A no trespassing sign is seen along a fence surrounding a property that CenterPoint Energy owns near South Cotton Lake Road, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Beach City.

A no trespassing sign is seen along a fence surrounding a property that CenterPoint Energy owns near South Cotton Lake Road, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Beach City.

Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

When moving to a new town, what factors do you consider in deeming if an area is “safe” to live in?

Safety can come in many forms: from public health and natural disasters to mass shootings and traffic accidents. Then there are other factors that don’t necessarily cause physical harm but nonetheless create feelings of insecurity.

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“When people think about safety in a city, their minds probably immediately go to things like the crime rate, auto fatality rate or risk of natural disasters,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people’s financial safety. Financial safety includes things like minimizing the risk of fraud and identity theft, keeping the population employed and insured, and combating homelessness.”

To determine where Americans feel most secure overall, WalletHub analyzed over 180 U.S. cities across 41 key measures ranging from assaults and traffic fatalities to unemployment rates and shares of populations that are uninsured.

How safe is your city? Here’s what WalletHub found.

Texas ranks near the bottom in study of U.S. safest states, WalletHub says

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Laredo No. 13 safest US city: WalletHub

Believe it or not, the South Texas city ranked the highest among Lone Star State cities in WalletHub’s safety rankings. Unlike other Texas cities, Laredo (No. 25) and Corpus Christi (No. 18) had lower risks of natural disasters. The same is true of home and community safety rankings: Laredo (No. 26) and Grand Prairie ranked higher than every other Texas city.



A few other cities in the Lone Star State stood out in WalletHub’s safety categories. Fort Worth and El Paso had the No. 1 and No. 2 fewest hate crimes per capita, respectively. Plano had the fifth-fewest assaults per capita in the U.S.

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However, not all of Laredo’s rankings were positive: It ranked among four other Texas cities with the largest shares of uninsured residents.

Texas cities have among highest risk of natural disasters, highest share of uninsured population

Caution tape covers the entrance of Camp Mystic on July 7, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending the camp.

Caution tape covers the entrance of Camp Mystic on July 7, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending the camp.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

On the other end of the safety spectrum, Houston ranked as the seventh-least safe city overall. It also had the greatest risk of natural disasters, followed by several other Texas cities (No. 1 = least risk; No. 182 = most risk):

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No. 182: Houston

No. 181: Arlington

No. 179: Grand Prairie

No. 178: Irving

No. 177: Fort Worth

No. 173: Garland

No. 172: Dallas

No. 171: Plano

Texas is No. 1 state hit hardest by extreme weather, with over 3,600 storm events in 2024

Texas cities also claimed all of the top five spots for the highest shares of uninsured residents. Brownsville had the highest among the nation, with a share 13 times larger than that of South Burlington, Vermont, which had the lowest portion of uninsured residents.

No. 182: Brownsville

No. 181: Laredo

No. 180: Garland

No. 179: Houston

No. 178: Dallas

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Texas cities safety rankings

Here’s the complete list of Texas cities’ rankings in the WalletHub study:

Total Score: 66.43

Home & community safety rank: 26

Natural disaster risk rank: 25

Financial safety rank: 81

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Total Score: 61.13

Home & community safety rank: 48

Natural disaster risk rank: 95

Financial safety rank: 68

Total Score: 60.39

Home & community safety rank: 11

Natural disaster risk rank: 179

Financial safety rank: 125

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Total Score: 59.23

Home & community safety rank: 64

Natural disaster risk rank: 142

Financial safety rank: 45

Total Score: 58.88

Home & community safety rank: 62

Natural disaster risk rank: 120

Financial safety rank: 95

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Total Score: 58.49

Home & community safety rank: 34

Natural disaster risk rank: 178

Financial safety rank: 112

Total Score: 58.46

Home & community safety rank: 82

Natural disaster risk rank: 154

Financial safety rank: 38

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Total Score: 56.69

Home & community safety rank: 99

Natural disaster risk rank: 78

Financial safety rank: 101

Total Score: 55.51

Home & community safety rank: 75

Natural disaster risk rank: 171

Financial safety rank: 88

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Total Score: 54.94

Home & community safety rank: 67

Natural disaster risk rank: 181

Financial safety rank: 130

Total Score: 53.55

Home & community safety rank: 111

Natural disaster risk rank: 162

Financial safety rank: 108

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Total Score: 53.42

Home & community safety rank: 90

Natural disaster risk rank: 177

Financial safety rank: 143

Total Score: 52.48

Home & community safety rank: 147

Natural disaster risk rank: 18

Financial safety rank: 56

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Total Score: 52.07

Home & community safety rank: 103

Natural disaster risk rank: 173

Financial safety rank: 145

Total Score: 42.77

Home & community safety rank: 155

Natural disaster risk rank: 172

Financial safety rank: 142

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Total Score: 38.10

Home & community safety rank: 165

Natural disaster risk rank: 182

Financial safety rank: 161

Top 15 safest cities in the US

Warwick, Rhode Island
Overland Park, Kansas
Burlington, Vermont
Juneau, Alaska
Yonkers, New York
Casper, Wyoming
South Burlington, Vermont
Columbia, Maryland
Lewiston, Maine
Salem, Oregon
Nashua, New Hampshire
Boise, Idaho
Laredo, Texas
Santa Rosa, California
Virginia Beach, Virginia

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15 least safe cities in the US

New Orleans, Louisiana
Memphis, Tennessee
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Detroit, Michigan
Baltimore, Maryland
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Houston, Texas
San Bernardino, California
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cleveland, Ohio
Washington, D.C.
Atlanta, Georgia
Jackson, Mississippi
Oakland, California
Richmond, Virginia