Where Does Ridgefield Rank Among the Nation's Safest Towns?

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Another "safest city report" get published, another tribute is paid to Ridgefield.

This time, the town was ranked second safest in the entire nation, in data just published by home safety and security research firm SafeWise.

Ridgefield was elbowed politely out of the top safety spot by Hopkinton, MA, which sits serenely about 30 miles west of Boston. Its closest state neighbor on the list is Madison, right below it in third place. If you were wondering were Wilton placed in the rankings (and you were), it's away's out, at 48. In between are New Canaan (14), Chesire (16), Avon (18), Darien (25), Simsbury (30), Brookfield (35), Westport (36) and Suffield (44).

To identify the safest cities of 2019, SafeWise reviewed 2017 FBI crime report statistics (the most recent complete report available at the time of ranking) and population data. Cities that fell below identified populations thresholds—or that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI—were excluded from the report. Three states (Hawaii, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) were also excluded from the rankings due to a large number of cities with incomplete crime reporting.

The rankings are based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) in each city. If there was a tie, the researchers also factored in the number of property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). SafeWise gave precedence to violent crime because it typically results in physical harm or injury, whereas property crime usually has an economic impact. While both are problematic, people are usually more afraid of violent crime, which directly impacts their feeling of safety, according to the researchers.

SafeWise tabulated Ridgefield's property crime rate at 4.378 out of 1,000, and its violent crime rate an impressive zero.

For the complete national list, see the research group's website.