This mid-size GA city ranks among the safest in the US. Here’s where and why

We may know Athens for the Georgia Bulldogs, the tree that owns itself and the music hub of the south, but according to a new survey, it’s in the top 20% of safe mid-size cities.

SmartAsset pulled data from the FBI, CDC and FEMA to score more than 300 cities with populations between 65,000 and 250,000 to rank them on a composite safety score.

Athens came in as the 59th safest mid-size city.

Athens’ safety scores:

• Violent crime: 4.06 per 1,000 residents
• Property crime: 22.76 per 1,000 residents
• Auto fatalities: 10.07 per 100,000 residents
• Disaster risk: Relatively low (based on FEMA’s National Risk Index)

Factors contributing to Athens’ safety

Athens-Clarke County landing in the middle doesn’t make it dangerous, but it’s not exactly a gold star either.

Factors:

• Lower violent crime, especially robbery, aggravated assault, and sexual assault
• Lower property crime, like car break-ins, theft, burglary, and auto theft.
• Better lighting, cameras, and security around parking lots, apartment complexes, and transit stops
• More consistent patrols and faster response in higher-call areas, especially downtown and around student-heavy corridors.
• Safer roads and fewer crashes, because some city safety rankings also factor in traffic risk and general disorder, not just crime.

Safest and most dangerous mid-sized cities

Safest:

• Broomfield, Colorado
• State College, Pennsylvania
• Warwick, Rhode Island
• Ames, Iowa
• Logan, Utah
• Carmel, Indiana
• Greenwood, Indiana
• Waukesha, Wisconsin
• Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
• Appleton, Wisconsin

Most dangerous:

• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Pueblo, Colorado
• North Little Rock, Arkansas
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Tacoma, Washington
• Santa Monica, California
• Shreveport, Louisiana
• Beaumont, Texas
• Lafayette, Louisiana
• San Bernardino, California

How the ranking works

The study scored cities on a weighted composite of all four measures.

The caveats:

• Crime data comes from the FBI’s 2024 Crime in the United States report
• Reflects offenses reported by local law enforcement
• Boundaries don’t always match city limits exactly
• Traffic fatality and disaster risk figures are county-level data used as city proxies
• Natural disaster risk was drawn from FEMA’s National Risk Index

You can see the full rankings and methodology at SmartAsset.com.