FRIENDSWOOD MAKES TOP TEN SAFEST CITIES

Texas – A byword for independence and pride, this state was once a fully independent republic. Although associated with ideas of “desert”, Texas, in reality, has less than 10% of its territory so designated. It has a significant Spanish/Mexican cultural legacy arising from its diverse history. Texas is the 2nd largest state after Alaska. 28.7 million people call Texas “home,” which means the Lonestar State is second in terms of population in the US. The sheer size of the state, however, means it only ranks 26th for population density. Originally the economy was heavily focused on cattle, ranching, cotton and timber. From WWII onwards, oil became increasingly important. Wealth has driven diversification of the economy, and manufacturing and high-tech research are currently growing industries. The state has also benefited from southward business migration to the “Sun Belt” that began in the later 20th century. 3.38Average violent crime per 1,000 24.97Average property crime per 1,000 Figures indicate that household income in Texas at $59,000 is close to the national average. Per capita income at nearly $30,000 is slightly below US national averages. The state’s crime statistics place it approximately around national averages. Specifically: ● It’s the 19th safest state for property crime (where 1st = lowest crime) ● Violent crime is at 3.38 crimes per 1,000 and is fractionally below (ratio 0.98) the national average of 3.47. ● The state’s property crime levels are significantly below national averages, being 24.97 per 1,000 compared to the national average of 40.43 – giving a ratio of 0.62. Santa Fe came in 25th with 12 violent crimes and 179 property crimes Galveston came in 52nd with 257 violent crimes and 1790 property crimes Dickinson came in 55th with 48 violent crimes and 483 property crimes League City came in 60th with 97 violent crimes and 1718 property crimes Texas City came in 25th with 237 violent crimes and 1704 property crimes La Marque came in 129th with 90 violent crimes and 752 property crimes Hitchcock did not report METHODOLOGY To identify the safest cities in Texas, we reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics at: https://ucr.fbi.gov. A total of 7,639 cities were factored into this ranking with populations ranging from 7,639 to 4,007,147. However, we eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removed cities with populations under 10,000. Overall, data from 8,793 law enforcement agencies that represented more 193 million of the US population helped us draw interesting insights between the size of the police force and incidence of crime.