Americans rate Dallas, Boston safest cities in Gallup poll

Democrats more likely than Republicans to say cities are safe
Crime spiked during the pandemic in many major metros
Violent crimes are receding in several U.S. cities

Updated: Aug 21, 2023 / 11:23 PM CDT

View of the Dallas skyline on July 21, 2020, in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Dallas and Boston rank among the top U.S. cities that Americans consider the safest to live in or visit, according to a survey from Gallup.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Americans consider the central Texas city as safe, while 72% have a positive view of the Massachusetts harbor city. In addition, a majority of Americans rate nine other cities as safe, including Seattle (63%), Las Vegas (61%) and Miami (59%).

By contrast, Americans are least likely to say Chicago (27%) and Detroit (26%) are safe. Other U.S. cities rated as least safe include Los Angeles (41%), New York City (41%) and Philadelphia (47%).

The Gallup poll comes after a pandemic-related rise in crime in several major metropolitan areas over the last three years. U.S. cities are recovering from a spike in crime in 2020, when lockdowns forced people inside.

There have been 71 shootings in Boston this year, down 17% from the same time last year, according to statistics from the police department. The city recorded 143 shootings in 2022, the fewest since 2020, when there were 233.

In Dallas, violent crimes are down 12% from this time last year, according to police department statistics. Violent crimes in the city dropped 5% from 2021 to 2022 and were down 7% from 2020 to 2021.

Violent crimes are down 1.6% in Los Angeles from this time last year, while shootings have decreased about 17% since last year.

In Chicago, all violent crimes are up 33% from this time last year, but shootings are down 11%.

Perceptions of safety in cities was influenced by political affiliation.

“With the exception of Dallas and Miami, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are substantially more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to perceive each city as safe,” Gallup said in a news release.

The average party gap is 29 percentage points, much higher than the 2-point percentage gap in 2006, Gallup notes.

Majorities of Democrats consider all but two cities — Chicago and Detroit — to be safe. Meanwhile, a majority of Republicans view only five cities as safe: Las Vegas, Miami, Dallas, Boston and Houston.

Since 2006, New Orleans’ safety rating has doubled, from 28% to 55%. San Francisco and Chicago have seen the largest decline in safety perceptions since 2006, dropping 18 and 20 percentage points, respectively.