Mississippi’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In our most recent State of Safety survey, only 35% of Mississippians said they feel safe in their state, despite the state boasting the lowest violent crime rate in the country. Its property crime rate is the nineteenth-lowest in the US.

Mississippi is doing better than the year before, gradually becoming one of our safest states. Its violent crime rate is 90% lower than the national average, and its property crime rate is 12% lower than the national average. 

Mississippi's violent crime rate decreased year over year from 2.4 reported per 1,000 residents to 0.4. That drastic decline may be because of fewer cities throughout the state reporting crimes to the FBI.

Property crime increased from 17.9 property crimes in 1,000 people to 18.2. Overall, Mississippi reported around 1,300 violent crimes and over 53,000 property crimes in the reporting year.

Property crime rose year over year from 17.9 to 18.2 incidents per 1,000 people and 6 in 10 of Mississippi residents surveyed said they are highly concerned about property crime. 

• Concern about property crime rose 13% year over year.
• 28% said they had personal experience with property crime during the 12 reporting months—a 13% decline year over year.
• 31% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, putting Mississippi below the US average of 35%.
• 22% of Mississippians surveyed use no form of property protection. This is below the 25% average for the US.
• The top forms of property protection in Mississippi were  security cameras (48%) and firearms (41%). 
• 4 in 10 respondents (41%) told us they increased their security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey.

The amount of Mississippi residents that say they feel safe in their state rose 3% year over year. Despite the lowest violent crime rate in the nation, only 35% say they feel safe (US 45%). This may be because of an increase of mass shooting events statewide. 

• 56% of survey respondents said they're highly concerned about violent crime—a bump of 2% compared to last year's report.
• 23% of survey respondents reported having a personal experience with violent crime 12 months prior to the survey—up from 18% last year.
• 49% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection like stun guns or pepper spray. This is more than most Americans—the national average lands at 36%.
• 6 in 10 respondents (61%) who use any personal protection, prefer to carry concealed firearms—that's 20 points higher than most of the country.

• Mississippi had 25 mass shootings, an increase of 78.6% year over year. In 2022, 14 mass shooting events were reported.
• 21% of residents surveyed reported an experience with gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey—that's a 62% increase year over year. The national average is 12%.
• Guns are the most popular form of personal protection. 60% said they use a concealed weapon as a form of personal protection (US 41%). 
• Firearms are the second-most popular property security measure in the state—41% use them compared to 28% nationwide.
• 53% of those surveyed are worried about a gun violence incident happening to them (US 51%).

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• This year, Petal toppled Madison to claim the top spot on our list.
• Three cities climbed five spots or more to become one of Mississippi's safest cities: Waveland, Richland, and Byram.
• None of the top 10 safest cities reported more than 3.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.
• Madison and Long Beach had zero reports of rape.
• Holly Springs had the lowest amount of property crimes, reporting only 21 for the year (that's 4 fewer than last year!).
• Hernando and Holly Springs reported the fewest burglaries, with fewer than 10 each.

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Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.