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If you’re looking for a new home in Wisconsin, we know there are all sorts of things to take into consideration. Of course there’s the price, the school districts, and the amenities, but perhaps most important of all is the area’s safety.
Now we don’t want to badger you about where you should or should not live… but yeah, okay, we will. Because the truth is, when it comes to finding a new home, there are certain places that are a bit safer than others.
And then there are places like these 10, that are, hands down, the safest of them all:
1. Village/Town of Hobart/Lawrence
2. City of Mequon
3. City of Muskego
4. City of Cedarburg
5. City of Port Washington
6. Village of Menomonee Falls
7. City of De Pere
8. Village of Whitefish Bay
9. Fox Valley Metro
10. Village of Grafton
If you’re a regular here at the Movoto Real Estate blog, you surely read our last list of the safest places in Wisconsin. This list, though, is new, it’s improved, and, well, it’s just more accurate. We used the same method that we did last time, but if you need a refresher, keep on reading and we’ll explain the process.
Our Methodology
Recently, the FBI released their latest crime reports for all of the states in the country. So we’re celebrating with this new, updated list. (Horray!)
We started by gathering up all of the places in Wisconsin with populations of 10,000 people or more, and then with the 2013 FBI Uniform Crime Report, we looked at each according to the following:
- Murders
- Rapes
- Robberies
- Assaults
- Burglaries
- Thefts
- Vehicle Thefts
…We divided these crimes into four categories:
- Murders
- Violent Crimes
- Property Crimes
- Total Crimes
…And then we omitted any places that didn’t report crime to the bureau that year (it happens). We wanted to keep a level playing field, so next, we calculated the number of crimes per person, or per capita, in each of the our 81 places.
In order to take into account the different severity of crimes, we weighted murders, violent crimes, and property crimes to make up 30 percent of the overall score, while the total number of crimes made up just 10 percent.
And finally, we averaged these weighted rankings into one overall Big Deal Score, where the lowest score went to our safest place, the area of Hobart/Lawrence.
If you want to see how the top 50 safest places ranked, you can make your way down to the end of the post. Otherwise, we’ll take a look at just why each of these top 10 were safer than the rest.
1. Hobart-Lawrence
First things first: We know that Hobart and Lawrence are two distinct communities. However, the FBI didn’t seem to get the memo, as this is how the crime data was gathered. So, really, it’s almost even more impressive when you look at the numbers.
In 2013, neither Hobart nor Lawrence had any violent crimes. That’s zero rapes, robberies, assaults, or murders. For the year. For both communities! That’s pretty good.
Almost as impressive was the combined low number of property crimes—just 76 total, giving the area the third lowest number of property crimes per person in the state.
All told, the Hobart/Lawrence area had the second lowest number of crimes per person, giving residents just a 1 in 152 chance of being the victim of a crime.
2. Mequon
Good news, Mequon. Not only did you make our list of safest places two years in a row, but you also bumped it up from fifth place to second. The reason for this even better ranking was an even lower total number of crimes per person—the lowest in the state, in fact.
Yep, with just 146 property crimes and two violent crimes and a population of 23,264, Mequon had the second lowest number of property crimes and the third lowest number of violent crimes per person, adding up to equal the lowest total number of crimes in the state.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Mequon residents had just a 1 in 157 chance of being the victim of a crime, the lowest odds in the state.
3. Muskego
Muskego may have dropped a couple of points from last year’s list, but hey, the third safest place in the state is nothing to sneeze at. The reason it ranked so high was mostly because of its low overall number of crimes—just 196 for the year.
With a population just over 24,200, this meant that Muskego had the third lowest total number of crimes per person. This was made up of 190 property crimes (the fourth lowest per person) and just six violent crimes (the seventh lowest per person). Like the rest in our top 10, none of these included murder.
4. Cedarburg
While Cedarburg came in at third place last year, this year it takes fourth, only because of its slight increase in total number of crimes (from 129 to 131).
That being said, Cedarburg had a drop in its total number of violent crimes, where in 2012, it had a total of two (both assaults) and in the most recent report, 2013, it had a total of just one (also an assault). This gave Cedarburg the fifth lowest number of violent crimes per person in the state.
Additionally, it had the 11th lowest number of property crimes, adding up to give Cedarburg the eighth lowest number of total crimes per person.
5. Port Washington
Jumping from the No. 10 spot to the No. 5 in just a year, Port Washington easily gets the “Most Improved” award. Okay, there’s no award, but if there was, you guys would get it.
The reason for this major jump is simple: it went from a total of 10 violent crimes in 2012, to a total of… zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. You get the idea.
Additionally, it had 147 property crimes, which with its population of just over 11,000 gave it both the 15th fewest property crimes and total crimes per person.
6. Menomonee Falls
This community is certainly “More than a Village” when it comes to safety. Sure, it may have dropped a couple of points from last year’s rankings, but it did make our list two years in a row. Which is awesome.
The reason behind this awesome is Menomonee Falls’ low number of both violent and property crime, ranking the 10th and ninth lowest per person in these categories, respectively.
With these low numbers, it had the seventh lowest total number of crimes per person in the state.
7. De Pere
This Green Bay suburb is a welcome newcomer to our 2015 list—and for good reason. Said reason: mostly its low numbers of violent crime. In 2013, De Pere had just one rape, three robberies, and three assaults, giving it the eighth lowest number of violent crimes per person overall.
This, plus its 283 property crimes added up to give De Pere a total of just 290 crimes for the year, the 11th lowest per person in the state.
8. Whitefish Bay
This reliable village came in as the eighth safest place in Wisconsin two years running. That’s because Whitefish Bay continued to have one of the lowest numbers of violent crime in the state—just three for its population of 14,145.
Like the rest of the places in our top 10 (and in nearly all of the places we looked at in Wisconsin), none of these were murders. In fact, none of these were even assaults. The violent crimes were made up of one rape and two robberies.
Additionally, Whitefish Bay had the 16th lowest number of property crimes per capita (a total of 193), adding up to just the 16th fewest total crimes per person.
9. Fox Valley Metro
Once again, yes, we know that Fox Valley Metro is a little vague, but this is how the FBI gathered the crime data for that area. According to the Fox Valley Metro Police Department, this area includes the Villages of Little Chute, Combined Locks, and Kimberly.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk safety.
The reason this area is so safe is because of its low total number of crimes—the fourth lowest per person. This was made up of the fifth lowest number of property crimes per person (a total of 185 for its population of just over 20,400) and the 22nd lowest number of violent crimes per person (14 total).
10. Grafton
Last but certainly not least was the Village of Grafton. This Ozaukee County community was also listed among last year’s safest places in Wisconsin—just a good four points higher. But don’t feel bad, Grafton, because 10th out of 81 places is quite a feat.
The reason Grafton was safer than the 71 other places we looked at is simple: It had less crime. Ah, you want something more specific. Okay, well in 2013 Grafton had a total of just one violent crime—a robbery—giving it the fourth lowest number of violent crimes per person in the state.
It also had 168 property crimes, adding up to 169 crimes for the year, or the 17th fewest per person in the state.
Finding Safety In Wisconsin
Finding safety in Wisconsin shouldn’t be too hard. After all, it is the 13th safest state in the country. But there are certain places that are more dangerous than others—just take a look at the table below.
If your hometown is located near the bottom of that list and you’d like to move someplace safer, just let us know. After all, aside from creating awesome lists like this one, we sell houses. And these top 10? Well, they’re just lovely this time of year. (And by lovely, we mean safe. Otherwise, they’re pretty much frozen over and frigid like the rest of the state right now.)
