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There is no independently verified top ten that combines affordability and crime rates in the available data. A 2026 list names ten cities, but its published details contain inconsistencies, and its city-by-city affordability calculations have not been independently validated. A separate analysis of 2024 crime data provides a useful cross-check for five of those cities—but ranks crime cost, not affordability or personal safety.
For a moving decision, treat the cities below as a shortlist to investigate, not a definitive ranking. Compare crime categories and data years separately, then check local housing costs and neighborhood-level information against your budget.
Which cities make the provisional affordable, lower-crime shortlist?
Ocity’s 2026 article lists the following ten cities in this order. It says the list draws on 714 U.S. cities, requires populations above 100,000 and violent crime below the national average, and combines safety and affordability in a 50/50 score with a housing-cost-to-median-income cap. The page says its cost-of-living index uses 100 as the U.S. average.
That ranking should not be treated as settled: the article’s FAQ names Naperville and Frisco among the top three although neither appears in its displayed top ten. It also cites Brownsville and Spokane as below-average-cost examples that are absent from the displayed list. The underlying city-by-city inputs and combined calculations have not been independently validated.
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| Provisional order | City | State | Independent crime-cost ranking cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary | North Carolina | 12th |
| 2 | Carmel | Indiana | 1st |
| 3 | Fishers | Indiana | 4th |
| 4 | Orem | Utah | Not stated |
| 5 | Overland Park | Kansas | 20th |
| 6 | Meridian | Idaho | 14th |
| 7 | Virginia Beach | Virginia | Not stated |
| 8 | Provo | Utah | Not stated |
| 9 | Sandy | Utah | Not stated |
| 10 | Olathe | Kansas | Not stated |
The first column reflects Ocity’s displayed order, not a verified ordering by crime rate. The cross-check column gives MoneyGeek’s 2026 positions among 315 cities over 100,000 residents, ranked by estimated annual crime cost per resident using FBI city-level crime counts for 2024 and Census American Community Survey population figures. MoneyGeek’s position is a different measure from Ocity’s combined score; the two lists cannot be blended into one ranking. Sources: Ocity Data Team’s 2026 list and MoneyGeek’s 2026 analysis.
What crime figures are available for the five cross-checked cities?
MoneyGeek’s display of FBI 2024 data reports the following violent- and property-crime rates per 100,000 residents. These are reported-crime rates used in that analysis, not a measure of an individual’s chance of victimization.
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| City | Violent crime per 100,000 | Property crime per 100,000 | MoneyGeek crime-cost rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmel, Indiana | 66 | 813 | 1 |
| Fishers, Indiana | 73 | 659 | 4 |
| Cary, North Carolina | 71 | 1,317 | 12 |
| Meridian, Idaho | 147 | 571 | 14 |
| Overland Park, Kansas | 184 | 1,762 | 20 |
MoneyGeek estimates annual crime cost at $186 per resident for Carmel, Indiana, and ranks it first on that basis. Its “safest” label means the lowest estimated crime cost per resident in its analysis—not the lowest rate for every offense or a direct measurement of personal safety. Crime-cost estimates use national average costs for offenses, which may not reflect actual costs in a particular city. Use the figures to compare cities, not to predict exact losses. Source: MoneyGeek’s 2026 analysis.
Why “affordable” and “lowest crime” need clear definitions
A cost-of-living index, rent, home prices, and housing expenses as a share of income measure different things. A city can look inexpensive on one measure and unaffordable for a particular household on another. Ocity describes a housing-cost-to-median-income cap and a cost-of-living index, but the inconsistencies in its published list mean those figures do not establish a verified affordability ranking.
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Crime rankings also depend on what is counted. A violent-crime rate, a property-crime rate, and estimated crime cost per resident are not interchangeable. A city can rank well on one and less well on another, as the separate rates and crime-cost positions in the table illustrate.
- Check the affordability measure: compare the rent or home price you would actually face with your expected household income, rather than relying on a single citywide index.
- Compare like-for-like crime data: note offense categories, reporting year, population denominator, and whether a ranking uses rates or a composite score.
- Look beyond the citywide average: neighborhood conditions can vary, and a citywide rate cannot guarantee safety for an individual.
How current are the crime trends?
The FBI’s 2025 national reported-crime release says violent crime fell 9.3% from 2024 to 2025, the largest year-to-year decline since the FBI began estimating trends in 1936. It estimates murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses declined 18.1%; the murder rate was 4.1 per 100,000, tied with 1955 and 1956 for the lowest rate. More than 17,000 agencies submitted data, covering 96.2% of the U.S. population. These are national figures, not evidence that any particular city on the shortlist has a low rate. See the FBI release.
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FBI figures cover crimes reported to participating law-enforcement agencies, so unreported crime is absent and coverage or reporting practices can affect comparisons. For context, the Council on Criminal Justice’s year-end 2025 report tracks 13 offense types across a set of 40 cities using local police incident data through December 2025. Its city count varies by offense; classifications differ, some cities do not report every category, and the snapshot may differ from later local and FBI releases. It also warns that the transition to NIBRS can affect comparisons and that its sample does not necessarily represent all large cities or the country. Use it for trend context, not to establish a complete ranking of affordable cities. Read the Council on Criminal Justice report.
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How to evaluate a city before you move
- Set your own affordability threshold. Estimate the rent or mortgage, utilities, taxes, and other housing costs you expect, then compare that total with your household income.
- Compare offense rates for the same year. Review violent and property crime separately, using rates per population rather than raw counts when comparing differently sized cities.
- Check the source and coverage. Confirm whether figures are based on reported incidents, which agencies or population are covered, and whether the ranking is a rate, a crime-cost estimate, or a weighted combination.
- Research the neighborhoods you would actually consider. Citywide averages do not describe every neighborhood. Consult local, neighborhood-level information and compare it with the specific housing options in your budget.
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