RIDGEFIELD, Conn —
SafeWise announced the release of its annual 100 Safest Cities in America report for 2021 and Connecticut boasted four cities in the top 100.
Ridgefield ranked the highest at No. 6, followed by Newtown at No. 11, Simsbury at No. 41, and finally Westport at No. 68.
SafeWise is the leading online resource for all things safety and security. The 2021 report was calculated by analyzing FBI crime report statistics and population data, the most recent violent crime and property crime data being from 2019.
Towns with populations below 2,500, considered rural by the US Census Bureau, were excluded. A population threshold of 17,375 was set based on the median U.S. population.
“We trained a team of data analysts who gathered crime statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report, and then we also use other data points to help provide full context for our rankings,” Andrew Hull, an outreach specialist for Safewise, told FOX61. “In addition to all that we calculated the rate of violent and property crime per 1000 people in each city to level the playing field.”
Overall, the report found that 39 of the safest cities are within 50 miles of New York City, and Boston has the second-biggest number of safe suburbs with 19.
Rebecca Edwards, Safety and Security expert for Safewise.com, noted a few key aspects of safest cities in the report:
Safest in the suburbs: 91 of the top 100 safe cities are within 50 miles of a major metropolitan area—with 65 of those in the northeastern US.
The average income among the 100 safest cities is $106,298—nearly 55% higher than the median household income ($68,703) across the US.
The average population of our 100 safest cities is 28,719—nearly triple the national average (10,608) of all incorporated places in the US.
The 100 Safest Cities report 79% fewer property crimes per 1,000 people than most of the U.S.
The SafeWise report found that the majority of the safest cities were clustered in the Northeast.
Given the data is from 2019, Hull said consistency in SafeWise’s reports over time shows that numbers for 2021 data would reflect similar trends.
“Many cities like Ridgefield and Newtown, Connecticut have remained on the list for quite some time, indicating that primary trends have been relatively consistent over time,” Hull said. “Speaking to Connecticut specifically, we do see a few trends. For one, violent crime has been on a downward trend over the last three years.”
A survey from SafeWise showed Connecticut residents believe that crime is on the rise, Hull said, despite the data demonstrating that violent crime has been on a steady decline for three straight years.
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FOX61 reached out to the Ridgefield Office of the First Selectman for comment but has received no response.
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