These 10 Virginia Cities Ranked As Safest In The State

VIRGINIA — Small towns are a haven for Virginians worried about crime, with most of the 10 communities named the state's safest cities in 2021 having populations of less than 10,000, according to crime statistics analyzed by SafeWise.

The communities that made the top 10 list are a mix of those in northern Virginia and many in the western parts of the state.

SafeWise, a security product review platform, ranked more than 50 cities in 2021 using recent crime statistics and data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SafeWise also included demographic information and the results of its State of Safety research study.

"Virginians are significantly more worried about crime and safety than most Americans, despite having crime rates that are well below both regional and national averages. And Virginia’s safest cities have even lower crime rates than the rest of the state — property crime is nearly cut in half in these 20 low-crime cities," according to SafeWise.

The rankings are intended to highlight cities with low crime rates and to inspire municipalities to talk about how they can make cities safer, according to the SafeWise website.

Here Are The 10 Safest Cities In Virginia:

1. Broadway
2. Bridgewater
3. Purcellville
4. Berryville
5. Lexington
6. Buena Vista
7. Blacksburg
8. Dumfries
9. Manassas Park
10. Vienna

See if your city made the full list.

Purcellville jumped 3 spots to claim the title of third-safest city in Virginia. Eight cities (40%) improved in ranking year over year, with Warrenton making the most impressive jump of 19 places to land at number 13.

The average violent crime rate among the safest cities is 1.1 incidents per 1,000 people, which is lower than state, regional, and national averages.

Virginia’s violent crime rate is the lowest of all states in the South Atlantic region. At 2.1 incidents per 1,000 people, Virginia’s violent crime rate is 43 percent lower than the national average of 3.7, according to Safewise's report.

But there was a slight increase in the violent crime rate year over year — Virginia creeped up 5 percent from 2.0 incidents last year to 2.1.

Daily worry about crime and safety jumped 17 percentage points in Virginia this year. With 57 percent of survey respondents telling SafeWise they are highly concerned about safety every day, Virginia is the ninth-most-worried state.

That high level of concern is surprising given Virginia’s solid track record of low crime rates, the company said. Despite more daily concern about crime and safety, 78 percent of Virginians feel safe in their state, giving Virginia the third-highest positive response rate in the country.