(NEXSTAR) — The quality of the schools, the commute, the nearest brunch spot — these are all factors you may consider before moving to a suburb. Another main aspect you’ll likely consider is safety.
The perceived safety of an area — which can be influenced by things like property crime and motor vehicle deaths — can also have an impact on a home’s value.
SmartAsset, a personal finance website, reviewed 360 suburbs across major metro areas in the U.S. and analyzed them based on multiple safety-related metrics: violent crime rates and property crime rates based on FBI data as well as rates of adults engaging in excessive drinking and deaths related to traffic accidents and drug poisonings from County Health Rankings.
To be considered a “suburb” for this report, a place needed to be within a 15- to 45-minute drive of one of the nation’s 100 largest cities, and have a population of at least 5,000.
The safest suburbs, according to SmartAsset’s analysis, were primarily in the Mountain West, Midwest, and East Coast, while many of the lower-ranking suburbs were in the South.
Ranking highest overall, though, was Lehi, Utah. Located roughly 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, Lehi had the lowest rate of excessive drinking (Utah as a whole has the lowest excessive drinking rate in the nation), as well as low rates of violent and property crimes. Nearby Layton, a 25-minute drive north of Salt Lake City, ranked third overall.
Below are the 10 safest suburbs of 2024, according to SmartAsset’s rankings:
- Lehi, Utah
- Bethesda, Maryland
- Layton, Utah
- Rockville, Maryland
- Great Falls, Virginia
- Dacula, Georgia
- Buford, Georgia
- Elmhurst, Illinois
- Oak Brook, Illinois
- Edgewater, New Jersey
Last year, Lehi came in sixth overall, following suburbs like Great Falls, Virginia; Carmel, Indiana; and Bethesda, Maryland, which landed in the top three spots, respectively. While Great Falls and Bethesda maintained their top 10 status, Carmel dropped to No. 18 this year.
Johnstown, Ohio, just outside of Columbus, had the lowest violent crime rate in the study while the Houston, Texas, suburb of Spring had the lowest property crime rate. Having the worst rate in both categories was Bernalillo, New Mexico, which is about 18 miles north of Albuquerque.
Bernalillo was the lowest-ranked suburb overall this year. Coming in at the bottom of SmartAsset’s report were:
- Bernalillo, New Mexico
- Lumberton, North Carolina
- Scottsburg, Indiana
- Petersburg, Virginia
- Asheboro, North Carolina
- Senatobia, Mississippi
- DeLand, Florida
- Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Largo, Florida
- Capitola, California
Of the 27 Florida suburbs that made the list, only seven ranked among the top half of SmartAsset’s list.
SmartAsset’s full list and methodology can be found here.
Another recent analysis found Roswell, Georgia, which was No. 134 on SmartAsset’s report, is the best small city for safety and affordability, followed by Johns Creek, Georgia; Edmond, Oklahoma; and Mansfield, Texas. Johns Creek and Mansfield did not make SmartAsset’s list while Edmond ranked No. 51.
