The 10 Safest Cities In New York For 2026

The safest cities in New York are Highlands and Shawangunk for 2026 using Saturday Night Science.

New York State often overshadowed by the bustling metropolis of New York City, features tranquil Adirondack mountains, the agricultural richness of Finger Lakes, and some super safe towns.

Today, we will focus on the ten safest places in New York that match the resilience of the iconic Statue of Liberty.

You might wonder how New York ranks in crime on the national scene. We ranked New York as the 32nd safest state in America, but that's not the whole story. Certain towns in the Empire State are clearly safer than others.

Diving into the latest FBI Crime data, we've assessed both property crimes and violent crimes per capita to determine the safest locales. In total, we analyzed 188 cities in New York with more than 5,000 people.

Join us as we navigate the safest places in New York, each with unique appeal and charm.

1

No. 1 safest city in New York

Highlands, NY

9,153 people
Highlands, NY
Source: Wikipedia User ScubaBear68; color-correcting and cropping done 2009-02-04 by Daniel Case | CC BY 2.0
0 violent / 0 property per 100k
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 1,078

The first, what I would call statistically typical, city on the list is Highlands -- what with it actually having some violent crime unlike the angelic cities above it.

Another city in Orange County, Highlands actually improved a couple of spots from its spot last year.

But don't be worried -- you can still get a view of the safety of the land from this vantage point, even if you aren't so high up.

2

No. 2 safest city in New York

Shawangunk, NY

13,376 people
Source: Public Domain
0 violent / 37 property per 100k
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -97% vs NY
37
NY 1,078
3

No. 3 safest city in New York

Cornwall, NY

9,583 people
Cornwall, NY
Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
0 violent / 146 property per 100k
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -86% vs NY
146
NY 1,078
4

No. 4 safest city in New York

Woodstock, NY

6,208 people SnackAbility 5/10
5/10
0 violent / 193 property per 100k
Located in Ulster County, New York
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -82% vs NY
193
NY 1,078
5

No. 5 safest city in New York

Briarcliff Manor, NY

7,249 people SnackAbility 6/10
6/10
Briarcliff Manor, NY
Source: Public domain
0 violent / 207 property per 100k
Map of Briarcliff Manor within New York Located in Westchester County, New York
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -81% vs NY
207
NY 1,078

Historically known for being the home of American business magnates such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors, Briarcliff Manor is a serene little village with virtually no crime. There were no violent crimes and only 16 property crimes committed in 2024, a property crime rate about 12 times lower than the national average. So don't worry if you get turned around at Rockefeller State Park Preserve; a stranger is more apt to help you than hurt you.

Briarcliff Manor's poverty rate is also around five times lower than the nationwide average. On the flipside, it's also quite an expensive place to call home, with the median home price being over $680,000. Not really unexpected when it's the historical home of big-name captains of industry.

6

No. 6 safest city in New York

Lewisboro, NY

11,836 people
Lewisboro, NY
Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0
8 violent / 25 property per 100k
Violent / 100k -91% vs NY
8
NY 96
Property / 100k -98% vs NY
25
NY 1,078

Lewisboro is all kinds of safe -- the safest place in New York to be exact.

Even more so, it's incredibly safe even on a national basis for a city of its size. There were a grand total of zero violent crimes here in the last reporting year, good for a tie for the best in the state and the overall best property crime rate.

Based on our research, the reason for this could be due to a lack of a downtown -- it's hard to rob a liquor store when there's no main street in town. Or, more to the point, there's not an abundance of easy targets walking around.

7

No. 7 safest city in New York

Kings Point, NY

5,626 people SnackAbility 5/10
5/10
Kings Point, NY
Source: Flickr User LunchboxLarry | CC BY 2.0
0 violent / 213 property per 100k
Located in Nassau County, New York
Violent / 100k -100% vs NY
0
NY 96
Property / 100k -80% vs NY
213
NY 1,078

Located on the North Shore of Long Island, Kings Point provides its citizenry with safety and security normally reserved for royalty. Don't worry about your treasure getting snatched in Kings Point; according to the data, a property crime only occurs once every 33 days there. Which means there's a greater chance of a raccoon stealing your things at Kings Point Park than a person.

The catch: Kings Point is part of the Great Neck region, which ranked as the eighth most expensive place to live in New York. Hey, living like a king doesn't come cheap.

8

No. 8 safest city in New York

Chester, NY

8,608 people SnackAbility 6/10
6/10
12 violent / 35 property per 100k
Located in Orange County, New York
Violent / 100k -88% vs NY
12
NY 96
Property / 100k -97% vs NY
35
NY 1,078

Chester, in Orange County, New York, stands out as the eighth safest city statewide for 2026, with a population of 8,608 fostering strong community ties. There were a remarkably low number of violent crimes, with only 1 incidents reported. The town ranks as the 17th safest against violent offenses. Property crime is equally scarce with only 3 instances, leading to a 46/100k people crime rate per person.

Chester's unique features include the historic Sugar Loaf, home to the known harness-racing horse Hambletonian 10, and diverse areas such as Camp Monroe, Glenmere Lake, and Goose Pond Mountain State Park.

9

No. 9 safest city in New York

Marlborough, NY

8,826 people
Source: Public Domain
11 violent / 261 property per 100k
Violent / 100k -88% vs NY
11
NY 96
Property / 100k -76% vs NY
261
NY 1,078
10

No. 10 safest city in New York

Elmsford, NY

5,054 people SnackAbility 7/10
7/10
Elmsford, NY
Source: Public domain
20 violent / 119 property per 100k
Located in Westchester County, New York
Violent / 100k -79% vs NY
20
NY 96
Property / 100k -89% vs NY
119
NY 1,078

The receipts

Compare the top ten

Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New York's statewide median. Lower is safer.

City Violent / 100k vs NY
1 Highlands 0 -100%
2 Shawangunk 0 -100%
3 Cornwall 0 -100%
4 Woodstock 0 -100%
6 Lewisboro 8 -91%
7 Kings Point 0 -100%
8 Chester 12 -88%
9 Marlborough 11 -88%
10 Elmsford 20 -79%

New York statewide median: 96

City Property / 100k vs NY
1 Highlands 0 -100%
2 Shawangunk 37 -97%
3 Cornwall 146 -86%
4 Woodstock 193 -82%
5 Briarcliff Manor 207 -81%
6 Lewisboro 25 -98%
7 Kings Point 213 -80%
8 Chester 35 -97%
9 Marlborough 261 -76%
10 Elmsford 119 -89%

New York statewide median: 1,078

City Murders / 100k vs NY
1 Highlands 0 +0%
2 Shawangunk 0 +0%
3 Cornwall 0 +0%
4 Woodstock 0 +0%
6 Lewisboro 0 +0%
7 Kings Point 0 +0%
8 Chester 0 +0%
9 Marlborough 0 +0%
10 Elmsford 0 +0%

New York statewide median: 0

City Population vs NY
1 Highlands 9,153 --
2 Shawangunk 13,376 --
3 Cornwall 9,583 --
4 Woodstock 6,208 --
5 Briarcliff Manor 7,249 --
6 Lewisboro 11,836 --
7 Kings Point 5,626 --
8 Chester 8,608 --
9 Marlborough 8,826 --
10 Elmsford 5,054 --

On the map

Where the safety is in New York

Safest Cities in New York Graph

Saturday Night Science

Methodology: How we calculated the safest cities in New York for 2026

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in New York are the safest, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's most recent crime report in New York.

Specifically, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of property and violent crimes in each city annually. We used two criteria:

  • Violent crimes per capita (murders, assaults, rapes, armed robberies)
  • Property crimes per capita (thefts, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts)

For example, there were 0 crimes committed in Highlands, with a reported population of 9,153. That means the number of crimes per capita is 0.0, which translates into a 1 in 12000 chance of being the victim of a crime.

We only looked at New York cities that have populations of more than 5,000. This filter left us with 188 of the biggest cities in New York to rank.

We ranked each city for each criterion from 1 to 188 where 1 in any particular category is the safest.

Next, we averaged each place's two criteria to create a Safety Index. We crowned the place with the lowest overall Safety Score, "The Safest Place In New York," with any ties going to the bigger city.

The safest city in New York, based on our criteria, is Highlands. The most dangerous city in New York? Herkimer, where residents had a 1 in 10 chance of being the victim of a crime.

This article has been update for 2026. This report marks our eleventh time ranking the safest places to live in New York. All the data comes from the FBI's Crime In The USA 2024 report.

Summary

Summary: The Safest Cities In The Empire State

Looking at the data, you can tell that Highlands is as safe as they come in New York, according to science and data.

But as most New York residents would agree, almost every place here has its safe and not safe parts. So just make sure you're informed ahead of time.

The safest places in New York are .

For more reading, check out:

The full plate

Where Are The Safest Cities In New York For 2026?

Click any column to sort. All 188 ranked New York cities.

RankCityPopulationViolent / 100kProperty / 100kMurders / 100kMurders
1Highlands, NY9,1530000
2Shawangunk, NY13,37603700
3Cornwall, NY9,583014600
4Woodstock, NY6,208019300
5Briarcliff Manor, NY7,249020600
6Lewisboro, NY11,83682500
7Kings Point, NY5,626021300
8Chester, NY8,608113400
9Marlborough, NY8,8261126000
10Elmsford, NY5,0541911800
11Rye, NY16,0941225400
12Scarsdale, NY17,602534000
13Cairo, NY6,671037400
14Tuckahoe, NY6,8462910200
15Rosendale, NY5,6651726400
16Whitestown, NY8,666041500
17Bedford, NY16,1962423400
18Hastings-On-Hudson, NY8,2291237600
19Waterford and, NY8,0722429700
20Stillwater, NY7,9361240300
21Bronxville, NY6,332050500
22Harrison, NY31,718647600
23Northport, NY7,2541342700
24Mount Hope, NY6,4453134100
25Mamaroneck, NY12,234853900
26Old Westbury, NY5,0331941700
27Warwick, NY19,3144128400
28East Fishkill, NY29,6072740500
29Canton, NY6,9621447400
30Plattekill, NY10,3443835700
31Pelham, NY7,0844232400
32Goshen, NY8,5464629200
33Wappingers Falls, NY6,027068000
34Rockville Centre, NY25,4722347100
35Kent, NY12,8263839700
36Tarrytown, NY11,6513441100
37Montgomery, NY9,4643144300
38Eastchester, NY19,9362056600
39Brockport, NY7,1105630900
40Long Beach, NY34,5277810421
41Fishkill, NY20,1011465600
42Schodack, NY11,3187028200
43Croton-On-Hudson, NY8,1001270300
44Rye Brook, NY9,7082065900
45Irvington, NY6,3486334600
46Hyde Park, NY21,1805638200
47Eden, NY7,4908022600
48Yorktown, NY34,8993759600
49Ogden, NY20,0823956200
50Saugerties, NY19,4685151800
51Garden City, NY22,8572678700
52Deerpark, NY7,3498135300
53Stony Point, NY14,7068137361
54Potsdam, NY8,4212395000
55Lewiston and, NY15,6164465900
56Crawford, NY9,0007742200
57Orangetown, NY41,6825755800
58Amityville, NY9,615101,14400
59Lynbrook, NY19,9767547000
60Bethlehem, NY34,9333196121
61Larchmont, NY6,4543099100
62New Paltz and, NY15,9265667100
63Camillus and, NY25,0965175300
64Ramapo, NY110,1367563001
65Lancaster, NY39,2904395600
66Southold, NY21,3445189400
67Southampton, NY59,9655875800
68Fallsburg, NY14,3659048000
69Cicero, NY28,6784598600
70Pleasantville, NY7,1778361300
71Webster and, NY45,0845790900
72Glen Cove, NY27,76711146800
73East Aurora-Aurora, NY13,8417966400
74Fairport, NY5,31811245100
75Washingtonville, NY5,6338863900
76Oneonta City, NY16,2328073300
77Blooming Grove, NY12,72910258100
78Wallkill, NY31,330511,11300
79Floral Park, NY15,79912643000
80Hudson Falls, NY7,36319032500
81Orchard Park, NY29,778671,00400
82Manlius, NY25,064471,25200
83Port Chester, NY30,2607696400
84Beacon, NY15,26711165561
85Baldwinsville, NY7,58411856600
86Rensselaer City, NY9,343531,22000
87Monroe, NY9,4738487600
88Lloyd, NY11,0908191900
89New Windsor, NY27,8119784100
90Rotterdam, NY30,518391,64800
91Glenville, NY22,040721,14341
92Hamburg, NY47,687521,49021
93Suffern, NY11,31712375100
94North Greenbush, NY13,240671,40400
95Geneseo, NY7,776641,45300
96Evans, NY15,049931,06900
97Port Washington, NY19,88812580900
98Glens Falls, NY14,41615965800
99Haverstraw, NY38,75015788500
100Vestal, NY32,289462,61600

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