INDIANA (NEXSTAR) – One small city in Indiana has just been ranked among the “safest small cities” in the U.S., according to a new study.
According to a recent study on U.S. crime, Zionsville, Indiana, was ranked eighth on a list of the safest small cities in the country. In 2020, the city’s total crime rate was 346.93 crimes per 100,000 residents.
Most cities qualifying for the small city list had a population size between 50,000 and 149,999 residents. Zionsville, meanwhile, has about 30,693 residents, according to the 2020 Census — meaning there were roughly 106 crimes in the city that year.
The study came from CCTV Camera World, a U.S. security and investigations company. Using FBI data from 2020, the study ranked cities in the U.S. by the total crime rate, which was expressed by the number of crimes per 100,000 residents.
Ranking categories for the study included:
- 25 Safest Cities in the U.S.
- 10 Safest Large Cities with Population 500,000+
- 10 Safest Mid-Sized Cities
- 10 Safest Small Cities
- Safest City in Every State
- 100 Safest Cities in America
To find the crime rate, analysts totaled all reported violent and property crimes — the former including murder, rape, assault, etc., and the latter consisting of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Additionally, the study used the same methodology to evaluate 7,000 cities across the country based on their overall crime rates.
Overall, the top five safest cities in the U.S. are listed below:
- Wayland, Massachusetts
- Northport, New York
- Milton, Wisconsin
- Homer, New York
- Coxsackle, New York
According to the study’s findings, New York had the most “safest” cities on the list, with 16 cities ranked among the top 100. Wisconsin followed with nine cities ranking in the top 100.
The overall murder rate in the U.S., however, grew by a record 30% in 2020, the study’s authors noted. That data may concern Americans, even after Pew Research cited FBI and BJS data showing crime has been falling for the last three decades.
