Like living in a safe place? Who doesn’t right?
Want to find out the safest places in New York?
Check out our list of the safest places in New York and explore the data for OVER 60 towns embedded in the map down below.
New York – The Empire State
New York, known as The Empire State, is ranked fourth in the nation in terms of population. It became a state on July 26th, 1788, and was the eleventh state. Although New York City is the most populous city in the state, and the most popular in terms of retail and tourism, the state capital is Albany (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)).
New York is bordered by several U.S. states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and the Canadian provinces Quebec and Ontario.
New York has several landmarks that are popular in terms of tourism, including Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Niagara Falls.
The state flower in New York is the rose, while the state tree is the Sugar Maple. The state bird is the Eastern Bluebird, and the state insect is the Nine Spotted Ladybug. New York’s state fruit is the apple (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/newyork/).
New York has several notable sports teams, including the Buffalo Bills of the NFL, basketball teams the Booklyn Nets and the New York Knicks, Major League Baseball teams the New York Mets and the New York Yankees, and ice hockey team the Buffalo Sabres (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)).
The State of New York is known for its nightlife, businesses, cuisine, sports, landmarks, music, and performing arts, all of which have many notable people who currently live in New York or were born in the state.
How we ranked the cities
To come up with the safest places in New York, we:
- started with reported crime data collected and published by the FBI for 2014 (the latest year available)
- filtered out tiny towns (<5k residents, sorry folks!)
- looked at crime rates per 1,000 residents
- weighted violent crimes more than property crimes to establish a final, composite score
- ranked the towns based on that score
Of course, other factors go into the best places to live, but a low crime rate seems like a great place to start!
We were even surprised in a few places. Often, smaller towns are safer, as shown by our burglary risk calculator. But, even Minneapolis made the list!
That brings up another point, there is a delay in the data for it to get compiled, normalized, and released by the FBI. So, the 2014 data that we had available does lag reality by a bit. And unfortunately, not all localities report this data, so some nice places may have been left out.
#1 Johnson City Village
Population: 15,174 (2010 census)
Johnson City Village is a small town near the southern part of New York, near the New York-Pennsylvania border. It is a part of a larger city called Union, New York. The town’s motto, “The home of the square deal,” is due to the “square deal” given to employees of the Endicott Johnson Company, a shoe manufacturer.
Johnson City Village is a wonderful place for families due to their multiple parks. One park, CFJ Park, even has a carousel and spray park for summer. There are quite a few activities and fun things to do in the summer!
The town is home to Oakdale Mall, small shopping mall with stores such as Sears and Macy’s, which gives the residents of the town and surrounding areas employment. Davis College is also located in Johnson City Village.
#2 Lakewood-Busti
Population: 3,002 (2010 census)
Lakewood is a small village within the northern part of the town of Busti. Lakewood shares a lot with the town of Busti – community events, their police force, and the fire department.
Lakewood is beautiful and scenic, with a lake that can be used for swimming, boating, and fishing, and parks for hiking and picnicking. There are seasonal events going on throughout the village throughout the year, giving residents and visitors something new to do.
Lakewood has its own retail district as well, with restaurants, factories, stores, and even a shopping mall that for employment and shopping.
It's OK to brag . . . just don't overdo it!
#3 Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, a beautiful city known for its breathtaking waterfalls, parks, and scenic views, is located in western New York, on the Canadian border. The town is big on tourism, since it is a major attraction, honeymoon, and vacation spot. Almost ten million people visit the falls each year!
Other places in Niagara Falls worth visiting or learning more about include Niagara Falls State Park and its attractions such as Cave of the Winds and the boat tour that gives you an up close view of the falls – Maid of the Mist. The Aquarium of Niagara Falls is a great place for families! Some more parks in the area are the Whirlpool State Park and the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel.
Don’t Stop Here!
Be sure to tinker with the map below to see all of the data on property and violent crimes for all the cities that we ranked to make our list.
#4 Ellicott Town
Population: 8,714 (2010 census)
Found in southwestern New York, Ellicott Town was established in 1812. There are several different communities in Ellicott Town, some of them villages, others towns or smaller areas.
Ellicott Town gained some notability when the town was the set of the 180th episode of the television show “The X-Files,” which aired for the first time on May 6th, 2001 on FOX.
Ellicott Town has several parks and recreational areas for residents and visitors, and the entire town is roughly thirty square miles.
#5 Herkimer Village
Population: 7,743
Herkimer Village is located in central New York, and is located within the Town of Herkimer. The town has deep historical roots and has faced many attacks during the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War.
Many buildings in Herkimer Village are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the village has several notable sites, including the Mudville Softball Complex, the Mohawk Valley Country Club (complete with 18-hole golf course), Herkimer Diamond Mines, and Plantation Island Wildlife Management Area. Herkimer Village is also the home of Herkimer County Community College.
#6 Niagara Town
Population: 8,378 (2010 census)
The neighbor of Niagara Falls, Niagara Town is located in northwestern New York. It is known for its shopping centers and malls, and gets plenty of tourists, both Americans and Canadians. Niagara Falls International Airport is also located here.
Niagara Town is broken up into three different communities – Pletchers Corners, Cayuga Village, and Belden Center. The town has a adult and youth community center, as well as a few parks within the town, including Niagara Veterans’ Memorial Park, which includes little league fields, soccer fields, a pond, and hiking trails.
#7 Buffalo
Buffalo is the second most populous city in New York, right behind New York City. It is located in the western part of New York. Buffalo is known for it’s scenic city skyline and diverse architecture, with several old buildings.
Buffalo has many different cuisines that residents and tourists enjoy, making it one of the most loved parts of the city. It also has several notable companies and achievements…including the fact that non-dairy whipped topping was invented in the city in 1945.
Performing arts, visual arts, and music have a special home in Buffalo, which has over fifty art galleries, over twenty professional companies for performing arts, and it is also home to the largest free Shakespeare Festival. Buffalo is the founding city for bands such as the Goo Goo Dolls and The Quakes. Buffalo is also known for its festivals in both summer and winter.
Buffalo, New York, is home to famous sports teams Buffalo Bills (NFL), Buffalo Sabres (NHL), and the Buffalo Bisons (IL Baseball).
#8 Endicott Village
Population: 13,392 (2010 census)
Endicott Village, which is in the southern part of New York, has a nickname of “The Magic City.” Originally made up of two different communities – Union Village and Endicott, the two merged into one in 1921.
Endicott has many things they are famous for, the biggest one being the fact that the city was the birthplace of IBM. The city also has several elementary, middle, and high schools in the district.
Endicott was the birthplace of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, as well as Major League Baseball Player and four-time All-Star Johnny Logan.
Endicott is home to several parks, attractions such as Little Italy, which as a calendar of events and a stage for performing arts and music, as well as a Cider Mill, a golf course, and The Cider Mill Playhouse, which has performances and classes for adults and children alike.
#9 Watertown
Watertown is located in northern New York, about twenty miles from Thousand Islands, and is named after the waterfalls of the Black River. The city was originally created as a manufacturing and industrial center, and because of this, Watertown has more millionaires per capita than any other city in the entire nation.
Watertown has the longest operating county fair in the entire United States, and has several other tourist locations as well, including the New York State Zoo, Thompson Park, Alex Duffy Fairgrounds, and Seaway Wine Trail Tours. Watertown is also home to the Jefferson Community College. The town also has their own newspaper, radio station, and television station.
#10 Newburgh Town
Population: 29,801 (2010 census)
Newburgh Town is in the southern part of the state, and is known as the “Crossroads of the Northeast,” because of its location in the Northeastern part of the country, as well as the interstate highways that run through it, and the airports that are located near the city.
The city has fourteen different schools within the district, and while the city does not have paid fire fighters, there are several volunteer fire companies within.
Several locations within the town are not only communities for people to live in, but also tourist attractions, such as the Algonquin Park Boulder, which is located in Algonquin Park, and has been in place since the Ice Age.
Safest Places Map
That does it for this list. Know a town in New York that deserves a mention? Let us know in the comments!
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Be sure to check out our articles for other states too!
Hi, I’m Jody. I graduated with honors with a Masters of Science in Computer Engineering and have over 15 years of experience working as an engineer with electronics products. I’m a lifelong learner and tinkerer and enjoy automating things around the house so I can solve bigger problems than getting out of bed to check if the garage door is closed . . . like too little sleep!
When I heard that Newburgh was one of the safest towns in New York, I laughed so hard
I nearly fell down. In the 1950’s yes when one could go anywhere in Newburgh and feel
safe even down by the river at midnight. After the gangs came up the river in the 60’s and
70’s, all hell broke loose with racial issues that never existed in Newburgh prior. Now
the town of Newburgh is mostly Puerto Ricans, Blacks, driving out all of the other races
including whites, asians, and others. Safe? Then why did everyone move out of the city
with all the massive drug problems and crimes? Huh? It’s probably the worst crime city
in the state of New York.
This is based off of the FBI crime statistics, so it’s only as good as the data that is reported. Maybe the jurisdiction drastically under-reports crime so that it looks like a better place to live…. Thanks for giving us a heads-up!