Indiana’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Indiana has plenty to be proud of this year despite slight increases in violent crime and property crime. The state still comes in among the lowest in the country for per capita crime overall. And the safest cities in Indiana boast even lower incidence of crime.

Indiana saw a small rise in property crime year over year (from 16.6 to 16.8), following nationwide trends. Despite that bump, the state still lands 19% below the nationwide property crime rate of 20.7 incidents per 1,000. Violent crime in Indiana increased from 3.1 incidents per 1,000 people to 3.7, but it still falls 6% below the nationwide violent crime rate of 4.0. 

Despite having lower than average crime rates, fewer Hoosiers feel safe in their state (40%) than the national average (45%). That represents a 9% decrease in Indiana's overall sense of safety year over year. 

Indiana’s property crime rate of 16.8 incidents per 1,000 people is lower than the national average (20.7) but it's a small rise from our 2023 report. Despite that bump, Indiana still has the fourteenth lowest property crime rate in the country.

The Hoosiers we talked to in our State of Safety survey felt just as concerned about property crime as the average American, with 52% reporting daily levels of concern. That said, 26% of Hoosiers claimed to have experienced property crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is lower than the national average of 27%.

• Indiana has a smaller proportion of property crime (82%) than the national average (84%).
• Nearly 4 in 10 (37%) Indiana respondents told us they increased their security measures in the 12 months prior to our survey (US 35%).
• Of the Hoosiers who use some form of property protection (69%), most preferred guard dogs (33%) followed by firearms and security cameras (32% each).
• Package theft concerns 57% of Indiana residents (US 53%).
• 31% of Hoosiers claimed to have experienced a package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, which is lower than the national average of 35% and represents a decrease of 26% year over year.
• When asked about their package theft prevention strategies, 31% of survey respondents said they use a doorbell camera and 26% ask the delivery person to drop packages in a safe location.

Indiana’s violent crime rate of 3.7 is below the national average of 4.0 and represents a 6% increase year over year. Indiana still comes in with the nineteenth lowest violent crime rate in the US. 

Conversely, our State of Safety Survey results reflected a decrease in high concern about violent crime, from 49% in last year's report to 47%. However, we saw an increase in the number of Indiana residents claiming to have experienced a violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey—rising from 11% to 14% year over year.

• 74% of survey respondents think crime is increasing, just 1 point higher than the national average.
• Indiana reports a higher proportion of violent crimes than the rest of the US. It makes up 18% of all crime in the state, compared to 16% of all crime nationwide.
• 33% of Indiana residents who participated in our survey use some form of personal protection (US 36%).
• Of the Hoosiers who use personal protection, most (67%) prefer concealed firearms and pocket knives (52%).

• 51% of Indiana survey respondents told us they're highly concerned about gun violence, up from 49% last year (US 51%).
• 12% experienced gun violence in the 12 months prior to the survey, matching the nationwide average and two points higher than last year.
• Of the Indiana residents who use some form of personal protection, 67% use concealed firearms, compared to 41% nationwide.
• 32% rely on a firearm for property protection, compared to 28% across the US.
• 16 mass shooting events occurred in Indiana during 2023, one more than was reported in 2022.

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.

• 51 Indiana cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Zionsville moved into the top spot from second place last year.
• Frankfort, Cedar Lake, and Chesterton all joined the top 10 for the first time this year.
• Every safest city reported fewer than 2 violent crimes per 1,000 people, and 8 reported fewer than 1.
• Fishers and Carmel each have populations exceeding 100,000, making their low crime rates even more impressive.
• Munster made the biggest move—jumping 11 spots to land at number 5 this year.
• The safest cities reported 53% fewer burglaries than the rest of the state, with Zionsville and Chesterton reporting the fewest at 3 and 4 respectively.

• Best Home Security Systems
• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras
• 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.