A SafeWise ranking of 2025 safest cities in New York placed Oneonta in the top 10.
SafeWise, a safety and home security research company, uses information from an annual safety report to rank locations across the state based on the violent crime rate and property crime rate. While the list is branded as the “safest cities,” it includes some towns with a population over 15,000.
According to this year’s State of Safety Report, residents are less worried about their overall safety and security compared to the year before. A reported 47% of New Yorkers said they worry about general crime and safety on a daily basis, down from 59% the previous year.
Oneonta was the only municipality in the region SafeWise included in the top 10, earning the number 4 spot. Here’s how other local areas fared in the New York safety rankings.
Where Southern Tier cities land on safety rankings
SafeWise named Oneonta the fourth safest city in New York with a reported violent crime rate of 0.24 per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 4.42 per 1,000 people.
The Town of Vestal was ranked 23rd, with a violent crime rate of 0.47 per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 20.77 per 1,000 people.
The City of Elmira was ranked 26th, with a violent crime rate of 3.21 per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 14.69 per 1,000 people.
Closer to the bottom of the list, the City of Cortland was ranked 40th with a violent crime rate of 3.49 per 1,000 people and a property crime rate of 32.24 per 1,000 people.
The City of Binghamton was ranked 49th, followed by Jamestown, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester to round out the 53 municipalities SafeWise ranked.
SafeWise reported Binghamton’s violent crime rate was 6.63 per 1,000 people and its property crime rate was 35.98 per 1,000 people.
New York State records show the number of violent crimes reported by the City of Binghamton Police Department decreased from 316 in 2023 to 272 in 2024. The state dataset did not include 2025 case numbers.
A May state report indicated an increase in Binghamton shootings and shooting victims in January through April 2025 compared to the same months in 2024.
SafeWise: These are the top 10 safest cities in NY
Here are the top 10 safest cities in New York, according to SafeWise:
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: SafeWise ranks ‘safest cities’ in New York: What they said about the Southern Tier
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
