Madison makes top ten in U.S. News’ safest city list; Green Bay comes in #1

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - When it comes to finding a safe place to settle down, Wisconsin comes out looking pretty nice. At least that’s according to a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report that saw the top ten bookended by Badger State cities.

Madison slotted in the 10th spot in its latest rankings of safest places to live in the U.S., which weighs homicide and property crime rates per capita. Even with crime in the city ticking up between 2016 and 2018, the violent crime rate in Madison by the end of that time was still only about two-thirds the nationwide level.

Of course, being near the top of a U.S. News ranking is nothing new for Wisconsin’s capital. In other “Best Places” rankings, the city took the fifth slot for Best Places to Live for Quality of Life and finished just outside of the top 20 for Best Places to Live in general. It came in 49th for top places to retire.

But, while Madison is safer than most places in America, there’s one place safer in Wisconsin: Green Bay.

The home of the Packers topped the list for safest places in America. U.S. News placed its 2018 violent crime rate at 209.5 incidences per 100,000 people and 1153.2 per 100,000 for property crimes. Madison meanwhile registered 242.6 and 1770.2 incidences, respectively.

Madison kept the edge on its northern neighbor for Best Places to Life and Quality of Life – but not by much. Green Bay finished four spots behind Madison in the former and just one slot lower in the latter.

The website’s survey is based on 150 metropolitan markets.