Four Illinois communities have been ranked among the top in a new report on the safest cities in America.
U.S. News and World Report recently released its list of the 25 Safest Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026, which were determined based on murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people, according to the website.
Crime rate can be one of the deciding factors of where families settle down, the publication stated.
Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, clinched the top spot, followed by Centreville, Virginia and Newton, Massachusetts.
When it comes to the Midwest, Rochester Hills, Michigan, was the highest ranked – at No. 4. Fishers, Indiana, meanwhile, landed at sixth, followed by one of its neighboring communities – Carmel, Indiana, at seventh.
At No. 12, the first Illinois community to make the list was Arlington Heights, which the website also deemed the Best Place to Live in Illinois.
Buffalo Grove, the state’s second best place to live, claimed the 18th spot on the list, followed by Naperville and Palatine, which tied for 19th.
Naperville and Palatine were ranked the third and fourth among the best places to live in Illinois, respectively.
Curious which other U.S. communities made the cut? Here’s the full list of the 25 Safest Places to Live.
- Johns Creek, Georgia
- Centreville, Virginia
- Newton, Massachusetts
- Rochester Hills, Michigan
- Homosassa Springs, Florida
- Fishers, Indiana
- Carmel, Indiana
- Sammamish, Washington
- Weston, Florida
- Flower Mound, Texas
- Brookline, Massachusetts
- Arlington Heights, Illinois
- Laguna Niguel, California
- Novi, Michigan
- Burke, Virginia
- Apex, North Carolina
- San Ramon, California
- Buffalo Grove, Illinois
- Naperville, Illinois and Palatine, Illinois
Others
- 21. Port St. Lucie, Florida
- 22. New Rochelle, New York
- 23. Cary, North Carolina
- 24. Noblesville, Indiana
- 25. Sebastian, Florida
