Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodriguez and Fire Chief Guillermo Heard on Oct. 16, 2026, at the Laredo Fire Administration Building.
David Gomez Jr. /Laredo Morning Times
Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino on Oct. 15, 2026, at the City of Laredo Utilities Department North Laredo Wastewater Treatment Plant Administration Building.
David Gomez Jr. /Laredo Morning Times
Laredo finished as the top city in Texas again in WalletHub’s Safest Cities in America study in 2026, despite falling more than 20 spots to its lowest ranking in years.
Laredo ranked No. 36 out of 182 cities in the study. That was its lowest ranking in years, but it marked the city’s fifth straight year as the highest-ranked city in Texas. The Gateway City peaked at No. 3 in 2022, then was No. 11 in 2023, No. 21 in 2024 and No. 13 in 2025.
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WalletHub’s study compared data for 182 cities, including the 150 most populated cities and at least the two highest-populated cities from each state. Cities were evaluated using 41 relevant metrics divided among three categories: home and community safety, natural-disaster risk and financial safety.
“For another year, WalletHub has named Laredo the safest city in Texas. That recognition belongs to the men and women of the Laredo Police Department and to the residents who partner with us every day,” Laredo Police Chief Miguel A. Rodriguez Jr. said. “Laredo ranked 36th out of 182 cities nationwide, and 36th in Home and Community Safety, the category most tied to crime and policing.
“We moved down from 13th last year, and we’re not going to make excuses for that. Part of it reflects things outside law enforcement, like financial safety and natural disaster risk, which count heavily in WalletHub’s methodology. The rankings also shifted a lot this year across the country.”
Last year, Laredo finished 48 spots ahead of the next-closest Texas city. This year, Garland was only five spots back at No. 41. Among the 14 other Texas cities included in the study, six ranked in the top half, including:
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Amarillo (No. 56)
Irving (No. 59)
Brownsville (No. 64)
Lubbock (No. 78)
Grand Prairie (No. 80)
Plano (No. 91)
The other eight cities ranked in the bottom half were:
Arlington (No. 102)
El Paso (No. 103)
Fort Worth (No. 106)
San Antonio (No. 118)
Austin (No. 139)
Corpus Christi (No. 140)
Dallas (No. 167)
Houston (No. 175)
“As Mayor, I am proud to represent Laredo, the highest-ranked Texas city in WalletHub’s 2026 Safest Cities in America study,” Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino said. “WalletHub places Laredo 36th nationally in a broad comparison that considers crime, natural-disaster risk and financial security, including health insurance coverage, which we are ranked last in the country. SmartAsset’s separate study ranked Laredo sixth among the safest large cities nationally and second in Texas. These studies use different measures, and each offers a valuable perspective on our community.”
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The highest rating for Laredo was finishing No. 36 in the home and community safety category, which accounted for 60% of the total. It finished No. 65 for natural disaster risk and No. 93 for financial safety, which each accounted for 20%.
“Rankings are one measure. What matters most is how safe our families feel in their neighborhoods, and that work doesn’t change with a list,” Rodriguez said. “We will keep working with our community, our schools, and our local, state and federal partners to keep Laredo safe for everyone who lives here, works here or visits our city.”
Home and community safety had 17 metrics. Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita and presence of terrorist attacks carried the heaviest weight at 7.83%. Weighted at 5.22% were forcible rapes, sex offenders, drug poisoning deaths and pedestrian fatalities. Mass shootings, assaults, thefts, hate crimes, perception of safety, traffic fatalities and road quality were worth 2.61%, while law enforcement employees, active firefighters, EMTs and paramedics and share of sheltered homeless were worth 1.3%.
“Our police officers, firefighters and first responders work every day to protect Laredo, and they deserve our recognition and continued support,” Trevino said. “Their dedication, together with our community’s commitment to safety, helps make these rankings possible.”
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While no data was available for mass shootings or share of sheltered homeless, Laredo ranked among the top 40 in five other metrics, including tying for first with no presence of terrorist attacks. It was also No. 10 for hate crimes per capita (0.39), No. 17 for thefts per capita (11.69), No. 32 for perception of safety, No. 37 for sex offenders per capita (102.87) and No. 38 for drug poisoning deaths per capita (20.75).
Laredo ranked among the top half in five other metrics. It was No. 53 for assaults per capita (232.94), No. 55 for murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita (3.05), No. 64 for traffic fatalities per capita (7.76), No. 75 for forcible rapes per capita (39.2) and No. 78 for law enforcement employees per capita (236.75).
The city ranked among the bottom half for the remaining four metrics, including No. 105 for EMTs and paramedics per capita (66.84), No. 106 for active firefighters per capita (1.58), No. 108 for road quality and No. 115 for pedestrian fatalities per capita (3.11).
“Improving access to medical services, especially for our children and families, has been a focus of my administration,” Trevino said. “These studies reinforce the importance of continuing that work while supporting the first responders who keep our community safe.”
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The natural-disaster risk category featured six metrics worth 3.33% each, including earthquake risk, riverine flood risk, hail risk, hurricane storm-surge risk, tornado risk and wildfire risk. Each metric was graded with an index score up to 100, with 100 implying the most risk.
Laredo only finished among the bottom half in one metric, at No. 101 for hail risk at 89.6. Its highest ranking was No. 12 in earthquake risk at 44.24. The other rankings included No. 46 for riverine flood risk (91.03), No. 62 for tornado risk (76.91), No. 68 for wildfire risk (63.84) and No. 75 for hurricane storm-surge risk (85.73).
The financial safety category featured 18 metrics, with unemployment rate double-rated at 2.11%. The other 17 metrics were all worth 1.05%, including underemployment rate, uninsured population, uninsured drivers, foreclosure rate, median credit score, debt-to-income ratio, homes spending at least 35% of income on housing, poverty rate, fraud and other complaints, identity-theft complaints, unbanked households, job security, employment growth, households with emergency savings, retirement plan access and participation, bankruptcy filings and seriously underwater mortgages.
“As a physician, I also recognize that safety and financial security are closely connected,” Trevino said. “Families need protection from crime and disasters, as well as access to affordable health coverage and medical care. A medical emergency should never force a family to choose between seeking treatment and paying essential bills, or being financially devastated because we have to take our children out of town for pediatric medical services.”
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Laredo ranked No. 3 for underemployment rate at -10.1% but was No. 125 for unemployment rate at 4.6%. It finished last at No. 182 for share of uninsured population at 27.3%.
The city finished among the top 40 in five other metrics, including No. 3 for fraud and other complaints per capita (594), No. 7 for job security, No. 11 for bankruptcy filings per capita (57.19), No. 16 for employment growth (1.87%) and No. 34 for identity-theft complaints per capita (165). It was also in the top half for share of uninsured drivers at No. 84 (14.5%).
Laredo ranked in the bottom half for six other metrics, including No. 136 for share of seriously underwater mortgages (3.5%), No. 143 for homes spending at least 35% of income on housing, No. 156 for poverty rate (20.9%), No. 164 for foreclosure rate (0.056%), No. 166 for debt-to-income ratio (54.19%) and No. 176 for median credit score (652).
There was no data available for unbanked households, households with emergency savings or retirement plans.
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Laredo finished 45 spots ahead of Hialeah, Florida, the only city in the country with a higher concentration of Hispanic population. Hialeah ranked 22 spots higher at No. 14 for home and community safety, but it was No. 163 for natural-disaster risk and No. 177 for financial safety.
The top 10 safest cities in the study were:
No. 1: Juneau, Alaska
No. 2: Warwick, Rhode Island
No. 3: Overland Park, Kansas
No. 4: Burlington, Vermont
No. 5: South Burlington, Vermont
No. 6: Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 7: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
No. 8: Casper, Wyoming
No. 9: Boise, Idaho
No. 10: Yonkers, New York
Laredo’s No. 36 ranking in home and community safety was higher than three of the top five overall cities, with Burlington at No. 43, Juneau at No. 46 and South Burlington at No. 51. It was also just behind Casper at No. 32 and Boise at No. 33.
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The 10 least safe cities in the study were:
No. 173: St. Louis, Missouri
No. 174: Cleveland, Ohio
No. 175: Houston, Texas
No. 176: Jacksonville, Florida
No. 177: Detroit, Michigan
No. 178: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 179: Memphis, Tennessee
No. 180: Baltimore, Maryland
No. 181: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
No. 182: New Orleans, Louisiana