Safest Towns In Connecticut: The New List For 2020

CONNECTICUT — The same municipality has stayed atop the list of "Safest Towns in Connecticut" for two straight years.

Ridgefield once again was named the most secure town in the Nutmeg State by home security review site Safewise. The Ridgefield Police Department recorded only one violent crime in the past year, and that was a robbery.

Overall, Connecticut acquitted itself more than admirably. All of the "safest cities" on the list came in under the national property crime rate of 22 and 95 percent beat the state rate of 16.8. The property crime rate in Branford, the lowest-placing city on the list, at 16.9 was barely above the state rate of 16.8, but it was still almost five percentage points below the US average.

Despite having the highest crime rate among the "safest cities," Danbury still made the biggest move upward on the list from the previous year, from number 33 to number 19. Among all of the cities on the list, there were only three murders, and 55 percent improved their rank. South Windsor joined the "Safest Cities Club" this year, making its debut at number 12.

In addition to parsing through arrest report, the Safewise statisticians also polled Connecticut residents about their attitude. For the most part, the mindset of the average Connecticut citizen when it comes to safety and security is in synch with the national averages. However, our top violent crime concern—mass shootings — is a bit of an outlier. (Sign up for free Patch alerts and daily newsletters from all across Connecticut.)

A total of 41 percent of Connecticut residents named mass shootings the violent crime they're most concerned about, compared to 38 percent nationally. We also named mass shooting as "the most likely violent crime," with 25 percent of respondents making it their top pick versus 23 percent across the nation. Yet as of March 9, 2020, there have been two mass shootings in Connecticut; across the country there have been 55 mass shooting incidents so far this year. On the other hand, aggravated assault was the most common violent crime reported (4,294 incidents) in Connecticut, accounting for 58 percent of all violent crime.

The rates of property and violent crime in the list below are shown as number of incidents per 1,000 residents. Ninety percent of the cities had fewer than one violent crime occur per 1,000 people.

#1 Ridgefield

• Movement: 0
• Population: 25,260
• Median Income: $125,595
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.0
  • 2019: 0.0
  • 2018: 0.1
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 2.5
  • 2019: 4.4
  • 2018: 2.8

#2 Newtown

• Movement: +6
• Population: 28,015
• Median Income: $108,667
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.2
  • 2019: 0.4
  • 2018: 0.1
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 4.4
  • 2019: 3.4
  • 2018: 3.0

#3 Greenwich

• Movement: +3
• Population: 63,075
• Median Income: $94,309
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.1
  • 2019: 0.3
  • 2018: 0.2
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 6.3
  • 2019: 7.5
  • 2018: 6.4

#4 Simsbury

• Movement: -1
• Population: 25,164
• Median Income: $109,823
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.2
  • 2019: 0.2
  • 2018: 0.3
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 6.0
  • 2019: 6.7
  • 2018: 6.8

#5 Shelton

• Movement: +7
• Population: 41,657
• Median Income: $89,250
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.6
  • 2019: 0.7
  • 2018: 0.7
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 6.9
  • 2019: 9.5
  • 2018: 10.4

#6 Westport

• Movement: -2
• Population: 28,278
• Median Income: $181,360
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.1
  • 2019: 0.2
  • 2018: 0.2
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 8.5
  • 2019: 10.6
  • 2018: 8.8

#7 Cheshire

• Movement: -5
• Population: 29,337
• Median Income: $107,716
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.2
  • 2019: 0.1
  • 2018: 0.1
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 8.3
  • 2019: 6.0
  • 2018: 8.3

#8 New Milford

• Movement: +11
• Population: 26,956
• Median Income: $57,768
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.7
  • 2019: 1.0
  • 2018: 1.1
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 9.8
  • 2019: 10.1
  • 2018: 10.0

#9 Vernon

• Movement: +9
• Population: 29,304
• Median Income: $60,556
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.7
  • 2019: 0.8
  • 2018: 0.7
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 12.5
  • 2019: 12.5
  • 2018: 11.7

#10 Glastonbury

• Movement: +3
• Population: 34,593
• Median Income: $108,157
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.6
  • 2019: 0.7
  • 2018: Not available
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 13.2
  • 2019: 14.6
  • 2018: Not available

#11 Middletown

• Movement: +10
• Population: 46,314
• Median Income: $63,914
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.8
  • 2019: 1.1
  • 2018: 1.5
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 12.6
  • 2019: 15.7
  • 2018: 19.9

#12 South Windsor

• Movement: NEW
• Population: 25,968
• Median Income: $94,217
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.5
  • 2019: 0.5
  • 2018: 0.2
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 13.8
  • 2019: 17.2
  • 2018: 13.8

#13 Wallingford

• Movement: -3
• Population: 44,680
• Median Income: $75,533
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.7
  • 2019: 0.6
  • 2018: 0.5
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 13.4
  • 2019: 13.9
  • 2018: 14.3

#14 Guilford

• Movement: -9
• Population: 22,268
• Median Income: $99,441
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.5
  • 2019: 0.2
  • 2018: 0.4
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 14.4
  • 2019: 11.9
  • 2018: 9.0

#15 Fairfield

• Movement: -8
• Population: 62,452
• Median Income: $120,082
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.5
  • 2019: 0.4
  • 2018: 0.6
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 15.3
  • 2019: 14.9
  • 2018: 16.2

#16 Groton Town

• Movement: +9
• Population: 29,372
• Median Income: $63,895
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 1.3
  • 2019: 1.2
  • 2018: 1.3
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 13.0
  • 2019: 15.7
  • 2018: 15.9

#17 Wethersfield

• Movement: +6
• Population: 26,127
• Median Income: $81,452
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.9
  • 2019: 1.1
  • 2018: Not available
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 14.7
  • 2019: 14.8
  • 2018: Not available

#18 Naugatuck

• Movement: +6
• Population: 31,400
• Median Income: $58,641
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.8
  • 2019: 1.1
  • 2018: 1.2
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 16.0
  • 2019: 14.3
  • 2018: 17.3

#19 Danbury

• Movement: +14
• Population: 85,818
• Median Income: $68,068
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 1.5
  • 2019: 1.9
  • 2018: 1.9
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 13.6
  • 2019: 12.9
  • 2018: 16.0

#20 Branford

• Movement: -9
• Population: 28,121
• Median Income: $71,058
• Violent Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 0.6
  • 2019: 0.6
  • 2018: 0.4
• Property Crime Rate:
  • 2020: 16.9
  • 2019: 19.8
  • 2018: 19.3

Safewise uses FBI crime data as the backbone of their reports. Details on their methodology can be found online here. More information — and the list of safe Connecticut cities who didn't make the top 20 — can be found here.