USA's Safest Small Towns: 2 Hudson Valley Communities Tie For 1st

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Lewisboro and Sleepy Hollow are tied for the No. 1 safest small town in the country, according to the just-released report “The 100 Safest Small Towns in America for 2021” from SafeWise.

In addition, eight other small communities in the Hudson Valley made SafeWise's newest list.

Lewisboro and Sleepy Hollow are really in a five-way tie for number one, communities reporting zero violent and zero property crimes last year:

1. Lewisboro Town, New York
1. Luzerne Township, Pennsylvania
1. Sleepy Hollow Village, New York
1. Thetford Township, Michigan
1. Weiser, Idaho

SafeWise, a website that compiles data on crime and safety statistics coast-to-coast, said that per 1,000 people, in a small town, violent crimes occur among 0.18 people, versus 3.7 per 1,000 nationwide. Property crimes affect 2.3 people per 1,000 on an average in a small town, SafeWise reports, while the national average is 21.1. See their full report here.

Lewisboro is usually on the list. SEE: Hudson Valley Town Tops 100 Safest List For 2018

But in 2018, 13 other Hudson Valley communities made SafeWise's Top 100 small towns, and for this year there were only nine. Here are all 10 with their ranking for 2021:

• Lewisboro - 1
• Sleepy Hollow - 1
• Highlands - 11
• Cornwall - 16
• Mount Hope - 23
• Plattekill - 51
• Shawangunk - 60
• Kent - 62
• Briarcliff Manor - 68
• Goshen - 81

The 100 towns that made the list have higher numbers when it comes to median household income and the number of high school graduates, and a lower percentage of people living below the poverty line, SafeWise researchers said.

One of the questions SafeWise says they receive frequently is "Why focus on small towns?" Their answer:

It might surprise you to learn that most Americans live in small towns. According to the 2020 Census, 63% of Americans live in an incorporated place, and 76% of those places are home to fewer than 5,000 people. In fact, only 4% of all cities in the US have 50,000 or more residents. ... For those who are leaving the bustle behind for bucolic reverie, the sense of safety associated with small-town life may play a factor—but small towns have crime too. As part of our Safest Cities series, we look at crime rates in cities of all different sizes. On top of our overall 100 Safest Cities in America report, we think it helps to hone in on crime trends in cities of similar sizes. So we report on both major metro areas and smaller towns.

Patch staffer Jennifer Jean Miller contributed to this report.