Florida’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

With crime rates that are lower than nationwide averages, it's surprising that Floridians are among the most concerned about crime and safety in the US. From those we surveyed, more than one in two Floridians (53%) feel a high daily level of concern for their safety—but that's a 13% decline year over year.

 Just four in 10 Floridians (39%) surveyed say they feel safe in their state, the eighteenth-lowest safety confidence in the nation.

Both violent crime and property crime are below national averages in Florida. Violent crime is lower than it was in 2022 (the last year for which we had data), with 3.2 incidents per 1,000 people, putting Florida below the national violent crime rate of 4.0 per 1,000.

But the Sunshine State saw a rise in property crime since our 2022 report—seeing 19.4 incidents per 1,000. That still puts Florida below the nationwide rate of 20.7.

Compared to the rest of the US, Florida has the fourteenth lowest violent crime rate and the twenty-second lowest property crime rate.

Property crime is more of a concern for Floridians than most other issues, and that concern seems to drive residents to take proactive action when it comes to home security. Florida shows a higher number of residents who use crime-deterring measures like security cameras and security systems.

• Property crime is a top concern for 55% of the Floridians we talked to (US 52%).
• Florida's property crime rate is 19.4 incidents per 1,000 people—that's 6% below the nationwide rate of 20.7.
• 19% of respondents experienced property crime in the year prior to the survey—31% below the national average and the third lowest in the nation.
• Package theft is the least worrisome crime issue in Florida, with 53% concerned about it every day (US 53%).
• 27% of Florida residents in our survey said they experienced package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey—the third-lowest in the US.
• 8 in 10 Floridians (81%) use some kind of property protection. Security cameras (49%) and security systems (39%) are the most popular in The Sunshine State.
• 35% of respondents told us they increased security measures in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Florida’s violent crime rate went down from 3.8 incidents per 1,000 people in our 2022 report to 3.2. The US held course year over year, remaining at 4.0 violent crime incidents per 1,000 people. Bucking nationwide trends, survey respondents reported experience with violent crime in Florida went down 19% year over year.

• Florida's violent crime rate is 19% below the nationwide rate.
• Concern about violent crime increased from 53% to 54% year over year (US 50%).
• 13% of survey respondents reported an experience with violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey. That's a 19% decrease year over year, and the fourteenth lowest level of experience in the US.
• 33% of Florida residents use some form of personal protection, with pocket knives, pepper spray, and concealed firearms each named by 42% of respondents.
• 39% of Florida respondents said they feel safe in their state—a 7% drop year over year (US 45%).

• Nearly 7 in 10 Florida respondents (68%) said that gun violence is their top daily safety concern (US 51%), and 17% reported a personal experience with gun violence in the past 12 months, exceeding the US average of 12%.
• There were 30 mass shooting incidents reported in Florida in 2023, 1 fewer than the previous year.
• Concealed carry firearms are one of the most popular forms of personal protection, carried by 42% of survey respondents that use personal safety devices.
• Firearms are the fourth choice for property protection in Florida, with 23% of respondents using them.

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.

• 8 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Marco Island is the safest city in Florida, with fewer than 100 total crimes reported.
• 3 cities reported zero murders: Marco Island, Sunny Isles, and Doral.
• Kissimmee is the only city to report a higher per capita violent crime rate than the nationwide average, reporting 4.1 incidents per 1,000 people. But the city fared better with property crime, reporting 3 fewer incidents per 1,000 people than the nationwide average.
• Largo is the largest city on the list with over 80,000 residents, making its low violent crime rate of 3.6 even more impressive.
• The collective violent crime rate of the safest cities is 2.8 incidents per 1,000—12% lower than the statewide rate.
• The collective property crime rate of the safest cities is 17.8 incidents per 1,000—8% below the statewide rate.

• Best Home Security Systems
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• Burglary Stats & Facts
• Over 50% Of All Burglaries Are Residential—How To Protect Your Family
• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation

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.