These Are The Top 5 Safest Towns In Maryland: 2024 List

BOWIE, MD — Towns outside Maryland's cities were ranked the safest, according to crime statistics analyzed by SafeWise. Bowie was ranked No. 1 for the state's safest community.

The report was released last month and named the safest cities in the country based on crime rates and other data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Here's a look at the cities and towns that made up the rest of the top 5.

1. Bowie
2. Easton
3. Frederick
4. Westminster
5. Hagerstown

Here are more insights into the communities on the list from Safewise, a security product review platform:

• Bowie is the safest city in Maryland, with no murders or rapes reported.
• Westminster also reported zero murders.
• 3 cities reported fewer than 40 burglaries: Bowie, Easton, and Westminster.
• Hagerstown's violent crime rate and its property crime rate went down year over year.
• Frederick is the most populous city on the list, with over 80,000 residents, making its below-average crime rates even more impressive.

Here's how Safewise described its terms and methodology used in the rankings:

For the purposes of city ranking reports, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

Overall, across the U.S., crime rates have been in flux the past couple of years. The violent crime rate held at 4.0 incidents per 1,000 people for the third consecutive year. Property crime rose for the first time in 10 years of Safest Cities reports — from 19.3 incidents per 1,000 to 20.7.

Safewise calculated per capita crime rates for 44 states that submitted complete data to the FBI.

Here's a look at how crime rates trended across the US:

• Violent crime rates held steady or decreased in 66% of states.
• 15 states saw a jump in violent crime year over year.
• Property crime rates held steady or decreased in 64% of states—despite rising nationwide.
• 16 states saw a jump in property crime rates.
• 9 states saw both violent and property crime rates rise year over year.

See the full 2024 report from SafeWise.com.