A new study listing the safest midsized cities in the United States in 2026 has been released by financial advisor website SmartAsset – and several in the top 100 are from Wisconsin.
The study lists Waukesha as the eighth-safest city out of more than 300 cities in the nation with populations between 65,000 and 250,000. Appleton is No. 10 and Eau Claire is No. 11. Kenosha, Oshkosh and Green Bay landed lower on the list, coming in at 30th, 37th and 72nd, respectively.
How were the cities ranked?
The rankings were determined by evaluations of four primary aspects of public safety: violent crime rates, property crime rates, traffic fatality rates and natural disaster risk.
The study found that, per 1,000 residents, Green Bay has about 4.95 violent crimes and 13.12 property crimes. Per 100,000 residents, it has 7.55 auto fatalities. Its natural disaster risk was ranked “relatively moderate” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
How does Green Bay compare to its neighbors?
Appleton had less than half the violent crime rate, with 2.01 per 1,000 people, but a slightly higher rate of property crimes and auto fatalities.
Oshkosh also had a lower violent crime rate, 2.32 per 1,000, but a high property crime rate: 14.52 per 1,000. It had similar rates of fatal car crashes.
Oshkosh matched Green Bay in disaster risk, but Appleton was slightly safer, deemed “relatively low.”
Where were the safest cities?
SmartAsset’s rankings found that most of the highest-ranked cities are inland, with 15 of the 20 safest midsized cities in noncoastal states. The safest midsized city of 2026 was Broomfield, Colorado, while the last of the cities evaluated was Little Rock, Arkansas.
SmartAsset has also safety rankings of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Its 2025 list placed Milwaukee at No. 44 and Chicago at no. 38. The safest of America’s largest cities, according to that list, is San Jose, California.
Appleton Post-Crescent editor Taima Kern contributed to this report.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay lands on SmartAsset’s safest midsize U.S. cities list
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kelli Arseneau, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
