Although City Rating stats say that the city's violent and property crimes just about match the national average, Yuma, a city of 90,000 in Arizona's Yuma County, got a score of 31--the second-lowest on the list--on House Hunt's 20 Safest Cities in 2010. While 100 is the national average, the average for urban areas is closer to 150 and the average for rural areas is closer to 50. A lower score means a safer city.
Gilbert, population 216,449, is located in Arizona's Maricopa County, about 4.4 miles from Chandler and 5.2 miles from Mesa. In its 2009 list of the top 25 safest cities in the U.S., ranked by population group, Morgan Quitno, a research and publishing company known for its city rankings, rated Gilbert the safest municipality in Arizona, the 24th-safest in the nation and the eighth-safest city of 100,000 to 499,999 residents.
Scottsdale, a city of 235,000, is located in Arizona's Maricopa County, about 6.6 miles from Tempe and 7.5 miles from Mesa. CQ Press ranked Scottsdale as the 54th-safest city nationwide and the second-safest city in Arizona. Statistics at City Rating place its violent crimes at 0.37 times the national average; of its property crimes, car theft and burglary barely surpass the national average.
Surprise, a city of almost 93,000, is located in Arizona's Maricopa County, about 6.5 miles from Peoria and 10.6 miles from Glendale. Surprise's property crime levels tend to be lower than Arizona's average level, and violent crime levels in Surprise tend to be much lower than Arizona's average level. CQ Press ranked Surprise the 27th-safest city nationwide in 2008 and the safest city in Arizona in 2007.
