New York’s 50 Safest Cities of 2022

The SafeWise Team is pleased to release the eighth annual Safest Cities report.

See if your city made the full list.

New York is more worried about safety and crime than any other state. Seventy percent of respondents to our State of Safety survey told us they have high levels of concern every day—23 points higher than the national average of 47%. 

Survey respondents also noted a big uptick in personal experiences with violent crime, property crime, and gun violence compared to the previous reporting year. Still, New York’s statewide crime rates are lower than US averages, and its 50 safest cities report some of the lowest crime rates in the country.

• Violent crime rates
• Property crime rates
• Interesting findings
• The Safest Cities
• Methodology
• How to make a safe home anywhere
• How other cities compare
• How other states compare

New York's violent crime rate held steady this year at 3.6 incidents per 1,000 people, lower than the US rate of 4.0. In contrast, the state's property crime rate went up from 13.9 incidents per 1,000 people to 14.1, but that’s still five incidents fewer per capita than the US rate of 19.6.

Among all 50 states, New York had the eighteenth-highest violent crime rate, tied with West Virginia and Indiana. When it comes to property crime, New York has the ninth-lowest property crime rate.

Compared to our previous reporting year, more New Yorkers expressed daily concerns for their personal safety, moving the state to the top spot in this year’s report. Residents were also more concerned than any other group of Americans when it came to violent crime, property crime, package theft, and gun violence. 

A greater number of survey respondents told us they had personal experiences with crime and violence in the 12 months prior to the survey. Violent crime and gun violence accounted for the biggest jump in personal experiences with crime, but encounters with property crime also increased sharply.

We also found that 76% of New Yorkers worry about the coronavirus pandemic on a daily basis. This is much higher than most Americans (62%) and the third-highest in the nation behind Hawaii (80%) and California (77%).

We asked New Yorkers which crimes they worry may happen to them. See if New York residents are concerned about the same crime issues as the rest of the country. 

View the complete 2022 State of Safety report.

Just two out of five New Yorkers feel safe in their home state—no other state worries more about crime or trusts law enforcement less. This is justifiable when accounting for survey participants' increasing reports of personal experiences with violent crime, but it doesn’t line up with the stagnant statewide violent crime rate.

• 40% of New York residents reported feeling safe in their state compared to 55% of Americans.
• 23% of New Yorkers reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey—a steep increase from 13% last year.
• Murder is an uncommon violent crime in The Empire State, making up 1% of violent crimes (US 2%). There were 3 murders in the state's 50 safest cities.
• Rape accounts for 8% of violent crimes in New York (US 10%). The 50 safest cities have a higher number of instances at 18%.
• 31% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—just below the US average (34%). Stun devices are the most common type of self-defense device used in New York.
• 58% of respondents in New York say their personal safety has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 44% of Americans—only Florida (61%) and Hawaii (60%) reported higher numbers.

• Four-fifths (80%) of people in New York said gun violence was a top safety concern—this was the highest in the nation, which averaged 53%.
• About 1 in 5 (18%) survey respondents experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to being surveyed, more than double our previous survey (8%).
• New York saw a 5% decline in mass shooting events year over year, although New York City saw a surge in gun-related violence.
• There were 36 mass shooting incidents recorded in New York in 2021, compared to 38 in 2020.
• 6% of New York respondents who use some type of personal protection rely on a concealed carry firearm. (Pepper spray and stun guns are more common.)
• Firearms are used by 11% of respondents who take measures to secure their property—the same number that rely on a dog or other guard animal. 

New York is one of just 11 states that saw a rise in property crimes year over year, but it still has one the lowest property crime rates in the nation. 

Despite the low incidence of property crime, New Yorkers worry more about property crimes than others in the US. Survey respondents' increased reports of personal experiences with property crime and package theft might explain why they worry more than in previous years. 

• 1.4 times as many New Yorkers (19%) reported personal experiences with property crime this survey year as they did in the last survey (14%).
• Burglary accounts for 12% of all property crimes in The Empire State (the 50 safest cities average 9%), which is lower than the national rate of 16%.
• 30% of survey respondents experienced a package theft in the 12 months prior to being surveyed—this is 50% higher than the US average of 20% and the highest in the country.
• 57% of residents in New York use some form of property protection—close to the 60% national average.
• The top form of property protection in New York this year was security cameras with 30% of survey respondents using them. This tops the national average of 28%.
• 45% of people in New York say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the security of their property—this is the highest in the US, which averages 29%.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 161 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking. 
• Lewisboro Town is the safest city in New York for the fifth year running, but Highlands Town tied the reigning champ this year. Neither city reported any crime incidents to the FBI. 
• Warwick Town (number 32) and East Fishkill Town (number 34) made their debuts on our list this year. 
• Hudson Falls Village saw the biggest jump year over year, rising 48 spots to join the top 50 at number 41.
• 11 of the cities reported 0 violent crimes, and 49 saw fewer than 1 violent crime per 1,000 people. 
• The safest cities reflect the slight statewide increase in property crime (by number of incidents while keeping the same overall rate), reporting nearly 1,000 more collective incidents than last year. 
• 98% of the safest cities have fewer than 40,000 residents. Ramapo Town has the highest population on the list, with just over 95,000.
• 43 cities have a median household income that’s above the US average of $67,521, and 28 are higher than $100,000 per year. 

Learn how we identified the safest cities on our methodology page.

Whether your city made our list or not, we encourage everyone to be proactive about home security. One of the best ways to stop a burglary before it happens is to add a home security system.

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We calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met our population threshold, based on the state’s median population as calculated using FBI data. To request a report of the remaining cities in your state, sign up for our email newsletter (we make it easy in a quick form below!) or email info@safewise.com with the subject line: Safest Cities Full Report.

NOTE: If you don’t see your city on the list, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2020.

Click on the state image or dropdown menu below to check out the safest cities for each state.

• Best Home Security Systems
• Best Home Security Cameras
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• Burglary Stats & Facts
• The Most Burglarized City in Every State

FBI: Crime Data Explorer, Accessed March 8, 2022.

US Census Bureau, "Data Explorer," Accessed January 24, 2022.

Best Places, “Find a Place Search Tool,” Accessed January 24, 2022.

SafeWise, “2021 State of Safety survey,” Accessed March 8, 2022.

Gun Violence Archive, “Past Summary Ledgers,” Accessed January 24, 2022.

Gun Violence Archive, “General Methodology,” Accessed March 8, 2022.

Melody Hicks, Ben Stickle, Joshua Harms, American Journal of Criminal Justice, “Assessing the Fear of Package Theft,” January 04, 2021. Accessed March 8, 2022.

For definitions and more on data sources, see our methodology page.