Cities across Washington are coming together to create inclusive communities that embrace all citizens of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. These initiatives work to establish communities “without boundaries where people take care of each other regardless of their differences.”
Taking care of one another is something we believe helped Washington’s twenty safest cities minimize crime, as reported in the FBI’s 2015 crime report. Our number-one city, Mattawa, is home to helpful citizens and a proactive law enforcement community.
“I’m very blessed to be in the city of Mattawa at this time in its history,” former Chief of Police, John A. Turley, said. “I was with the sheriff’s office when we were [dealing with a lot of] gang-related issues. I came out of retirement to hopefully do what is now happening in the city.” Chief Turley retired from this post in September 2016, and the city’s stellar safety record is a testament to his commitment.
Mattawa captured our top spot thanks to reporting just four total violent crimes and only twenty-three property crimes on the FBI crime report. In addition, 90% of the cities on our list reported fewer than fifteen violent crimes, and 75% claimed fewer than 200 property crimes overall.
Across the nation, Washington comes in seventeenth for violent crimes and forty-seventh for property crime. However, all twenty cities on our list have property crime rates that are well below the national average—and, in fact, each city’s property crime rate is lower than any state’s.
Find out below if your Washington city is one of the safest in the state this year. You can help your town climb the list by educating yourself on community safety programs and crime prevention resources compiled in our comprehensive Washington Safety Directory.
How We Chose the Safest Cities in Washington
To identify the safest cities in Washington, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 2,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.
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From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To further level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.
Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.
1. Mattawa ↑
Previous rank: 3
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.87
Property Crime per 1,000: 4.99
2. Duvall ↑
Previous rank: 6
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.25
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.22
3. Connell ↑
Previous rank: 5
Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.22
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.27
4. Sammamish
Previous rank: 4
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.23
Property Crime per 1,000: 7.49
5. Moxee ↓
Previous rank: 2
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.77
Property Crime per 1,000: 6.97
6. Everson
Previous rank: Not ranked
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crime per 1,000: 8.15
7. Dupont ↓
Previous rank: 1
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.94
Property Crime per 1,000: 7.92
8. Pullman ↑
Previous rank: 15
Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.03
Property Crime per 1,000: 8.58
9. La Center ↓
Previous rank: 7
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.32
Property Crime per 1,000: 9.89
10. Lynden
Previous rank: 10
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.89
Property Crime per 1,000: 10.25
11. Steilacoom ↑
Previous rank: 24
Violent Crime per 1,000: 2.09
Property Crime per 1,000: 9.31
12. West Richland ↑
Previous rank: 23
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.87
Property Crime per 1,000: 10.94
13. Oak Harbor ↑
Previous rank: 25
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.90
Property Crime per 1,000: 11.01
14. Selah ↓
Previous rank: 12
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.13
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.13
15. Black Diamond ↓
Previous rank: 9
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.68
Property Crime per 1,000: 11.64
16. Snoqualmie ↓
Previous rank: 13
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.23
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.63
17. Brier ↓
Previous rank: 11
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.31
Property Crime per 1,000: 13.19
18. Bainbridge Island ↑
Previous rank: 19
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.43
Property Crime per 1,000: 13.58
19. Orting ↑
Previous rank: 47
Violent Crime per 1,000: 1.49
Property Crime per 1,000: 12.57
20. Kenmore ↓
Previous rank: 17
Violent Crime per 1,000: 0.63
Property Crime per 1,000: 14.57
