History at a glance
- Three other Texas cities made the top five, along with one California city.
- The findings are based on factors including vehicular fatalities, property crimes and drug poisoning death rates.
- A previous ranking also found Frisco, Texas to be among the top 10 happiest cities in the country.
Frisco, Texas has been ranked the safest city in the nation for the second year in a row, according to a new report from SmartAsset.
The city, located north of Dallas, was joined by McKinney and McAllen, Texas, who finished in second and third place overall, respectively.
Santa Clarita, California, and Plano, Texas round out the top five safest cities. The researchers assessed violent crime, property crime, vehicular death rate, drug poisoning death rate, and percentage of the population who drink excessively in 200 of the country’s largest cities.
Violence and property crime rates were measured at the city level, while other factors were measured at the county level.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to yours Facebook OR Chirping feed to stay updated on the news.
Cities in the Lone Star State came out on top thanks in part to violent crime rates of less than 90 percent of the cities included in the study. Alexandria, Virginia; Laredo, Texas; Glendale, Calif.; Sunnyvale, Calif.; and Yonkers, NY made up the second half of the top 10 safest cities.
The data showed that Frisco had the fourth lowest violent crime rate and the sixth lowest property crime rate in the country. The city and surrounding area also had the fourth-lowest drug poisoning death rate.
A further SmartAsset report found that Frisco is the fifth happiest city in the country. Plano also made it into the top 10.
The latest report ranked Los Angeles as the safest city with a population of over 1 million people. It was followed by San Diego, San Antonio, Philadelphia and New York City.
In seven of the top 35 safest cities, housing costs were less than 20% of median household income. Santa Clarita was the most expensive of the top five safest cities, while Frisco was the cheapest.
When SmartAsset ranked the 35 safest cities based on affordability, comparing average annual housing costs and median household income, Cary, NC came out on top. The city was followed by Olathe, Kan.; Naperville, Illinois; Land Parks, Kan.; and Frisco.
