List ranks one Georgia city among safest places to live in the country

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A new report, which ranked America’s safest cities based on crime rates, included only one city in Georgia.

Sandy Springs came in at No. 17 on the list published by financial news site 24/7 Wall Street.

The report compared FBI data in 294 cities with populations of at least 100,000. The report also notes that many of the cities on the list had high levels of economic prosperity and many were seeing rapid growth.

Sandy Springs, which was incorporated in 2005, has a population of nearly 109,000, according to census data.

In recent years, city officials have focused on building up Sandy Springs' downtown area, including the massive government and arts center, which opened last year.

"If you're going to have a larger sense of community, you've got to have a place to do it. It's the city's front porch. I think we'll be a better, stronger, more engaged community, as a result," Rusty Paul, the city's mayor, previously told the AJC about the downtown area.

The “safest cities” report notes that crime rates nationally are way down.

“If you are under the age of 40, you’ve never been safer than you are today,” researcher John Roman said.

But even by those metrics, Sandy Springs was among the safest places to live overall. Here’s how it ranked, according to the report:

No. 17: Sandy Springs, Georgia

2018 violent crime rate: 117.8 per 100,000 people

2018 homicides: 2

Poverty rate: 11.2%

2018 unemployment rate: 3.1%

“While in Atlanta there were 769 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in 2018 — more than twice the national violent crime rate — Sandy Springs is one of the safest cities in the country,” the “safest cities” report reads.

According to the report, “in 2018, there were just 118 reported murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults per 100,000 residents in Sandy Springs.”

The national crime rate was 369 reported incidents per 100,000 people in 2018.

The top 10 safest cities in the country, according to the report:

Irvine, California
Naperville, Illinois
Murrieta, California
McAllen, Texas
Frisco, Texas 
Gilbert, Arizona 
Pearland, Texas 
Thousand Oaks, California 
Glendale, California 
League City, Texas

Cox Media Group