Columbus tops list of safest small cities in the US

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two Indiana cities are named among the top five safest small cities in the United States, according to a new ranking from MoneyGeek.

MoneyGeek says it analyzed crime statistics by quantifying the cost of crime and ranking 1,061 small cities and towns across the country. “Small cities and towns” were classified as those with 30,000 to 100,000 residents.

Columbus came in first in the analysis and Zionsville was ranked fourth. They were the only two Indiana cities to make the Top 15.

MoneyGeek says its analysis is conducted annually and follows the company’s ranking of the safest cities in America, where Fishers was ranked fourth.

To create its list of safest small cities and towns, the research team started with standardized crime statistics reported to the FBI from 2023, the latest year of available data. To determine crime rates per 100,000 people, population data from the FBI was added to the analysis.

MoneyGeek found that the average cost of crime in small cities was $1,141 per capita in 2023. Violent crime costs over $1,000 per capita, while property crime costs an average of $133. For context, violent crime accounted for 14.3% of all crime analyzed in this study, while property crime accounted for 85.7%. 

Overall, the analysis found that small cities and towns have 48% lower crime costs than larger cities. THe MoneyGeek study says crime in Columbus cost $22 per capita, while in Zionsville it was $52 per capita.

Most of the cities and towns ranked at the top of the list are in the Northeast, with six of the top ten in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.