Texas cities stand out in top 10 safest U.S. suburbs

Frisco, Texas - The pursuit of an ideal suburban abode involves assessing various factors, ranging from the quality of education to the ease of pedestrian navigation to proximity to job locations. Nonetheless, the factor that often stands at the forefront of this consideration process is the perceived safety of the suburb in question. This aspect is complex and is shaped by numerous contributing elements.

A detailed analysis was recently conducted by SmartAsset, a well-known financial advisory website. In this study, the firm assessed 370 suburbs within the 100 largest cities in the United States, with a focus on multiple safety-related indicators. Key considerations included the rates of violent and property crimes, instances of adult excessive drinking, traffic-related fatalities, and drug poisoning incidents, with the data being extracted from FBI records and County Health Rankings.

The findings of SmartAsset's study revealed an interesting geographic safety distribution. Suburbs located in the Eastern and Midwestern regions emerged as safe havens. Conversely, suburbs located in the Western and Southern regions were predominantly placed in the lower sections of the safety rankings.

Great Falls, Virginia was a noteworthy performer in this study. Situated along the scenic Potomac River and within close proximity to Washington D.C., this suburb made its mark at the top of the safety list by SmartAsset. It's worth mentioning that Great Falls once served as the residential place of Virginia's Governor, Glenn Youngkin.

The area registered an exceptionally low violent crime rate of 6.81 per 100,000 residents, a figure second only to Edgerton, Wisconsin, which had negligible crime rates. Moreover, the suburb boasted one of the least vehicle mortality rates. Interestingly, Great Falls also topped the charts for the highest median household income, with an average slightly above $250,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Bethesda, Maryland, another suburb in close geographic and ranking proximity to Great Falls, secured third place in the safety ranking. Factors such as its low rates of vehicular fatalities and excessive drinking played a significant role in this achievement. Indiana was the star performer, capturing the remaining top-five safety slots with Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville.

According to SmartAsset's analysis, the 10 safest suburbs are:

1. Great Falls, Virginia
2. Carmel, Indiana
3. Bethesda, Maryland
4. Fishers, Indiana
5. Noblesville, Indiana
6. Lehi, Utah
7. Fort Bliss, Texas
8. Frisco, Texas
9. Dacula, Georgia
10. Castle Rock, Colorado

Two cities in Texas made notable appearances in the top ten safest suburbs list in the United States. Fort Bliss, securing the seventh position, recorded approximately 70 instances of violent crime per 100,000 residents. Nevertheless, it achieved a high ranking due to its low vehicle mortality rate of 11.3 per 100,000 and minimal property crime rate of 218 per 100,000.

Following Fort Bliss, Frisco, Texas, clinched the eighth spot, with a remarkable vehicular mortality rate of 6.4 per 100,000 residents. McKinney, another city in Texas, although ranked 13th overall, matched Frisco's vehicle mortality rate but had a slightly higher occurrence of violent incidents.

Texas's representation continued in the top 50 with Georgetown securing the 26th rank, Schertz and Anthony sharing the 31st spot, Cedar Park claiming the 34th position, and West University Place coming in at 47.

However, not all Texas suburbs garnered positive results. Aransas Pass is a clear example, ranking as the 24th least-safe suburb nationwide and holding the unfortunate title of the least safe in Texas. The city had a violent crime rate of 645 incidents per 100,000 residents and a vehicle mortality rate of 13 per 100,000, contributing to its low safety ranking.