IL's Second-Largest City Ranks Among Safest In Country In New Study

The only city ranked besides Chicago placed among the 25 safest in the country.

By Emily Rosca, Patch Staff

Oct 21, 2026 4:20 PM CDT

Illinois's second-largest city ranks among the 25 safest big cities in the country, according to a new report. (Emily Rosca/Patch)

AURORA, IL — Illinois's second-largest city ranks among the 25 safest big cities in the country, according to a new report.

Personal finance website WalletHub released its 2026 Safest Cities in America list, comparing 182 cities across key indicators to determine where Americans feel the safest.

Aurora came in 24th place, while Chicago, the only other Illinois city to make the list, landed in 163rd place.

These are the top 10 safest cities in the country, per the report:

Juneau, AK
Warwick, RI
Overland Park, KS
Burlington, VT
South Burlington, VT

The two least safe cities were New Orleans and Baton Rouge, both in Louisiana. They were preceded by Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Philadelphia.

To put together its ranking, WalletHub compared the 150 most populated cities in the country, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state, across three factors: home and community safety, natural disaster risk, and financial safety. Those were then evaluated across 41 relevant metrics, including traffic fatalities, assaults per capita, unemployment rates and insurance rates.

Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of safety. Each city then received a weighted average used to calculate the overall score.

For example, Aurora's total score was 65.07, compared to 75.89 for Juneau, the safest city. New Orleans, comparatively, received a 30.66.

"When people think about safety in a city, their minds probably immediately go to things like the crime rate, auto fatality rate or risk of natural disasters," Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement. "The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people's financial safety. Financial safety includes things like minimizing the risk of fraud and identity theft, keeping the population employed and insured, and combating homelessness."