New York has one of the safest cities in the country, a new study released by WalletHub revealed.
The Westchester County city of Yonkers made the list’s top five, which compared more than 180 of the most populated U.S. cities across 41 safety-related metrics ranging from traffic fatalities per capita to the percentage of the population that’s uninsured.
“When people think about safety in a city, their minds probably immediately go to things like crime rate, auto fatality rate or risk of natural disasters,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says. “The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people’s financial safety.”
Here’s what to know.
What put Yonkers at the top?
Yonkers received a total safety score of 68.65, putting it in the No. 5 spot on the list. According to the study, the city was ranked No. 3 for its home and community safety, No. 29 for natural disaster risk and No. 118 for financial safety.
The cities of Rochester and Buffalo are much lower on the list, ranking No. 91 and No. 140, respectively.
WalletHub’s top 10 safest cities to live
How WalletHub assessed safety
WalletHub compared 182 cities — including 150 of the most populated cities in the U.S. along with at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across three key determinants: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety.
The home and community safety category took into account these factors:
The natural disaster risk category included these elements:
And the financial safety category took a look at these aspects:
Data used to create the ranking was collected as of Sept. 22, 2025 and the information was sourced from multiple entities, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Insurance Information Institute.
Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: This New York city just landed in the top 5 safest places to live
Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York Connect Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
