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Safest Cities in Kansas

Safest Cities in Kansas

In this analysis, AdvisorSmith researched crime data from the FBI to find the safest towns and cities in Kansas. We developed a proprietary crime score based upon the Uniform Crime Reporting data set, which was released in the fall of 2019 for 180 cities in the state of Kansas. Our score was formed by weighting crimes including assault, theft, burglary, rape, and murder by severity to find the cities with the highest and lowest crime rates. Statewide, the average crime score was 50, with a range between 6 and 318.

To compare places of similar population, we segmented our analysis into three population bands: towns, midsize cities, and large cities. Towns were Kansas cities with under 10,000 residents, while midsize cities had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. Four of the five largest cities in Kansas which reported crime data were also compared. In total, we studied 148 towns, 28 midsize cities, and four large cities in Kansas.

Continue reading to discover the safest towns, midsize cities, and large cities in Kansas:

Safest Large Cities in Kansas

Kansas is home to five large cities with over 100,000 residents, and the table below ranks four of those cities by their AdvisorSmith crime score. The city of Kansas City, KS was not included in the FBI’s crime data in 2018 so it was excluded from this analysis. Among large cities in Kansas, the average crime score was 178, and the range for the crime score was between 110 and 319. Large cities in Kansas had substantially more crime than midsize cities and towns in Kansas.

The safest large city in Kansas was Olathe, which is located in the southwestern portion of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Olathe, with a population of over 140,000, was linked to Kansas City in the 1950s by I-35, and the development of this highway led to commercial and residential growth in the city. Today, Olathe is home to the operations of several major companies, including Garmin, Farmers Insurance, and Honeywell.

Topeka, Kansas had the highest crime rate in Kansas of all the cities in our study. Topeka, the state capital, is located along the Kansas River west of Lawrence. The state of Kansas is the largest employer in the city, and the city also hosts Washburn University.

RankCityViolent Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsProperty Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsCrime Score
1Olathe2.214.1110.2
2Overland Park2.319.3126.8
3Wichita11.856.4158.1
4Topeka6.151.9319.0

Safest Midsize Cities in Kansas

Our study examined 28 midsize cities in the state of Kansas, all of which had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. Among midsize cities, the average crime score was 62, with scores ranging from a low of 19 to a high of 116.

Prairie Village, Kansas was the safest midsize city in the state. This suburb of Kansas City, located in the southern part of the metropolitan area next to Overland Park, has approximately 22,000 residents. Prairie Village was originally a planned community established in the 1940s. Today, Prairie Village hosts four major shopping centers and 12 parks as well as an annual Jazz Festival.

RankCityViolent Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsProperty Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsCrime Score
1Prairie Village0.611.219.5
2Leawood0.715.724.6
3Andover1.514.734.4
4Emporia1.217.734.9
5Lenexa1.915.535.6
6Shawnee2.516.439.3
7Derby1.721.539.4
8Lansing2.711.440.6
9Gardner2.614.040.8
10Mcpherson1.620.943.4
11Liberal3.315.844.4
12Hays2.719.252.5
13El Dorado2.229.952.5
14Junction City2.28.654.9
15Dodge City3.521.557.1
16Ottawa3.923.265.7
17Atchison4.125.466.6
18Garden City4.222.667.2
19Merriam3.037.667.8
20Winfield2.045.471.0
21Haysville4.125.173.9
22Arkansas City4.544.490.7
23Salina4.936.990.8
24Hutchinson4.241.291.8
25Pittsburg5.049.496.6
26Newton7.230.4100.8
27Great Bend7.338.6113.7
28Leavenworth9.731.7116.4

Safest Towns in Kansas

Below is a listing of crime statistics for 148 towns in Kansas with under 10,000 residents. These towns are ranked based upon their AdvisorSmith crime score, which reflects the total number of crimes committed in each town, weighted by crime severity.

Among Kansas towns, the average crime score was 44, with crime scores ranging from as low as 6 to as high as 200. The safest town in Kansas was the city of Kechi, a small city with a population of about 2,000 located just north of the Wichita metropolitan area.

RankCityViolent Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsProperty Crimes per 1,000 ResidentsCrime Score
1Kechi0.00.05.9
2Holcomb0.01.48.5
3Colwich0.03.510.6
4Chapman0.03.711.7
5Hugoton0.52.611.9
6Kiowa0.01.012.6
7Fairway0.09.613.3
8Lake Quivira0.04.513.4
9Wathena0.05.314.6
10St. George0.05.815.0
11Oswego0.010.616.0
12Linn Valley0.02.316.1
13Sabetha0.012.516.8
14Onaga0.01.517.4
15Rossville0.03.517.6
16Atwood0.89.218.2
17Troy0.05.118.4
18North Newton0.63.418.6
19Nortonville0.06.519.6
20Mission Hills1.111.419.8
21Meade0.06.219.9
22Hesston1.310.020.8
23Haven0.06.721.8
24Leon0.08.221.9
25St. John0.013.522.2
26Scott City1.67.522.8
27Ulysses1.78.023.0
28Girard0.77.823.1
29Basehor1.111.123.2
30Hoxie0.03.423.5
31Humboldt0.017.923.6
32Tonganoxie1.110.924.1
33St. Francis0.810.024.2
34Halstead1.07.325.0
35Claflin0.013.025.1
36Valley Center0.811.425.2
37Plainville1.60.525.3
38Goddard1.010.225.3
39Ellsworth1.311.825.3
40Hillsboro1.114.125.5
41Cherokee0.07.125.5
42Spearville0.06.225.9
43Caney2.05.026.4
44Clearwater0.417.426.5
45Lindsborg0.912.027.2
46Frontenac0.916.127.3
47Hill City1.45.027.4
48Elwood0.810.027.5
49Sterling0.914.027.6
50Rose Hill1.314.627.6
51Minneapolis1.010.327.7
52Stockton0.86.228.0
53Council Grove2.07.428.5
54Marion1.16.729.4
55Osage City0.714.829.9
56St. Marys3.07.630.1
57Bentley0.07.630.5
58Lyndon1.013.030.7
59Chanute0.63.530.8
60Oskaloosa0.94.731.2
61Belle Plaine1.97.731.4
62Eudora1.713.231.5
63Bel Aire1.019.431.9
64Beloit2.411.632.5
65Norton1.814.132.6
66Waverly0.05.533.1
67Buhler0.83.933.7
68Mclouth0.015.433.8
69Elkhart3.36.035.1
70Inman2.310.535.1
71Altamont2.03.935.4
72Belleville1.620.736.1
73Westwood0.926.836.9
74Argonia0.04.237.6
75Oberlin1.711.637.8
76Marysville1.517.138.1
77Kanopolis0.06.438.1
78Horton1.214.239.4
79Cheney1.817.039.4
80Benton2.311.539.9
81Wellsville2.811.640.5
82Coldwater1.31.341.4
83Sedgwick2.712.341.6
84Louisburg2.218.842.1
85Mount Hope0.08.742.3
86Carbondale0.030.242.6
87Bonner Springs1.714.243.5
88Osawatomie1.916.843.7
89Paola0.924.243.8
90Highland2.08.044.4
91Hoisington2.818.144.5
92Overbrook1.025.845.0
93Valley Falls2.78.045.1
94Abilene2.216.245.3
95Ellinwood4.013.646.2
96Arma2.818.948.8
97Oakley2.95.848.9
98Oxford2.07.949.2
99Park City3.020.749.7
100Attica1.814.249.7
101Blue Rapids1.01.050.1
102Stafford1.04.250.1
103Colby1.924.550.2
104Maize2.519.650.3
105Caldwell4.010.050.3
106Garnett2.820.750.8
107Larned2.423.851.2
108Seneca4.916.651.4
109Kingman3.120.451.6
110Columbus3.321.252.5
111Yates Center2.315.953.1
112Mulvane1.731.053.4
113Pratt4.219.153.4
114South Hutchinson1.219.953.8
115Osborne2.313.655.4
116Holton3.724.655.9
117Baxter Springs2.331.456.9
118Neodesha3.520.557.2
119Burns0.019.859.4
120Lyons6.84.559.8
121Wamego4.022.360.7
122Clay Center4.817.061.8
123Concordia3.424.562.7
124Anthony3.825.162.9
125Augusta1.934.563.4
126Pleasanton1.70.863.5
127Peabody2.718.963.9
128Edwardsville2.925.165.7
129Garden Plain0.011.066.3
130Cherryvale4.226.569.2
131Mulberry1.927.072.7
132Herington2.253.473.8
133Russell5.818.975.0
134Goodland4.529.175.9
135Galena4.536.975.9
136Wellington2.737.077.7
137Chetopa3.813.578.2
138Fort Scott5.033.986.1
139Burlington3.559.993.4
140Hiawatha4.237.493.6
141Grandview Plaza3.139.394.7
142Iola6.239.6110.4
143Coffeyville6.250.2112.5
144Parsons9.835.7123.9
145Macksville1.90.0135.6
146Burden3.81.9148.0
147Independence7.184.1153.8
148Mission1.618.5200.6

Methodology

AdvisorSmith used crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Data Set, Return A to examine crime and safety in 180 cities in the state of Kansas. This data set reports the number of crimes committed in two major categories: violent crime, and property crime. Within these two categories, the data reports crimes in subcategories such as rape, murder, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, and vehicle thefts for cities around the country.

To provide a more granular view of crime statistics and also to fairly compare places of similar population, we segmented the analysis into three city sizes. Towns were cities with under 10,000 residents, midsize cities had between 10,000 and 100,000 residents, and large cities had over 100,000 residents.

We excluded from this report cities that did not report crime data to the FBI. Also excluded were cities that provided less than 2 months of crime data in their annual report. For cities reporting less than a full year’s worth of data, we scaled data that the cities reported across the full year so that the city crime rates would be comparable. For example, if a city reported three months of crime rate, we multiplied the number of crimes reported by four, in order to calculate the proportionate crime for the city for the full calendar year.

Our analysis created a proprietary crime score for each city, which was determined based upon the levels of reported crime in each city. This score was formed by applying a multiplier to various types of crime based upon the relative severity of each type of crime. For example, for more serious crimes such as murder, we applied a multiplier to the number of murders reported. We then added the reported crimes and their multipliers together to calculate each city’s crime score. Lower crime scores reflect lower levels of crime in a city. After calculating the crime score for each city, we sorted the cities into three population bands and ranked the cities within their bands to determine the safest towns, midsize cities, and large cities in the state of Kansas.

Sources

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A, 2018

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