Updated April 2026 · FBI UCR 2023
Small Cities, Crime Rates & Safety (2023)
Cities with 50,000 to 100,000 residents
8 U.S. small cities are tracked here from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, with a combined population of 656,591. Cohort averages: 336.1/100K violent crime and 1,466/100K property crime, both expressed per 100,000 residents.
Why Read FBI Data by Population Bracket
Small cities — 50,000 to 100,000 residents — are large enough to maintain professional police departments and reliable UCR reporting, but small enough that a single high-impact incident can move per-capita figures noticeably year-to-year. The 8 small cities tracked here average 336.1/100K for violent crime (8% below the national rate of 363.8/100K) and 1,466/100K for property crime (20% below the national average). The 5-year trend is especially useful at this size because it dampens single-year noise.
For small cities, weight the 5-year trend at least as heavily as the current snapshot. A single bad year can dominate a small-city per-capita figure without reflecting an underlying shift in conditions; the multi-year smoothing in the trend column is more reliable.
Cohort Snapshot
Cohort Ranked by Safety Context Score
| # | City | Population | Violent/100K | Property/100K | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bismarck, ND | 74K | 205.6 | 1,262 | B (74) |
| 2 | Edmond, OK | 100K | 219.6 | 1,620 | B (69) |
| 3 | Bend, OR | 99K | 233.5 | 1,355 | B (68) |
| 4 | Rapid City, SD | 78K | 238.1 | 1,371 | B (67) |
| 5 | Warwick, RI | 83K | 516.4 | 1,682 | B (66) |
| 6 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 100K | 460.8 | 1,184 | C (61) |
| 7 | Cheyenne, WY | 65K | 553.5 | 1,495 | C (60) |
| 8 | Casper, WY | 59K | 261.3 | 1,760 | C (60) |
All rates per 100,000 residents. Source: FBI UCR 2023, accessed via the FBI Crime Data Explorer.
How the Safety Context Score Is Calculated
The composite weighs three FBI UCR inputs: per-capita violent crime versus the U.S. average (40%), per-capita property crime versus the U.S. average (30%), and the 5-year direction of total crime (30%). All inputs are population-adjusted, so the score is directly comparable across cohort sizes — a small citie can outscore a much larger or smaller city if its rates are lower or its trend is improving faster. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why look at crime rates by population size?
Per-capita rates already adjust for population, but reporting completeness, offense mix, and demographic structure all vary systematically by population bracket. Comparing a town to a major metro often confuses size effects with safety effects; comparing within a bracket isolates the question of which cities at similar scale are doing well or poorly. The FBI itself segments UCR data by population strata for the same reason.
What is the average crime rate for small cities?
Across 8 small cities in the FBI cohort, the average per-capita violent crime rate is 336.1/100K and the average property crime rate is 1,466/100K. The U.S. national rate is 363.8/100K violent and 1,832/100K property. Cohort averages can differ from the U.S. average because the population bracket is not a representative sample of the country.
How many small cities are improving or worsening?
Of the 8 small cities tracked, 3 (38%) show a clearly improving 5-year trend (more than 3% drop in total crime rate), 1 show a worsening trend (more than 3% rise), and the remainder are roughly stable. Trend direction contributes 30% to each city's Safety Context Score.
What does the Safety Context Score account for?
The 0-100 composite weighs three FBI UCR inputs: per-capita violent crime versus the U.S. average (40%), per-capita property crime versus the U.S. average (30%), and the direction of the 5-year trend (30%). All inputs are population-adjusted, so the score is directly comparable across cohort sizes. A city in this cohort can outscore a much larger or much smaller city if its rates are lower or its trend is improving faster.
Where does this data come from?
Every figure traces to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program, accessed through the FBI Crime Data Explorer at cde.ucr.cjis.gov. Population denominators come from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (bjs.ojp.gov) publishes complementary information on unreported crime. The data is public domain.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (2023), accessed via the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Population denominators from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program. Reporting context from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Public domain.
Last refreshed 2026-04-06 · All rates per 100,000 residents.