Of 16 larges cities across the U.S., Americans rated Dallas and Boston the safest and Chicago and Detroit the most unsafe, according to a Gallup poll published Monday.
Nearly three-quarters of polled U.S. adults regarded Dallas (74%) and Boston (72%) as safe among the 16 large cities considered in the July 3-27 poll. On the other hand, about a quarter thought Chicago (27%) and Detroit (26%) were safe. Opinion was almost equally divided over Atlanta (54% think it is safe), San Francisco (52%) and Washington, DC (52%).
“Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are substantially more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to perceive each city as safe,” the report noted. Dallas and Miami received the strongest bipartisan perception as safe. (RELATED: Dem City Quietly Shelled Out $11.5 Million To Cover Damages At Ritzy Hotel That Housed Homeless)
Most Democrats viewed only Chicago and Detroit as unsafe of all the 16 cities, while Republicans regarded five cities — Las Vegas, Miami, Dallas, Boston and Houston — as safe, per the report. Democrats reportedly were most likely to consider Seattle and Boston as safe, while Republicans leaned toward Boston and Dallas.
The results of the poll were “based on telephone interviews conducted July 3-27, 2023, with a random sample of 1,015 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia,” the report read.
Americans Rate Dallas and Boston Safest of 16 U.S. Cities – Gallup Poll https://t.co/6dP14KTQzR
— Dallas (@Dallas24x7) August 21, 2023
Actual 2022 crime statistics for a sample of seven of the cities – Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. – don’t necessarily correlate with the polling sample’s sentiments.
Chicago had the lowest crime rate of 2,508.59 crimes per 100,000 people. Chicago is followed by Washington, D.C. (4,224.6 per 100,000), Dallas (4,606.69 per 100,000), Boston (5620.35 per 100,000), Seattle (6,672.49 per 100,000), San Francisco (6,744.6 per 100,000) and Detroit (13,307.73 per 100,000).
Detroit had the highest crime tally (82,558) of the seven in 2022, followed by Chicago (66,855), Dallas, (59,866), San Francisco (54,526), Seattle (49,994), Boston (39,192) and Washington, D.C.
Population and crime tally are used to determine the crime rate.