America's Safest Cities, 2011 - Las Vegas

“One of the underlying things, in terms of a city’s safety, would be a very strong tax base, as there are a number of services that are reliant on it,” notes Scott B. Clark, president of the New York-based Risk and Insurance Management Society. “That includes an effective, well-staffed police department, fire department and school system.”

"To find America’s 10 safest cities, we looked at metropolises with populations above 250,000. We ranked them by violent crime rates - the number of violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) per 100,000 residents in 2010, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"We also ranked each city on the traffic-fatality rate per 100,000 residents based on 2009 data, the most recent available, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We then averaged the ranking for each city to arrive at final scores. In the event of ties, the city with the lower crime rate got the higher ranking.

1. Plano, TX
   Car fatality rank: 6
   Violent crime rank: 1
   Plano, TX is No. 1 on the safest cities list.

2. Henderson, NV
   Car fatality rank: 5
   Violent crime rank: 3
   Henderson, NV is No. 2 on the safest cities list.

3. Honolulu, HI
   Car fatality rank: 7
   Violent crime rank: 4
   Honolulu, HI is No. 3 on the safest cities list.

   Hawaii has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, the city is relatively affluent and that famous relaxed aloha spirit may play a role in keeping accident and violence rates low.

4. Santa Ana, CA
   Car fatality rank: 4
   Violent crime rank: 11
   Santa Ana, CA is No. 4 on the safest cities list.

5. Lincoln, NE
   Car fatality rank: 1
   Violent crime rank: 16
   Lincoln, NE is NO. 5 on the safest cities list.

View all 10 safe cities

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