A new study from Money Geek revealed the economic toll crime has had on multiple cities nationwide. Due to their low crime cost per capita, six California cities were ranked among the safest cities in America.

Those cities were Sunnyvale, West Covina, Jurupa Valley, El Monte, Rancho Cucamonga and Glendale.

Researchers determined that the lower a city’s crime cost per capita was, the safer it was.

A team of analysts at Money Geek determined the ranking by analyzing FBI crime statistics from December 2022 for 263 cities and calculated the cost of crime in each area. 

Money Geek determined that the cost of crime includes medical and mental health care needs, damage or loss of property, police and corrections costs and other factors. Violent crimes typically cost more than nonviolent crimes.

The weight that falls on a community also depends on the types of crimes and the city’s location.

The Top 15 Safest Cities

The top 15 dangerous cities were ranked by the highest cost of crime per capita.

No large cities — which Money Geek defines as a place with more than 300,000 people — made the study’s top 10 safest cities list, but researchers determined that these were the safest.

1. Honolulu, HI – $528 (crime cost per capita)
2. Virginia Beach, VA – $550 (crime cost per capita)
3. Henderson, NV – $805 (crime cost per capita)
4. El Paso, TX – $837 (crime cost per capita)
5. New York, NY – $863 (crime cost per capita)
6. San Diego, CA – $963 (crime cost per capita)
7. Mesa, AZ – $1,069 (crime cost per capita)
8. Charlotte, NC – $1,073 (crime cost per capita)