When it comes to buying a home, here at the
Movoto Real Estate Blog we know how stressful it can be. Not just because selling houses is our business, but, for many of us, from personal experience. So whatever we can do to take away some of that pressure, we’ll do it.
Today we’re going to make your decision just a little easier by going over some of the safest places in Connecticut—one of the most important factors when deciding where to live.
Out of all of the places we looked at in our analysis, the Town of Darien came out on top, followed by the rest of these safest spots:
1.
Town of Darien
2.
Town of Greenwich
3.
Town of Westport
4.
Town of Trumbull
5.
City of Shelton
6.
Town of Wallingford (tie)
6.
Town of Wethersfield (tie)
8.
Town of Windsor Locks
9.
Town of North Haven
10.
City of Groton
If you’re wondering just what our analysis entailed and what, specifically, makes these 10 places so safe, just keep reading. Then, at the bottom of the post, we’ll show you a table of how each place we analyzed ranked.
Our Methodology
In order to create this list, we started by gathering a list of all the places in the state with populations of 10,000 people or more, which totaled 37. Then, we collected crime data for each place from the
2012 FBI Uniform Crime Report in the following categories:
- Murder
- Rape
- Robbery
- Assault
- Burglary
- Theft
- Vehicle theft
We divided these crimes into four categories:
- Murders
- Violent crimes
- Property crimes
- Total crimes
From there, we calculated the crime rates for each place per 100,000 people in order to fairly compare both large and small places. Then, we ranked each place in each category from one to 37, with the lower scores being safer.
Finally, we weighted the scores for each category so that murders, violent crimes, and property crimes accounted for 30 percent of the overall score, where total crimes made up 10. We averaged these adjusted rankings into one overall
Big Deal Score, where the lowest score was our safest place.
In the following paragraphs we’ll take a closer look at what makes each of our top 10 so safe. Then at the end of the post, we’ll include a table with all 37 rankings.
1. Darien
Considering the fact that Connecticut is the 11th
safest state in the nation, Darien’s No. 1 ranking here is even more impressive.
The reason for its winning spot is simple: It ranked No. 1 in all four of our categories: murders, violent crimes, property crimes, and total crimes per capita.
Specifically, in 2012, Darien had just 482 total crimes per 100,000 people, including 472 property crimes and 10 violent crimes (none of which were murders).
To put that into perspective, just take a look at East Hartford, where in 2012, there were 3,432 crimes, including 3,059 property crimes and 373 violent crimes, four of which were murders.
With such a low crime rate, Darien residents have the lowest odds out of anywhere in the state of being the victim of a crime: 1 in 207.
2. Greenwich
Not only was Greenwich recently ranked one of
Connecticut’s most exciting places, but as our numbers show, it’s also one of the safest.
That’s because in 2012 this town only had 595 property crimes per 100,000 residents, including 36 vehicle thefts, 486 thefts, and 73 burglaries; and 37 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, including 24 assaults, 10 robberies, three rapes, and no murders.
This made for a total of just 632 crimes per 100,000 people, giving residents the second lowest odds (after Darien) of being the victim of a crime: 1 in 158.
3. Westport
Another of Connecticut’s most exciting is also one of its safest, mostly due to its impressively low number of property crimes in 2012: just 1,190 per 100,000 people. Of those, there were 26 vehicle thefts, 1,014 thefts, and 150 burglaries.
Additionally, Westport had a reported 41 violent crimes per 100,000 people, making a total of 1,231 crimes per 100,000 people for the year.
For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at New Haven, which was ranked our most exciting place. Well, according to this analysis, it may be exciting, but also dangerous, with a total of 6,455 crimes per 100,000 people in 2012, including 1,439 violent crimes and 5,016 property crimes.
4. Trumbull
Trumbull ranked well in our analysis, primarily for its incredibly low number of violent crimes: just 38 per 100,000 people.
Of those 38, there were eight assaults, 30 robberies, and no rapes or murders, so not only did it have one of the lowest numbers of violent crimes for the year, it also had some of the fewest assaults and rapes in the state.
In addition to its low number of violent crimes, Trumbull also had a pretty low number of property crimes, just 1,456, making a total of 1,494 crimes for the year.
5. Shelton
After Darien and Greenwich, Shelton residents had the lowest odds of being the victim of a crime, with just a 1 in 88 chance.
This was mostly due to its impressively low 1,077 property crimes in 2012, including 82 vehicle thefts, 661 thefts, and 334 burglaries per 100,000 people.
With an additional 54 violent crimes, Shelton saw a low total of 1,131 crimes per 100,000 people, thus the low odds of being a victim of a crime.
6. Wallingford
This New Haven County town is not just one of the least dangerous, but specifically, it is one of the least violent places in the state.
That’s because in 2012, Wallingford had a total of just 33 violent crimes per 100,000 people, none of which were murders.
Out of those 33 crimes, there were seven assaults, 22 robberies, and four rapes per 100,000 people. For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at another place in New Haven County, the City of New Haven. Here, there were 734 assaults, 650 robberies, 45 rapes, and 13 murders per 100,000 people.
Clearly if you’re moving to the New Haven area, the Town of Wallingford is your safer option.
6. Wethersfield
This second No. 6 on our list ranked well for its overall low number of crimes.
In 2012, there were just 1,619 crimes per 100,000 people in this Hartford County city, most of which were property crimes (1,533, to be precise).
In addition to those property crimes, Wethersfield saw 86 violent crimes, which included no murders.
Compared to Hartford itself, where there were 5,571 crimes, including 4,249 property crimes and 1,322 violent crimes, 18 of which were murders, it’s no wonder so many people look to a somewhat quieter life in Wethersfield and simply commute to Hartford for work.
8. Windsor Locks
In 2012 Windsor Locks had a total of just 1,875 crimes per 100,000 people. Of those 1,875 crimes, 1,795 were property crimes and 80 were violent.
To break that down further, the property crimes included 80 vehicle thefts, 1,324 thefts, and 391 burglaries. The violent crimes were 32 assaults, 32 robberies, 16 rapes, and no murders.
When you consider the fact that other place in Connecticut, like Bridgeport for example, had 509 assaults, 415 robberies, 266 rapes, and 15 murders per 100,000 people, it’s easy to see why Windsor Locks came in eighth on our list.
9. North Haven
Just minutes from downtown New Haven, North Haven is clearly the safer option of the two. That’s because in 2012, North Haven had the sixth lowest number of violent crimes in the state: just 50 per 100,000 people.
Additionally, North Haven had 2,396 property crimes per 100,000 people, making a total of 2,446 crimes per 100,000. Compared to its larger neighbor, New Haven, which ranked 37th out of the 37 places we looked at, North Haven is much more of a safe haven.
10. Groton
Just to be clear, in this case we’re talking about the City of Groton, which is within the western portion of the larger Town of Groton.
This small city of just over 10,000 residents ranked well in our analysis for its low number of property crimes in particular.
In 2012, there were just 1,510 property crimes per 100,000 people, ranking it sixth overall in this category. These property crimes included 96 vehicle thefts, 1,337 thefts, and 77 burglaries per 100,000 people.
Additionally, there were 163 violent crimes per 100,000 people, which, while not exactly the lowest number on our list, certainly wasn’t among the highest. New London, for example, had 1,324 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
A Wise Move
If you aren’t among those lucky residents who live in Connecticut already, you might want to consider moving to this safe state, and specifically, to one of these 10 safest places.
For a list of how all 37 ranked, just see the table below, and if your city’s ranking makes you reconsider living there, we can help you find someplace new. Maybe someplace like Darien?
