Despite Florida’s reputation for weird crimes, plenty of pockets within the Sunshine State are exceptionally safe places to live. In fact, 11 of the top 25 safest cities in the nation are in Florida. Eight of them—from first-place finisher Naples to Ocala in the last spot—made the top 10.
To create the breakdown, U.S. News & World Report used FBI data on murder and property crime rates per 100,000 residents. That’s hardly a comprehensive list of factors that might make a city less safe. For one thing, there are quite a few other kinds of violence that aren’t actual murder, and you could argue that things like car accident rates and healthcare access are worth considering as well.
But if you’re mainly looking to slash your chances of becoming a victim of homicide or burglary, Florida is where it’s at. Retirees certainly seem to find it a suitable area: The prevalence of golden-agers in these cities—all 11 of them also made U.S. News’s list of best places to retire in Florida—suggests there’s a correlation with their respective low crime rates.
Any safety-conscious person who’s not yet ready to kick it with the elderly might want to think about moving to New England instead. Four of the region’s cities made the top 15: Boston and Worcester in Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine. For a warm-weather option that isn’t in Florida, try Mobile, Alabama.
See the top 25 below, and find out more about each city that made the list here.
- Naples, Florida
- Port St. Lucie, Florida
- Fort Myers, Florida
- Portland, Maine
- Lakeland, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Sarasota, Florida
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Ocala, Florida
- Melbourne, Florida
- Manchester, New Hampshire
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Boise, Idaho
- Mobile, Alabama
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- Pensacola, Florida
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Orlando, Florida
- Washington, D.C.
- Reading, Pennsylvania
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- New York City, New York
- Rochester, New York
[h/t U.S. News & World Report]
