Eight Houston-area locales are among the safest places in all of Texas—this according to an annual study by SafeWise, a home security and safety website, based on FBI crime reporting data for 2017.
The study considered population and rates of violent and property crimes “to establish which cities are safe havens and which are struggling to combat crime,” a press release says. Overall, Texas has slightly higher crime rates than the national averages—granted, that’s to be expected with a state this large—but not by much: 4.95 incidents of violent crime per 1,000 people compared to the national rate of 4.49; and 29.11 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people compared to 27.11.
The top spot went to Kermit, the West Texas city of 6,459 just outside of Odessa, with 0 reports of violent crimes in 2017. But Houston can claim runner-up with Memorial Village, which moved 10 spots up the list from last year’s rankings. In all, 80 percent of this year’s safest cities also made the list in 2018, SafeWise says.
Nearly all—96 percent—reporter fewer than 100 violent crimes, and no city saw more than 1.16 incidents per 1,000 people. Eighty percent were murder-free.
Houston as a whole—population about 2.3 million—didn’t fare so well, clocking in at No. 284 with a violent crime rate of 10.95 per 1,000 and a property crime rate of 41.28 per 1,000. You can see the full study here; below, the safest Houston areas on this year’s list.
#2: Memorial Village
Up 10 spots from last year
- Population: 12,319
- Violent crime rate: 0.08 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 6.90 per 1,000
#17: West University Place
Same ranking
- Population: 15,676
- Violent crime rate: 0.64 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 8.74 per 1,000
#30: Sugar Land
Up 6 spots
- Population: 89,790
- Violent crime rate: 0.79 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 14.36 per 1,000
#35: Santa Fe
New on list
- Population: 13,347
- Violent crime rate: 0.90 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 13.41 per 1,000
#36: Friendswood
Down 12 spots
- Population: 39,990
- Violent crime rate: 0.90 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 8.03 per 1,000
#38: League City
Down 5 spots
- Population: 105,351
- Violent crime rate: 0.92 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 16.31 per 1,000
#39: Manvel
Down 29 spots
- Population: 9,756
- Violent crime rate: 0.92 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 11.07 per 1,000
#48: Deer Park
New on list
- Population: 34,009
- Violent crime rate: 1.12 per 1,000
- Property crime rate: 14.68 per 1,000
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Santa Fe and Manvel. The original version of this post mistakenly included River Oaks, when in fact the River Oaks on the SafeWise list is in the Fort Worth, not Houston, area.
|
|
|
