Senoia, Summerville Ranked as Safest Cities in Georgia

Cindy Morley

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

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Senoia, in Coweta County, has jumped into the top spot for the safest cities in Georgia, according to the latest survey performed by Safewise.com.

Senoia earned the top spot based on its low property crime numbers—just 39 total compared to second-place Summerville’s 48. But despite the great records of our safest cities, Georgia’s overall crime rates are higher than the national average, according to the latest survey. The violent crime rate is 4.77, barely higher than the national rate of 4.49. But the property crime rate is 10 points higher at 37.57 incidents per 1,000, compared to 27.11 nationally.

Eleven new cities were added to Georgia’s safest list this year — meaning 78% of last year’s top cities made the cut again. In ranking the safest cities, Safewise reviewed 2017 FBI crime report statistics (the most recent complete report available at the time of ranking) and population data. The rankings are based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) in each city.

Senoia and Summerville each reported zero violent crimes in 2017. The top 10 were:

1. Senoia

2. Summerville

3. Milton

4. Flowery Branch

5. Johns Creek

6. Peachtree City

7. Alpharetta

8. Grovetown

9. Byron

10. Glenville

The study listed several other notable findings:

● Senoia jumped from number four in 2018 to number one this year.

● The low incidence of violent crime is impressive because these cities are bigger than those named in most other states – and 60 percent had fewer than 25 total violent crimes.

● Only two cities on the list had more than 100 violent crimes, and the highest was 126 in Sandy Springs, which has a population of more than 100,000.

● 70 percent of the safest cities had no murders.

● Digital security is rated the top safety concern in Georgia.