Texas’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Texans’ concern about safety dropped 14% (from 66% to 57%) in our most recent State of Safety survey. Even so, Texans are still more concerned about safety than the national average of 47%.

But those who call one of Texas’s 50 safest cities home may be less concerned due to significantly lower rates of crime than the rest of the state.

Even though Texas’ crime rates are higher than national averages, The Lone Star State's safest cities boast 84% less violent crime and 66% less property crime than the rest of the state.

That said, the state saw a slight uptick in violent crime this year, rising from 4.6 to 5.1 incidents per 1,000 people. The property crime rate also rose from 21.9 to 23.4 incidents per 1,000 people.

Texans are 22% more concerned about property crime than most Americans. Higher concern may be what’s motivating Texans to invest in property protection measures more than other Americans. 

• Texas is ranked 12th in states with the highest property crime rates.
• 63% of Texans are worried that property crime will happen to them (US 52%).
• 69% of Texans are concerned about package theft (US 53%). 
• Larceny theft is the biggest form of property crime in Texas, with 7,529 larceny thefts reported in the safest cities.
• 41% of Texas survey participants use security cameras as property protection (US 26%), making it the most popular form of protection. Security systems came in second, followed by guard animals in third. 

Concern about violent crime is 2 percentage points higher in Texas than the previous survey year. That jump in concern reflects a rising violent crime rate statewide. Texans expressed the fifth-highest overall concern about gun violence in the nation.

• The Lone Star State is the 9th highest on our list for violent crimes.
• 44% of survey participants use some form of personal protection—higher than the national average of 36%.
• Pepper spray is the most common form of personal protection used in Texas, with 52% of respondents saying they use it. Pocket knives came in third with 32%.
• 2% of Texans say they use no form of personal protection (the national average is 3%).

• 67% said they worry about gun violence (US 51%).
• 11% reported having experience with gun violence (US 12%). That's down 31% from the year before.
• Firearms come in fourth as a preferred method of property protection.
• Concealed carry firearms are the most used self-defense item. 

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.

• 313 cities met criteria to be considered for ranking.
• Melissa rose 21 spots to make it to the #1 spot this year.
• Trophy Club dropped eight spots on the list from being tied at #2 last year and Fulshear dropped from #2 to #3 this year.
• Iowa Park is new to the list and made it to #4.
• All top ten cities reported zero murders.
• Eight of the top 10 cities reported zero robberies. 
• Fairview was the only city that reported no murders, rapes, and robberies. 

• 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.