# safe places to reside **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594 "2003-06-04T14:06:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Equal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/1 "2003-06-04T14:06:06Z")
What (if any) is the safest place to live in the U.S.? State, and or city also? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/2 "2003-06-04T14:39:30Z")
Safest from crime, or natural disasters, auto accidents, combined? ---
**Author:** ![Equal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Equal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/3 "2003-06-04T14:46:07Z")
crime. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/4 "2003-06-04T15:14:20Z")
Amherst, NY Just one of many links [http://www.morganquitno.com/safecity.htm](http://www.morganquitno.com/safecity.htm) Try to google “safest city” Lots o’ surveys, results, studies, FBI data, etc out there to be searched. Hard to find a consensus. Some include violent crime only, some studies also include car theft. In the end, it depends. There are some very small towns that have almost no violent crime, but they might never make it into a study. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/5 "2003-06-04T15:17:26Z")
And then you have this view of Simi, CA as the safest. [http://www.amgen.com/career/safety.html](http://www.amgen.com/career/safety.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/6 "2003-06-04T15:47:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philster \* > In the end, it depends. There are some very small towns that have almost no violent crime, but they might never make it into a study. Plus if the data is presented per capita, a very small town might suddenly appear extremely dangerous if one person snaps and goes on some kind of spree. The recent poisoning in that one small town in Maine, for instance, ended up with a number of sick people and one dead. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-places-to-reside/179594/7 "2003-06-04T15:57:25Z")
If you look at the list of safe “cities” in **Philster’s** first link, it turns out that they are almost all “nicer” suburbs and not truly independent cities. Even Danbury, CT, which is mentioned as safest metro area is really just a part of the huge NYC metro area, as most of western Connecticut is. But if you do want safe, a nice suburb is the place to be.