Forbes has issued its annual top 10 list of the safest cities in the U.S. And the safest city is:
Plano, TX. It has the lowest violent crime rate of cities with more than 250,000 population and the sixth-lowest traffic fatality rate according to Forbes.
The city, just outside of Dallas, tops the list for the second year in a row.
What makes Plano so safe? Wealth is said to be one factor because public safety services such as police and fire departments are dependent on a strong tax base.
And although no study has produced a direct correlation, Plano has one of the few police departments in the U.S. that require applicants to have a four-year college degree.
It also has a strong Neighborhood Watch program.
Henderson, NV, is second, despite the fact that it’s part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which ranked ninth this year on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities.
Why the safe oasis within the larger unsafe area? Tourists. Crime rates are calculated based on resident population, so violent crime involving tourists inflates the numbers for cities with lots of visitors.
Honolulu is in third place. Potential factors: Hawaii has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. And gridlock. Congestion is good when it comes to traffic safety, because when there’s gridlock, no one can drive fast enough to cause vehicle fatalities.
To come up with its top-10 list, Forbes used the violent crime and traffic fatality rates for 72 cities.
The entire top-10 list:
- Plano, TX
- Henderson, NV
- Honolulu
- Santa Ana, CA
- Lincoln, NE
- San Jose, CA
- Mesa, AZ
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Aurora, CO, and
- New York, NY.
