The 10 safest cities in the United States Intro Photo Credit: Monique Röling / Alamy Stock Photo Outside of housing and education, safety often tops parentsâ priority list when choosing where to live. Fortunately for such families, both violent and property crime in the U.S. has largely been on the decline for decades. According to the FBIâs Uniform Crime Reporting database, crime rates peaked in 1991 and fell by more than 50 percent between then and 2014. Despite a small uptick in violent offenses between 2014 and 2017, crime in America is near a thirty-year low. That said, criminal activity is far from the only aspect to consider when evaluating how âsafeâ an area is. Factors such as excessive drinking, smoking, and other risky behaviors, many of which have been rising, all contribute to a cityâs broader safety profile.