Official Data Behind the “Safest College Towns in America” Coverage
Wasatch Defense Lawyers Releases Full Research Used in National Rankings
Recently featured in Men’s Journal, our college town crime analysis has sparked interest from students, parents, and press outlets — many of whom have asked for the original data. This post serves as the official source reference for the dataset behind that story and others like it. Below, we break down how we conducted the analysis, what the data includes, and how you can view the full rankings of college towns based on safety.
What This Study Covers
The goal of the research was simple: evaluate the safety of U.S. college towns using publicly available data, and rank them from safest to most dangerous.
We reviewed:
-
Crime statistics per 10,000 people
-
Data sourced from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and local reporting where available
-
Cities/towns that are home to major universities or large student populations
To make the rankings clear, we scaled and normalized all data to compare towns on an even playing field.
Methodology
The goal of this study was to identify and rank the most and least-safe college towns in the United States based on recent crime data (2023 May -2025 May). The analysis focused exclusively on towns where a major university significantly shapes the local population and economy.
Selection of College Towns
A total of 26 U.S. college towns were selected based on the following criteria:
The institution is a central feature of the city, meaning it materially influences local demographics and infrastructure.
Crime Data Collection
City-level crime data was sourced from publicly available government databases, primarily the FBI Crime Data Explorer (2024 edition), and select city police department open-data portals. The following categories of reported crime were included:
-Aggravated Assault
-Homicide
-Robbery
-Rape
-Burglary
-Motor Vehicle Theft
-All Other Larceny
-Drug/Narcotic Violations
-Weapon Law Violations
Each city’s total crime count reflects the sum of these categories.
Population Normalization
To allow fair comparisons across cities of varying sizes, all crime counts were normalized per 10,000 residents.
The final crime rate per 10,000 people was calculated as:
(Total number of crimes ÷ City population) × 10,000
This figure was used to rank each college town from highest to lowest in terms of crime intensity.
Limitations
This study reflects reported crimes only. It does not include unreported or unresolved incidents.
Data availability varies slightly by state; every effort was made to use the most recent and complete data available.
Factors, Weightings and Sources
Weightings and sources for each factor in the calculation. Weightings are shown as percentages.
Indicator Source
- Aggravated Assault https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Homocide https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Robbery https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Rape https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Burglary https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- All other Larcony https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Motor-Vehicle Theft https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Drug/Narcotic Violation https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Weapon Law Violation https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
- Population https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/michigan/ann-arbor
Index & Raw Data
Combined the index scores (out of 100) and rankings with the raw data for each row/state/city. Note – Index scores are calculated upon the scaled data, not the raw data.
College Crime Data (2023–2025)
University of California Berkeley – Berkeley,CA
- Aggravated Assault: 2
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 0
- Rape: 0
- Burglary: 1
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 5
- All Other Larceny: 7
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 0
- Weapon Law Violations: 1
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 16
- Population: 118,962
- Crime per 10K People: 1
Princeton University – Princeton,NJ
- Aggravated Assault: 4
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 1
- Rape: 3
- Burglary: 1
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 0
- All Other Larceny: 1
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 0
- Weapon Law Violations: 2
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 12
- Population: 30,289
- Crime per 10K People: 4
UMass Amherst / Five-College Consortium – Amherst,MA
- Aggravated Assault: 28
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 1
- Rape: 5
- Burglary: 11
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 3
- All Other Larceny: 23
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 2
- Weapon Law Violations: 2
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 75
- Population: 48,597
- Crime per 10K People: 15
Washington State University – Pullman,WA
- Aggravated Assault: 16
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 4
- Rape: 8
- Burglary: 17
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 5
- All Other Larceny: 62
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 21
- Weapon Law Violations: 6
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 139
- Population: 32,863
- Crime per 10K People: 42
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,NC
- Aggravated Assault: 42
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 6
- Rape: 3
- Burglary: 51
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 22
- All Other Larceny: 66
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 51
- Weapon Law Violations: 35
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 276
- Population: 62,043
- Crime per 10K People: 44
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor,MI
- Aggravated Assault: 176
- Homicide: 5
- Robbery: 50
- Rape: 33
- Burglary: 90
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 44
- All Other Larceny: 76
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 59
- Weapon Law Violations: 37
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 570
- Population: 119,381
- Crime per 10K People: 48
Harvard University / MIT – Cambridge,MA
- Aggravated Assault: 233
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 66
- Rape: 18
- Burglary: 52
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 27
- All Other Larceny: 132
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 44
- Weapon Law Violations: 29
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 601
- Population: 118,214
- Crime per 10K People: 51
Oregon State University – Corvallis,OR
- Aggravated Assault: 44
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 10
- Rape: 17
- Burglary: 37
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 19
- All Other Larceny: 78
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 130
- Weapon Law Violations: 50
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 385
- Population: 60,408
- Crime per 10K People: 64
West Virginia University – Morgantown,WV
- Aggravated Assault: 23
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 4
- Rape: 23
- Burglary: 16
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 5
- All Other Larceny: 44
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 89
- Weapon Law Violations: 8
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 212
- Population: 30,429
- Crime per 10K People: 70
Stanford University – Palo Alto,CA
- Aggravated Assault: 34
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 71
- Rape: 11
- Burglary: 88
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 30
- All Other Larceny: 125
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 96
- Weapon Law Violations: 21
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 476
- Population: 65,882
- Crime per 10K People: 72
Brigham Young University – Provo,UT
- Aggravated Assault: 86
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 14
- Rape: 41
- Burglary: 48
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 29
- All Other Larceny: 92
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 439
- Weapon Law Violations: 72
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 821
- Population: 113,343
- Crime per 10K People: 72
University of Virginia – Charlottesville, VA
- Aggravated Assault: 40
- Homicide: 1
- Robbery: 22
- Rape: 11
- Burglary: 58
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 39
- All Other Larceny: 77
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 57
- Weapon Law Violations: 35
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 340
- Population: 44,983
- Crime per 10K People: 76
Colorado State University – Fort Collins,CO
- Aggravated Assault: 238
- Homicide: 1
- Robbery: 50
- Rape: 36
- Burglary: 180
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 111
- All Other Larceny: 205
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 528
- Weapon Law Violations: 80
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 1429
- Population: 170,376
- Crime per 10K People: 84
University of Colorado – Boulder,CO
- Aggravated Assault: 151
- Homicide: 2
- Robbery: 36
- Rape: 25
- Burglary: 99
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 64
- All Other Larceny: 287
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 201
- Weapon Law Violations: 29
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 894
- Population: 106,274
- Crime per 10K People: 84
Indiana University – Bloomington,IN
- Aggravated Assault: 144
- Homicide: 4
- Robbery: 35
- Rape: 20
- Burglary: 45
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 30
- All Other Larceny: 72
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 270
- Weapon Law Violations: 50
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 670
- Population: 78,840
- Crime per 10K People: 85
Michigan State University – East Lansing,MI
- Aggravated Assault: 70
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 21
- Rape: 14
- Burglary: 31
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 94
- All Other Larceny: 155
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 16
- Weapon Law Violations: 34
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 435
- Population: 48,528
- Crime per 10K People: 90
Southern Utah University – Cedar City,UT
- Aggravated Assault: 34
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 3
- Rape: 7
- Burglary: 42
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 13
- All Other Larceny: 89
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 147
- Weapon Law Violations: 28
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 363
- Population: 39,942
- Crime per 10K People: 91
University of Iowa – Iowa City,IA
- Aggravated Assault: 163
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 26
- Rape: 34
- Burglary: 74
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 37
- All Other Larceny: 67
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 337
- Weapon Law Violations: 84
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 822
- Population: 75,678
- Crime per 10K People: 109
Utah State University – Logan,UT
- Aggravated Assault: 54
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 2
- Rape: 25
- Burglary: 37
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 16
- All Other Larceny: 95
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 337
- Weapon Law Violations: 55
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 621
- Population: 55,250
- Crime per 10K People: 112
Cornell University / Ithaca College – Ithaca,NY
- Aggravated Assault: 35
- Homicide: 0
- Robbery: 4
- Rape: 3
- Burglary: 82
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 10
- All Other Larceny: 235
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 8
- Weapon Law Violations: 17
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 394
- Population: 32,724
- Crime per 10K People: 120
Yale University – New Haven,CT
- Aggravated Assault: 239
- Homicide: 14
- Robbery: 186
- Rape: 23
- Burglary: 118
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 273
- All Other Larceny: 321
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 197
- Weapon Law Violations: 333
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 1704
- Population: 135,319
- Crime per 10K People: 126
Arizona State University – Tempe,AZ
- Aggravated Assault: 429
- Homicide: 14
- Robbery: 114
- Rape: 97
- Burglary: 221
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 193
- All Other Larceny: 589
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 670
- Weapon Law Violations: 261
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 2588
- Population: 189,834
- Crime per 10K People: 136
University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa,AL
- Aggravated Assault: 291
- Homicide: 6
- Robbery: 55
- Rape: 20
- Burglary: 123
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 87
- All Other Larceny: 312
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 728
- Weapon Law Violations: 41
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 1663
- Population: 111,338
- Crime per 10K People: 149
University of Florida – Gainesville,FL
- Aggravated Assault: 444
- Homicide: 12
- Robbery: 90
- Rape: 138
- Burglary: 366
- Motor Vehicle Theft: 26
- All Other Larceny: 977
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: 429
- Weapon Law Violations: 132
- Overall Crime Rate (2023–2025): 2614
- Population: 145,812
- Crime per 10K People: 179
Scaled
Scaled the indicator data columns between 0 and 10, where 0 and 10 represent the lowest and highest values present in the column. If the indicator is ‘bad’, the score is inverted to ensure higher values are ‘better’. In this sheet, the data is ready for indexing.
| Safest College Towns | The Most Dangerous Towns | |||||
| Town/City | Crime per 10 K people | Town/City | Crime per 10 K people | |||
| 1 | Berkeley,CA | 1 | 1 | Gainesville, FL | 179 | |
| 2 | Princeton,NJ | 4 | 2 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 149 | |
| 3 | Amherst, MA | 15 | 3 | Tempe, AZ | 136 | |
| 4 | Pullman, WA | 42 | 4 | New Haven, CT | 126 | |
| 5 | Chapel Hill, NC | 44 | 5 | Ithaca, NY | 120 | |
| 6 | Ann Arbor, MI | 48 | 6 | Logan, UT | 112 | |
| 7 | Cambridge, MA | 51 | 7 | Iowa City, IA | 109 | |
| 8 | Corvallis, OR | 64 | 8 | Cedar City, UT | 91 | |
| 9 | Madison, WI | 67 | 9 | East Lansing, MI | 90 | |
| 10 | Morgantown, WV | 70 | 10 | Bloomington, IN | 85 | |
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