The National Council for Home Safety and Security recently ranked the safest cities in the nation, and in each state. The council’s “Safest Cities in Georgia” are listed below. Before taking the survey results as gospel, consider that the statistics were taken from the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics along with the Council’s own population data and internal research, and that other organizations, using the same FBI data come up with different rankings.. Cities that did not submit crime reports to the FBI, or had populations of less than 5,000 were not included.
The Council notes, “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.”
One point that’s easy to miss is that many property crimes are committed against businesses, so cities with a heavy concentration of retail activity will typically have higher property crime rates than cities that are primarily residential communities.
Rank City Population Violent Property Violent Property
Crimes Crimes per 1,000 population
| 1 | Johns Creek | 84,629 | 27 | 687 | 0.32 | 8.12 |
| 2 | Milton | 38,551 | 10 | 338 | 0.26 | 8.77 |
| 3 | Grovetown | 13,469 | 12 | 179 | 0.89 | 13.29 |
| 4 | Peachtree City | 35,387 | 19 | 545 | 0.54 | 15.40 |
| 5 | Dallas | 13,135 | 11 | 198 | 0.84 | 15.07 |
| 6 | Roswell | 95,684 | 143 | 1,702 | 1.49 | 17.79 |
| 7 | Richmond Hill | 12,520 | 22 | 225 | 1.76 | 17.97 |
| 8 | Kennesaw | 34,204 | 66 | 607 | 1.93 | 17.75 |
| 9 | Alpharetta | 64,943 | 35 | 1,308 | 0.54 | 20.14 |
| 10 | Woodstock | 31,243 | 30 | 617 | 0.96 | 19.75 |
| 11 | Holly Springs | 11,034 | 11 | 219 | 1.00 | 19.85 |
| 12 | Powder Springs | 15,004 | 52 | 268 | 3.47 | 17.86 |
| 13 | Jefferson | 10,340 | 14 | 223 | 1.35 | 21.57 |
| 14 | Decatur | 22,449 | 41 | 525 | 1.83 | 23.39 |
| 15 | Canton | 25,985 | 65 | 590 | 2.50 | 22.71 |
| 16 | Kingsland | 16,597 | 44 | 377 | 2.65 | 22.71 |
| 17 | Sandy Springs | 107,685 | 117 | 2,837 | 1.09 | 26.35 |
| 18 | Acworth | 22,467 | 43 | 570 | 1.91 | 25.37 |
| 19 | Duluth | 29,720 | 160 | 641 | 5.38 | 21.57 |
| 20 | Brookhaven | 52,442 | 172 | 1,425 | 3.28 | 27.17 |
| 21 | Smyrna | 57,152 | 196 | 1,549 | 3.43 | 27.10 |
| 22 | Pooler | 24,006 | 52 | 699 | 2.17 | 29.12 |
| 23 | Fayetteville | 17,157 | 22 | 523 | 1.28 | 30.48 |
| 24 | McDonough | 23,675 | 30 | 727 | 1.27 | 30.71 |
| 25 | Loganville | 11,409 | 11 | 363 | 0.96 | 31.82 |
| 26 | Newnan | 38,137 | 215 | 1,006 | 5.64 | 26.38 |
| 27 | Suwanee | 19,432 | 20 | 658 | 1.03 | 33.86 |
| 28 | Lawrenceville | 30,913 | 90 | 979 | 2.91 | 31.67 |
| 29 | Rincon | 10,029 | 28 | 331 | 2.79 | 33.00 |
| 30 | Dalton | 33,989 | 113 | 1,103 | 3.32 | 32.45 |
| 31 | Athens-Clarke County | 123,934 | 533 | 4,100 | 4.30 | 33.08 |
| 32 | Gainesville | 39,425 | 162 | 1,405 | 4.11 | 35.64 |
| 33 | Lilburn | 12,854 | 35 | 488 | 2.72 | 37.96 |
| 34 | Statesboro | 31,176 | 99 | 1,185 | 3.18 | 38.01 |
| 35 | Calhoun | 16,439 | 43 | 639 | 2.62 | 38.87 |
| 36 | Norcross | 16,929 | 109 | 569 | 6.44 | 33.61 |
| 37 | Snellville | 20,025 | 70 | 767 | 3.50 | 38.30 |
| 38 | Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan | 241,296 | 1,174 | 8,762 | 4.87 | 36.31 |
| 39 | Bainbridge | 12,473 | 55 | 464 | 4.41 | 37.20 |
| 40 | Villa Rica | 15,095 | 69 | 562 | 4.57 | 37.23 |
| 41 | Marietta | 59,516 | 233 | 2,282 | 3.91 | 38.34 |
| 42 | Dunwoody | 49,232 | 78 | 2,067 | 1.58 | 41.98 |
| 43 | Hinesville | 33,477 | 215 | 1,252 | 6.42 | 37.40 |
| 44 | Rome | 36,278 | 208 | 1,398 | 5.73 | 38.54 |
| 45 | Clarkston | 12,335 | 83 | 461 | 6.73 | 37.37 |
| 46 | Milledgeville | 19,072 | 112 | 774 | 5.87 | 40.58 |
| 47 | Carrollton | 26,593 | 138 | 1,116 | 5.19 | 41.97 |
| 48 | Winder | 15,652 | 144 | 603 | 9.20 | 38.53 |
| 49 | Cordele | 10,907 | 38 | 518 | 3.48 | 47.49 |
| 50 | Conyers | 16,004 | 114 | 701 | 7.12 | 43.80 |
| 51 | Thomasville | 18,773 | 34 | 981 | 1.81 | 52.26 |
| 52 | Fairburn | 14,151 | 46 | 722 | 3.25 | 51.02 |
| 53 | Columbus | 202,338 | 1,218 | 9,625 | 6.02 | 47.57 |
| 54 | Doraville | 11,008 | 48 | 574 | 4.36 | 52.14 |
| 55 | Chamblee | 28,532 | 189 | 1,411 | 6.62 | 49.45 |
| 56 | Riverdale | 16,142 | 77 | 850 | 4.77 | 52.66 |
| 57 | LaGrange | 30,931 | 154 | 1,631 | 4.98 | 52.73 |
| 58 | Valdosta | 55,880 | 205 | 3,057 | 3.67 | 54.71 |
| 59 | Brunswick | 16,309 | 164 | 775 | 10.06 | 47.52 |
| 60 | Vidalia | 10,721 | 53 | 605 | 4.94 | 56.43 |
| 61 | Warner Robins | 74,419 | 494 | 4,111 | 6.64 | 55.24 |
| 62 | Albany | 74,330 | 873 | 3,620 | 11.74 | 48.70 |
| 63 | Forest Park | 19,570 | 161 | 1,066 | 8.23 | 54.47 |
| 64 | Covington | 14,077 | 71 | 835 | 5.04 | 59.32 |
| 65 | Atlanta | 472,579 | 5,121 | 24,804 | 10.84 | 52.49 |
| 66 | Dublin | 16,195 | 122 | 931 | 7.53 | 57.49 |
| 67 | Tifton | 16,799 | 134 | 956 | 7.98 | 56.91 |
| 68 | Douglasville | 33,287 | 234 | 2,092 | 7.03 | 62.85 |
| 69 | Monroe | 13,716 | 122 | 835 | 8.89 | 60.88 |
| 70 | Griffin | 23,134 | 228 | 1,385 | 9.86 | 59.87 |
| 71 | Moultrie | 14,384 | 80 | 1,010 | 5.56 | 70.22 |
| 72 | Waycross | 13,934 | 102 | 961 | 7.32 | 68.97 |
| 73 | Americus | 15,838 | 174 | 1,115 | 10.99 | 70.40 |
| 74 | East Point | 35,791 | 422 | 3,693 | 11.79 | 103.18 |
| 75 | Union City | 21,065 | 255 | 2,218 | 12.11 | 105.29 |
| 76 | College Park | 14,724 | 279 | 1,405 | 18.95 | 95.42 |