Unveiling The Safest Cities In Minnesota Amid Rising Safety Concerns

It seems like every morning when I turn on the news, there are stories about more shootings and deaths in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Is it worse than it used to be, or am I just paying more attention? I really feels like a daily thing.

Add the tragedy that unfolded Sunday morning in Burnsville resulting in the death of two police officers and a firefighter/EMT, and you start to wonder if it's safe anywhere anymore.

Data shows that some places in Minnesota are safer than others.

The research team at CrimeDate.io used the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System to determine how many crimes took place from 2012 through 2021 in each Minnesota city, then calculated the crime rate per 100,000 population in each location. They only looked at Minnesota cities with a population of 5,000 or more.

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Minnesota's 25 Safest Cities for 2024

#25 - Waite Park (located in Stearns County) Crime 462 per 100k
#24 - St. Cloud (located in Stearns County) Crime 462 per 100k
#23 - Maple Grove (located in Hennepin County) Crime 449 per 100k
#22 - Winona (located in Winona County) Crime 448 per 100k
#21 - Apple Valley (located in Dakota County) Crime 431 per 100k
#20 - Rosemount (located in Dakota County) Crime 412 per 100k
#19 - Stewartville (located in Olmsted County) Crime 403 per 100k
#18 - Rochester (located in Olmsted County) Crime 403 per 100k
#17 - Plymouth (located in Hennepin County) Crime 399 per 100k
#16 - Morris (located in Stevens County) Crime 396 per 100k
#15 - St. Francis (located in Anoka County) Crime 325 per 100k
#14 - Hibbing (located in St. Louis County) Crime 279 per 100k
#13 - Bemidji (located in Beltrami County) Crime 270 per 100k
#12 - Marshall (located in Lyon County) Crime 263 per 100k
#11 - Redwood Falls (located in Redwood County) Crime 199 per 100k

The FBI's NBIRS system is a trusted source for crime statistics, providing valuable insights into the security landscapes of cities and communities across the nation.

#10 - Austin (located in Mower County) Crime 196 per 100k
#9 - Worthington (located in Nobles County) Crime 166 per 100k
#8 - Montevideo (located in Chippewa County) Crime 163 per 100k
#7 - Lake City (located in Wabasha County) Crime 162 per 100k
#6 - Fairmont (located in Martin County) Crime 146 per 100k
#5 - St. Louis Park (located in Hennepin County) Crime 142 per 100k
#4 - Oak Grove (located in Anoka County) Crime 98.3 per 100k
#3 - Ham Lake (located in Anoka County) Crime 98.3 per 100k
#2 - East Bethel (located in Anoka County) Crime 98.3 per 100k
#1 - Eagan (located in Dakota County) Crime 68.3 per 100k

There's no one area of the state that stands out as being a lot safer than the rest, but Anoka county has four cities in the top-25, and three in the top-4. Dakota has three in the top-25, including the safest city in the state.