Ranking
Safest Cities in the US to Visit 2026
Every US city we cover. These are the large cities most visitors fly into, not every city or town in the country, so this is not a list of the safest small towns. Each score is built for a visitor and combines crime, walking at night, traffic deaths, air quality and natural hazards. Open any city for its police figures and the areas to avoid.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
New York City
New York is safer than at any time in decades, with record-low shootings, murders and traffic deaths in 2025. Violent crime is still higher than in London or Paris, and the subway at night calls for some street sense.
Score 80, grade BBoston
Boston had 31 homicides in 2025, the second-lowest total in two decades, and only 11 people died on its streets. Theft is above the US average, a few blocks around Mass and Cass are rough, and winter storms and coastal floods are the natural risks.
Score 79, grade BSan Diego
San Diego is one of the safest large cities in the US, with about 2.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2025 and property crime at the national average. The risks visitors meet are a broken car window at the beach, wide roads that are hard to cross, border pollution and wildfire season.
Score 77, grade BHonolulu
Honolulu has one of the lowest murder rates of any big US city and some of the cleanest air in the country. Visitors are more likely to lose a rental car's contents or get into trouble in the ocean, which drowns dozens of people a year across Hawaii, than to meet violent crime.
Score 74, grade BSan Francisco
San Francisco had 28 homicides in 2025, the fewest since 1954, and its streets are among the least deadly of any big US city. The visitor risks are a smashed car window at a viewpoint, open drug use in the Tenderloin and the long-term chance of a major earthquake.
Score 72, grade BOrlando
Orlando's theme park resort areas are some of the most closely guarded places in the US, and the city recorded only 10 murders in 2025. The bigger risks for visitors are the roads, car break-ins, summer lightning and heat, and hurricanes that bring wind and floods inland.
Score 70, grade BSeattle
Seattle had 37 homicides in 2025, down from 58, and serious violence rarely touches visitors. Property crime is the problem, at almost three times the US rate, along with disorder on a few downtown blocks and the long-term risk of a major earthquake.
Score 68, grade CLas Vegas
The Strip is one of the most watched and policed places in the US, and homicides fell to 90 in 2025. The real dangers are on the roads, where deaths rose for a fifth year, and in the desert heat, which killed 284 people in Clark County in 2025.
Score 67, grade CWashington DC
The parts of Washington most visitors see, from the National Mall to Georgetown and Capitol Hill, are busy and heavily policed, and murders have more than halved since 2023. Gun violence is still high in some neighbourhoods east of the Anacostia River, and assaults with weapons rose in 2026.
Score 67, grade CChicago
Chicago's violence is real but concentrated on parts of the South and West Sides that most visitors never see, and 2025 brought the fewest murders since 1965. Downtown, the lakefront and the North Side neighbourhoods are busy and generally safe; phone snatching on the L and late-night trains are the everyday risks.
Score 66, grade CLos Angeles
Los Angeles had its fewest homicides since 1966 in 2025, and serious crime against visitors in Hollywood, Santa Monica or Downtown is uncommon. The everyday risks are car break-ins, fast roads that kill more people than guns, smog, earthquakes and wildfire.
Score 65, grade CMiami
Miami's violent crime has fallen to near-record lows, with 27 homicides in 2025, and the areas visitors use are generally safe. The bigger dangers are dangerous roads, nightlife theft and overcharging in South Beach, and the June to November hurricane season.
Score 65, grade CPortland
Portland had 51 homicides in 2025, down from 68, and 2026 is running lower again. The catch is theft, at more than three times the US rate, along with open drug use downtown and in Old Town, and the long-term risk of a major earthquake.
Score 65, grade CPhiladelphia
Philadelphia recorded 222 homicides in 2025, the fewest in decades, and 2026 is running 23% lower. Violence is still concentrated in North and West Philadelphia, theft is almost three times the US rate, and about 120 people a year die on the city's roads.
Score 63, grade CNew Orleans
New Orleans has cut its murder count sharply since a 2022 peak and 2026 is on pace for the fewest killings since 1969, yet the rate is still about twice Chicago's. The French Quarter is busy and heavily policed; theft, deadly roads, summer heat and hurricane season are the risks most visitors need to plan for.
Score 52, grade D
Which cities are on the list
The rule is every US city we score. We cover large cities that draw many visitors, not every city in the country, so the list is short. When we add a US city page, it joins this ranking. For how they compare with cities abroad, see the safest cities in the world.
How the order is built
Each city has six scored factors: violent crime 25%, theft and scams 20%, and walking at night, traffic safety, and health and environment 15% each, with natural hazards at 10%. The list sorts the scores from the highest down and changes whenever we update a city page. The factors and thresholds are on how we score cities.
City scores are also capped at the country's conflict and terrorism score plus 35. For US cities the cap is far above any score, so it changes nothing. Terrorism still shows up on the pages: the truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans killed 14 people on 1 January 2025.
What the top cities have in common
Violent crime has fallen in almost every city here. Several had their fewest killings in decades in 2025: San Francisco since 1954, Los Angeles since 1966 and Chicago since 1965. So the order is often set by other things.
New York does well because it is good at almost everything we measure. Its murder rate is low for a US city, and its 205 traffic deaths in 2025, a record low, come to about 2.4 per 100,000 people. Boston is close behind: its Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary is a little higher, but only 11 people died on its streets in 2025, the lowest traffic death rate of the cities here, and its air is among the cleanest. San Diego has fewer killings per person than either and property crime at the national average; wildfire, the Rose Canyon fault and sewage on its southern beaches cost it points.
Honolulu has very little violent crime and clean air, but it loses points on its roads and on the ocean, which drowns dozens of people a year across Hawaii.
Why some well-known cities are lower
Property crime and earthquakes hold back the West Coast. Seattle has a Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary close to Boston's, but its property crime rate is almost three times the US average, with more than 8,000 car prowls in 2025, and a large Cascadia earthquake is a real long-term risk. San Francisco shares both problems but has less violent crime, which keeps it higher. Portland has both as well, with property crime more than three times the US average and more killings per person than Seattle, though both fell in 2025.
Roads hold back the car-built Sun Belt cities. Orlando, Miami and Las Vegas have little crime in their tourist areas, but road deaths there are high, and Las Vegas also has heat that killed 284 people in Clark County in 2025. In Washington, DC, Chicago and Philadelphia, gun violence is concentrated in neighbourhoods that most visitors never see, but it still counts in a city-wide score. Philadelphia's roads are also far deadlier per person than New York's or Boston's. New Orleans is at the bottom: its murder rate is still well above the others, and hurricanes and heat add to the risk.
What the score does not tell you
US cities do not measure crime the same way. Some figures cover the city proper, Honolulu's covers all of Oahu, and Las Vegas uses the Metropolitan Police area. A city-wide rate also hides big differences between neighbourhoods: Midtown Manhattan and Chicago's Magnificent Mile are very different from the blocks where most shootings happen. Each city page names the areas to watch.
In most of these cities, what visitors actually meet is a car break-in or a snatched phone. Leave nothing visible in a parked car, especially at a viewpoint or trailhead, and keep your phone out of sight near train doors.
Questions
What is the safest big city in the US to visit?
New York and Boston are at the top of this list, with San Diego close behind. New York had record-low shootings, murders and traffic deaths in 2025. Boston had its second-fewest homicides in two decades and only 11 traffic deaths, and San Diego had about 2.8 Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people, one of the lowest rates of any big US city.
Is New York City safe for tourists?
Yes, for most visitors. The NYPD counted 305 murders in 2025, about 3.6 per 100,000 people, and traffic deaths fell to a record low of 205. Violent crime is still higher than in London or Paris, so keep some street sense on the subway late at night.
Is Chicago safe for tourists?
The parts most visitors see, the Loop, the lakefront and the North Side neighbourhoods, are busy and generally safe. Chicago's violence is real but concentrated on parts of the South and West Sides, and 2025 brought 416 murders, the fewest since 1965. Phone snatching on the L and late-night trains are the everyday risks.
Is New Orleans safe to visit?
With care, yes. Killings have fallen sharply since a 2022 peak, but the 2025 rate of about 33 per 100,000 is still about twice Chicago's. The French Quarter is busy and heavily policed. Use rideshare or a taxi at night rather than walking to quieter areas, and plan around summer heat and the June to November hurricane season.
Is Miami safe?
The areas visitors use are generally safe, and the City of Miami recorded 27 homicides in 2025. The bigger risks are the roads, theft and overcharging in South Beach nightlife, and hurricanes from June to November.
Why are there no small towns or suburbs on this list?
We score cities that many visitors travel to, not every place in the US. Small towns and suburbs often have far lower crime than any big city, but they are not on our list, so this ranking only compares large tourist cities with each other.