Leander, Georgetown Among 'Top 50 Safest Cities In Texas According To New Report

AUSTIN, TX — Leander and Georgetown were the only two cities in the region to make a list of "The Top 50 Safest Cities In Texas" compiled this week by a home safety and security website.

Alarms.org, the official site of the National Council for Home Safety and Security, compiled a list of the safest cities in the state, scouring through the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics along with the trade association's own population data and internal research. Researchers eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removed cities with populations under 5,000.

Researchers noted their use of the word "cities" is versatile, referring to populations of 5,000 and greater, and thus includes places with the words "town" and "township." The remaining cities were ranked based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) per 100,000 people. These variables were then weighted, with violent crimes accounting for 70% of the total (due to their severity) and property crimes accounting for 30%. Finally, we moved the decimal point over a few spots to show rates per 1,000 people.

Through that reckoning, the city of Kermit—located in the northeast part of the state bordering Oklahoma—emerged as the safest in the state. Named after Kermit Roosevelt (the son of President Theodore Roosevelt), the city experienced just two violent crimes and 18 property crimes last year.

The same methodology was used to give Leander a strong showing, ranked 37th on the list of the 50 safest cities. For its part, Georgetown barely squeaked by in landing in the 48th spot.

To read more from the report, click here.

A cursory glance at the FBI stats reveals why Austin didn't make the list, with 1,598 violent crimes committed last year—including 12 murders and 339 rapes. Round Rock logged 85 violent crimes, including 14 rapes, according to the FBI.

>>> Logo courtesy of National Council for Home Safety and Security