Safest U.S. Communities To Raise A Child? Narragansett Made The List

NARRAGANSETT, RI — Greenwich, Conn., is the safest place in America to raise a child, according to a new report from SafeWise, a website specializing in home security. But Rhode Island fared well in this study. Three Ocean State cities and towns made the list of America's top 30 communities for bringing up a family.

Warwick scored highest at number 14. Cumberland came in at number 21. Narragansett was number 28. To come up with the list, the analysts considered several key measures such as sex offender concentration, state graduation rates, overall school quality ranking, and FBI violent crime data.

"We also considered parks and recreational opportunities as well as special programs focused on providing services for kids and families," SafeWise said. But there are some surprising omissions, such as Jamestown. Jamestown and other communities with fewer than 10,000 residents weren't considered. Also eliminated were communities that did not report complete crime numbers to the FBI.

"As you’ll see from our recommendations, the safest cities for raising families tend to skew towards coastal New England towns, where quiet, suburban neighborhoods have less crime, promote healthy and active lifestyles, and enjoy well-funded school systems," the website added. "Connecticut takes the lead with nearly a third of the cities on the list hailing from the state, while New Jersey’s family-friendly townships make up a large portion of the remaining communities.

Among the statistics used to create the list, the analysts looked at these:

• Connecticut has exceptionally low rates of violent crime.
• Vermont has the fewest registered sex offenders per capita of any state.
• New Jersey has the second-highest high school graduation rate.
• Massachusetts schools are rated the best for overall quality."

To see the whole list, click here.

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