Bel Air Among 10 Safest Cities In Maryland In New List

BEL AIR, MD — The town of Bel Air is among the 10 safest in Maryland, according to a new ranking. Home security company Safewise looked at violent crime rates in each town in the state that submitted the data to the FBI. Then it calculated the crime rate per 1,000 people.

What was deemed the safest city in Maryland — Hampstead — experienced 93 percent less violent crime than the national average and 97 percent less than the state average.

The 10 safest towns in Maryland all had a violent crime rate at least 45 percent below the national average, according to Safewise.

The 10 Safest Cities in Maryland

1. Hampstead
   • Population: 6,365
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 0.31
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 7.38
   • Total crime: 4.26% violent, 95.74% property
2. Manchester
   • Population: 4,820
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 0.41
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 3.53
   • Total crime: 11.76% violent, 88.24% property
3. Thurmont:
   • Population: 6,507
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 0.92
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 10.45
   • Total crime: 8.82% violent, 91.18% property
4. Bowie:
   • Population: 58,631
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 0.94
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 12.89
   • Total crime: 7.28% violent, 92.72% property
5. Glenarden:
   • Population: 6,390
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 1.41
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 10.49
   • Total crime: 13.43% violent, 86.57% property
6. Ocean Pines:
   • Population: 12,207
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 1.56
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 8.68
   • Total crime: 17.92% violent, 82.08% property
7. Taneytown:
   • Population: 6,749
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 1.78
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 9.19
   • Total crime: 19.35% violent, 80.65% property
8. Frostburg:
   • Population: 8,601
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 1.98
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 18.02
   • Total crime: 10.97% violent, 89.03% property
9. Bel Air:
   • Population: 10,200
   • Violent crimes per 1,000: 2.16
   • Property crimes per 1,000: 25.00
   • Total crime: 8.63% violent, 91.37% property
10. Easton:
    • Population: 16,689
    • Violent crimes per 1,000: 2.52
    • Property crimes per 1,000: 27.68
    • Total crime: 9.09% violent, 90.91% property

Violent crimes include aggravated assault, murder and rape, according to the FBI. The data that was used in the 2018 list for Safewise was from the FBI's 2016 Crime in the U.S. report.

— By Patch editors Deb Belt and Elizabeth Janney

File photo by Elizabeth Janney.