Population
6,695,497
Avg Annual Rent
$9583
Avg Household Income
$44956
Cost of Living
21.90%
Violent Crime Rate
25.5
Property Crime Rate
340.8
Primary Care Ranking
38
Mental Health Provider
42
Indiana is a Midwestern state with over 6.7 million residents, situated between Illinois and Ohio and bordering Michigan to the North. Lake Michigan enters Indiana just at the northwestern corner of the state. Not only is Indiana known for being the fifth-largest producer of corn in the United States, it’s also home to Notre Dame University in South Bend and the Indianapolis 500, which has run annually for over 100 years. The capital city of Indianapolis is also the home of the Indiana Pacers in the NBA and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
How We Determined the Safest Cities in Indiana
We narrowed down the safest cities in each state based on two primary categories. First, we evaluated public safety factors including violent, property and hate crimes in each area to help determine the safest areas to live. We then evaluated financial and socioeconomic factors including household income, average rent and health insurance. In addition, we evaluated each state for natural disaster safety and public health safety. You can find a detailed breakdown of our methodology and links to sources here.
Here are the public safety factors we counted for each city:
*Public safety data is based on a population of 10,000 (for example, a “2” means two incidents for every 10,000 people).
- Property crime – Number of property crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Violent crime – Number of violent crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Aggravated assaults – Number of aggravated assaults reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Hate crime – Number of hate crimes reported in the city (FBI Hate Crime Report)
- Officer-related incidents – Number of officer-involved shootings reported in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
- Mass shootings – Incidents in which four or more people are shot/killed in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
Here are the financial safety factors we counted for each city:
- Annual rent – Annualized median rent
- Unemployment rate – The average rate of unemployed residents in each city
- Cost of living – The average annual rent and household income per city
- Poverty rate – Percentage of families that reported experiencing poverty in the last 12 months
- Uninsured employed – Percentage of employed residents that reported not having health insurance
- Uninsured unemployed – Percentage of unemployed residents that reported not having health insurance
We narrowed down the safest cities in Kansas based on the factors that matter most.
10 Safest Cities in Indiana
No. 1 Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne is situated in northeastern Indiana and has just over 270,000 residents. Violent crime in Fort Wayne is right on the median for Indiana and just below the median level for the country, and property crime is just above the national median. Fort Wayne boasts one of the nation’s best zoological parks, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.
81 out of 100
Public Safety
52 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.86021 (2nd) | 20.401 (1st) | 261.8128 (2nd) | 0.037364 (2nd) | 0.037364 (2nd) | 0.186822 (8th) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8820 (8th) | 48023 (4th) | 0.062 (8th) | 0.151 (8th) | 0.009 (9th) | 0.315 (7th) |
No. 2 Lawrence
Lawrence is a mid-size community of nearly 50,000 residents, located just northeast of Indianapolis and part of the Indianapolis metro area. Lawrence is another Indiana community with very low rates of crimes such as aggravated assault and burglary, although its hate crime rate is higher than most of our top 10. Lawrence is home to the Museum of 20th Century Warfare and Fort Harrison State Park.
86 out of 100
Public Safety
41 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.79537 (4th) | 20.98059 (2nd) | 220.6017 (1st) | 1.018475 (8th) | 1.018475 (8th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10488 (3rd) | 52048 (3rd) | 0.077 (4th) | 0.155 (7th) | 0.023 (3rd) | 0.337 (5th) |
No. 3 Bloomington
A college town of just over 85,000 residents, Bloomington is the home of Indiana University Bloomington. Bloomington is safe even by college town standards, with low rates of property crime and violent incidents. Bloomington is also home to the Little 500, the biggest college bike race in the country.
77 out of 100
Public Safety
35 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.58066 (1st) | 39.42611 (5th) | 265.368 (3rd) | 0.816517 (7th) | 0.816517 (7th) | 0.933162 (10th) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10644 (1st) | 34435 (10th) | 0.079 (3rd) | 0.175 (5th) | 0.015 (6th) | 0.238 (9th) |
No. 4 Hammond
Although located on the Indiana side of the border, Hammond is actually a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Hammond boasts low crime rates across the board, with low rates of violent and property crime as well as officer-involved incidents. On the east side of town is Gibson Woods Nature Preserve, a 179-acre dedicated nature preserve.
77 out of 100
Public Safety
29 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23.66864 (5th) | 24.3261 (3rd) | 348.7179 (4th) | 0.52597 (5th) | 0.52597 (5th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10500 (2nd) | 44926 (6th) | 0.087 (2nd) | 0.234 (1st) | 0.018 (4th) | 0.397 (4th) |
No. 5 Evansville
Evansville is not one of the safest cities in the nation, although it makes Indiana’s top 10 with moderate rates of violent crime and enough property crime to take notice. Situated in the southwest corner of Indiana, Evansville has quite a bit to offer, including the Children’s Museum of Evansville and the Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.
71 out of 100
Public Safety
36 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.63937 (3rd) | 35.19555 (4th) | 446.3436 (7th) | 0 (1st) | 0 (1st) | 0.841999 (9th) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9060 (7th) | 38646 (8th) | 0.064 (7th) | 0.198 (4th) | 0.011 (8th) | 0.413 (3rd) |
No. 6 Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana and the most populous city in the state, with around 870,000 residents. Indianapolis’ crime rate is surprisingly low for a city of its size, with negligible violent crime and property crime incidents and only a smattering of hate crimes. Indianapolis is perhaps best known for playing host to the Indianapolis 500 auto race.
62 out of 100
Public Safety
39 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.66809 (7th) | 82.61317 (7th) | 412.9177 (5th) | 0.387427 (3rd) | 0.387427 (3rd) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10380 (4th) | 46442 (5th) | 0.07 (6th) | 0.168 (6th) | 0.005 (10th) | 0.324 (6th) |
No. 7 South Bend
South Bend is the home of the University of Notre Dame and the former base of Studebaker, the now-defunct car maker. South Bend rounds out Indiana’s 10 safest cities, but the crime rate in this historic city is quite high compared to other cities of its size.
61 out of 100
Public Safety
30 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34.47367 (6th) | 69.43563 (6th) | 430.286 (6th) | 2.343819 (10th) | 2.343819 (10th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9204 (6th) | 38943 (7th) | 0.074 (5th) | 0.214 (2nd) | 0.012 (7th) | 0.436 (2nd) |
No. 8 Jasper
Located in southern Indiana, Jasper enjoys very low rates of property crime and violent incidents, and almost no hate crime or officer incidents. Jasper is home to the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, Dubois County Museum and the Jasper Riverwalk.
10 out of 100
Public Safety
77 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.641725 (6th) | 0.641725 (6th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 57316 (1st) | 0.016 (10th) | 0.117 (10th) | 0.041 (1st) | 0.076 (10th) |
No. 9 Greenfield
Part of the Indianapolis metro area, Greenfield has a population of just over 23,000 people and very few reported incidents of violent crime and property crime such as burglary. Greenfield is the birthplace of James Whitcomb Riley, and this famous poet’s home is memorialized at the Riley Home Museum.
24 out of 100
Public Safety
54 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.448591 (4th) | 0.448591 (4th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10248 (5th) | 53061 (2nd) | 0.04 (9th) | 0.127 (9th) | 0.031 (2nd) | 0.626 (1st) |
No. 10 Terre Haute
Terre Haute is a western Indiana city of just over 60,000. The town overall crime rate is very low, although the city has the highest rate of hate crime on our top 10 list. Terre Haute is the home of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, one of the top engineering colleges in the country.
21 out of 100
Public Safety
31 out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
| Total Violent Crime | Aggravated Assault | Property Crime | Hate Crime | Officer Incident | Mass Shootings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.645468 (9th) | 1.645468 (9th) | 0 (1st) |
Financial Safety
| Annual Rent | Household Income | Unemployment Rate | Poverty | Uninsured Employed | Uninsured Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8568 (9th) | 35722 (9th) | 0.095 (1st) | 0.199 (3rd) | 0.018 (4th) | 0.239 (8th) |
Indiana State Safety
Natural Disaster Safety
Indiana is ranked 26th in the country for risk of natural disasters — right in the middle of the pack. Cold winters in Indiana can bring ice storms, heat waves are common in the summer months, and tornados, flooding and earthquakes are possible year-round. Indiana does tend to be prone to severe weather, so the Indiana Department of Homeland Security emphasizes preparedness.
26
Natural Disaster
Health Safety
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading causes of death in Indiana are heart disease and cancer. In 2017, Indiana had the 14th-highest rate of drug related deaths in the country, but that rate has declined slightly since.
Indiana is 38th in access to primary care doctors, with 127.2 active primary care physicians per 100,000 residents. The state ranks even lower when it comes to mental health resources, with only 160 providers per 100,000 people, which is 42nd in the country.
When it comes to air quality, Indiana ranks 43rd in the nation. However, air quality in Indiana has improved quite a bit over the last 20 years.
41 out of 100
Health Safety
Top 10 Safest Cities in Indiana
| City | Population | Public Safety Ranking | Financial Safety Ranking | Rank |
|---|