New Hampshire’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In New Hampshire, 38% of residents are concerned for their safety overall, which is below the national average of 47%. That low concern could be thanks to The Granite State's low crime rates. New Hampshire has the third lowest violent crime rate and second lowest property crime rate in the US.

New Hampshire comes in well below US averages for violent crime and property crime. Its already-low violent crime rate held steady this year, staying at 1.4 incidents per 1,000 people. Likewise, the property crime rate decreased from 10.6  to 10.3.  

New Hampshire's violent crime rate is 65% lower than the US average (4.0) and its property crime rate is 50% lower than the US average (20.7).

New Hampshire residents reported fewer experiences with property crime than the previous year, which aligns with the state's decreasing property crime rate. 

• 21% of New Hampshirites reported personal experiences with property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey. That's a 13% decrease from the previous year.
• Burglary and vehicle theft are the least common property crimes in The Granite State—each accounts for 7% of all property crimes in The Granite State.
• 34% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, putting New Hampshire just under the US average of 35%. 
• 28% of residents in New Hampshire use no form of property protection. This is above the 25% national average.
• The top form of property protection in New Hampshire this reporting year was security cameras, with 49% of survey respondents using them. 
• 45% of respondents said they increased their security measures int he 12 months prior to the survey.

Out of those surveyed, most of the residents in New Hampshire feel safe in their home state (63% versus 45% nationwide). This is likely a result of the state's low violent crime rate and low self-reported experiences with violent crime in the last year. 

• Granite Staters reported an 18% increase in their experiences with violent crime, but the numbers are still fairly low (13%).
• New Hampshire ranks third in the list of states with the lowest violent crime rates.
• Rape makes up a bigger proportion of violent crimes in New Hampshire (28%) compared to the US proportion of 11%.
• 33% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—lower than the US average (36%).
• Pocket knives are the most used form of personal protection (61%), followed by pepper spray (39%).

• 36% of New Hampshire residents cited gun violence as a safety concern—less than the US average of 51%, but it's a 24% rise in concern year over year.
• 6% reported a gun violence incident happening to them (US 12%). That's a 40% decrease from the year before.
• There was one mass shooting in New Hampshire during 2023—the only one reported in the past three years.
• 33% of New Hampshire respondents said they carry a concealed firearm for personal protection (US 41%).
• 23% of respondents told us they rely on a firearm to protect their New Hampshire property (US 28%).

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.

• Danville debuts as the safest city in New Hampshire for the first time.
• Alton jumped a whopping 52 spots to land in nineteenth place, while Auburn jumped 31 spots to land in tenth place. Milford also made impressive moves, jumping 22 spots to land in eighteenth place.
• Every safest city reported less than 1 violent crime per 1,000 people.
• Four of the safest cities reported zero violent crimes: Danville, Hopkinton, Rye, and Enfield
• All of the safest cities reported fewer than 6 property crimes per 1,000 residents.
• Seven of the safest cities reported zero burglaries: Danville, Strafford, Hopkinton, Brentwood, Auburn, New Boston, and Bow.

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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.