virginia Beach, Virginia

• Violent crimes per 1K: 0.9

• Property crimes per 1K: 16.4

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.8

• Disaster risk: Relatively Low

2. Plano, Texas

• Violent crimes per 1K: 1.5

• Property crimes per 1K: 14.7

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.9

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

3. Madison, Wisconsin

• Violent crimes per 1K: 2.6

• Property crimes per 1K: 18.6

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.9

• Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate

4. Honolulu, Hawaii

• Violent crimes per 1K: 1.9

• Property crimes per 1K: 17.9

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 5.9

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

5. Chesapeake, Virginia

• Violent crimes per 1K: 3.4

• Property crimes per 1K: 17.4

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 7.6

• Disaster risk: Relatively Low

6. Laredo, Texas

• Violent crimes per 1K: 3.7

• Property crimes per 1K: 14.6

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 9.1

• Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate

7. Lexington, Kentucky

• Violent crimes per 1K: 2.6

• Property crimes per 1K: 22.7

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 9.2

• Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate

8. Boston, Massachusetts

• Violent crimes per 1K: 6.3

• Property crimes per 1K: 20.2

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 4.4

• Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate

9. Lincoln, Nebraska

• Violent crimes per 1K: 3.5

• Property crimes per 1K: 24.5

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 7.7

• Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate

10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Violent crimes per 1K: 4.3

• Property crimes per 1K: 22.8

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.3

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

10 Least Safe Big Cities

1. Memphis, Tennessee

• Violent crimes per 1K: 25.0

• Property crimes per 1K: 69.0

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 21.5

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

2. Houston, Texas

• Violent crimes per 1K: 11.5

• Property crimes per 1K: 42.9

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 11.6

• Disaster risk: Very High

3. St. Louis, Missouri

• Violent crimes per 1K: 13.7

• Property crimes per 1K: 57.1

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 17.8

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

4. San Francisco, California

• Violent crimes per 1K: 6.0

• Property crimes per 1K: 39.3

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 18.5

• Disaster risk: Very High

5. Kansas City, Missouri

• Violent crimes per 1K: 15.5

• Property crimes per 1K: 46.8

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 14.6

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

6. Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Violent crimes per 1K: 11.8

• Property crimes per 1K: 46.3

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 17.0

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

7. Oakland, California

• Violent crimes per 1K: 19.3

• Property crimes per 1K: 72.3

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.8

• Disaster risk: Very High

8. Nashville, Tennessee

• Violent crimes per 1K: 11.2

• Property crimes per 1K: 45.1

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 13.6

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Violent crimes per 1K: 9.1

• Property crimes per 1K: 45.5

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 8.6

• Disaster risk: Very High

10. Detroit, Michigan

• Violent crimes per 1K: 17.8

• Property crimes per 1K: 43.1

• Auto fatalities per 100K: 11.1

• Disaster risk: Relatively High

Methodology

Natural disaster risk was calculated by converting the county risk rating in FEMA’s National Risk Index, as of April 2026, for the county in which a particular city is located to a five-point numeric scale. Traffic fatality rates were sourced from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Property and violent crime rates were sourced from the FBI’s 2024 issue of Crime in the United States (CIUS), the most recent year available; where city data was not available via CIUS, alternate sources, such as state or agency reports were used. Each metric was weighted and combined into a composite score used to rank the cities. Crime data reflects offenses reported by law enforcement agencies serving each city and may not perfectly align with municipal boundaries. County-level traffic fatality and natural disaster risk data were used as proxies for city-level conditions. Big cities were defined as those with populations of 250,000 or greater. More than 90% of such cities were included, the remainder were excluded due to inconsistent or unavailable data. Source data providers are not affiliated with, and do not endorse or sponsor, this study or its findings.