These Are VA's 10 Safest Cities, New Ranking Says

A new ranking has revealed 2026's safest cities in every state, including Virginia.

Buena Vista was named the safest town in Virginia, according to this year's State of Safety in America rankings from Safewise.com.

The report was released last month and named the safest cities in the country based on crime rates and other data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Safewise also surveyed residents in every state to find out their top safety concerns.

The ranking's purpose is to highlight cities with low per capita crime rates and "ignite conversation and action around how to make all cities and communities safer."

Here are the 10 safest Virginia cities and towns, according to the ranking:

1. Buena Vista
2. Bridgewater, Rockingham County
3. Purcellville, Loudoun County
4. Lexington
5. Blacksburg, Montgomery County
6. Vienna, Fairfax County
7. Manassas Park
8. Strasburg, Shenandoah County
9. Dumfries, Prince William County
10. Warrenton, Fauquier County

According to this year's report, the violent crime rate in Virginia is 3.26 incidents per 1,000 people, which is lower than the national average of 4.43.

Property crime in the Old Dominion State also increased in recent years, rising from 17.5 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 23.76 incidents in this year's report. That's higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89.

Virginians who took the State of Safety survey reported a higher confidence level than the year before. About 59 percent say they feel safe in the state, up from 47 percent. Another sign of optimism in the state is that more Virginians (20 percent) believe crime is decreasing. In fact, they're among those most likely to believe crime is going down.

See the full 2026 report from SafeWise.com.

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