Buckeye, Oro Valley top list of 20 safest cities in Arizona

PHOENIX — Despite the western part of the United States having a higher violent crime rate than many other regions of the country, Arizona’s rate was lower than the average national rate.

The 20 safest cities in Arizona averaged 1.7 violent crimes per 1,000 people, according to SafeWise, which is about 63 percent less than the national rate of 4.64.

The site compiled a list of the 20 safest Arizona cities.

The top three were relatively small cities: Buckeye, Oro Valley and Florence, with violent crime rates per 1,000 people of 0.54, 0.66 and 0.71, respectively.

With that said, population size didn’t reflect safety. Gilbert, No. 4 on the list with a 0.78 violent crime rate, has a population of more than 250,000.

Additionally, Gilbert’s property crime rate was lower than that of Buckeye and Oro Valley at 13.16.

Surprise and Scottsdale were two other cities with six-digit populations to make the top 10.

The website used 2016 FBI crime report statistics and population data to evaluate the safety of Arizona cities.

Aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery were considered violent crimes.

Here’s the complete list of cities that made the list:

1. Buckeye
2. Oro Valley
3. Florence
4. Gilbert
5. Sahuarita
6. Marana
7. Surprise
8. San Luis
9. Scottsdale
10. Prescott Valley
11. Maricopa
12. Sierra Vista
13. Peoria
14. Chandler
15. El Mirage
16. Bullhead City
17. Lake Havasu City
18. Apache Junction
19. Avondale
20. Nogales

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