Choosing a place to build a house or rent an apartment is a serious question that requires considerations as to the cost of living, quality of schools, stores, and—in many cases—the safety of the city. Regarding safety, there is no bigger testament than the numbers. In any city, there is always a recorded crime rate, but some cities in Washington have fewer cases of criminal activities than others; therefore, they are better places to reside. But which city of Washington is the most secure one and ranked among the safest cities in the United States? When researching the data related to the most recent crimes and crime statistics, we have chosen one city among all of them.
About Sammamish
The community of Sammamish is situated in King County and occupies the east side of Lake Washington, 20 miles east of Seattle on the Eastside. According to the latest population estimates, this city has grown to contain more than 66,000 residents as of 2019. They have higher average home prices and income than the surrounding regions owing to factors like safety, schools, and accessibility to key employment places like Microsoft and Amazon. The community is relatively rural and kid-friendly, but as a suburb, it has some of the conveniences too.
Crime Statistics
To assist you in identifying the safest city in Washington, we researched the newest FBI crime data for cities in the state. Sammamish ranked at the bottom in two categories; the rate of violent crimes per 1000 residents as well as the rate of property crimes per 1000 residents among the cities that are home to more than 20,000 people.
Sammamish recorded 11 violent crimes the entire of 2019, for instance, for the entire year. Or, to put it simply: 0.17 violent crimes per thousand people, which is significantly less than the average across the country. Criminal violence involves murder, rape, theft, and assault, and in general, is a major social issue. The major factor is that there is nearly zero violent crime; thus, the residents of Sammamish face a very low threat of becoming victims.
Violent crimes such as rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and murder were also very minimal in Sammamish as well as property crimes like burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. But in 2019, there were only 93 property crimes which means that 1.4 of the population thousand are affected by property crimes. For a proper comparison, the national average rate of property crime is about 24 per 1,000 residents. Living in this city means that your property will be safe from theft and vandalism, which is rare in the current world and state.
Other Safety Metrics
Besides the actual crime statistics, which reveal the rates of various crimes committed in a city, other indicators were considered that affect the inhabitants’ sense of security. For instance, Sammamish is among the city that has the lowest poverty level because in 2018 it was found to be at 3%. Of course, poverty is closely connected to criminality; therefore, the absence of strong poverty indicators in Sammamish positively contributes to the city’s status as the safest place in Washington.
It is also because of the high median income that households can put up state-of-the-art security systems, video cameras, lights, fences, and other precautionary measures against crimes. Sammamish has an astonishing 97% homeownership, which means that residents are more vigilant and have the incentive to keep their neighborhoods safe and crime-free. Tenants may not have the same level of engagement as owners and provide support to the safety measures, safety watch within the neighborhoods, etc.
It is also important to note that the majority of residents are knowledgeable about the risks and ways to prevent crimes, as the literacy rate is high – over 70% of the population has a bachelor’s degree at least. It is also obvious that the higher the level of education, the higher the level of community participation and collaboration with the police in the implementation of various community safety programs.
One Last Check
To ensure that we had accurately evaluated Sammamish, we also verified the rating it has on Niche, a website that categorizes city rankings and ratings based on the views of the residents. Based on this, the City of Sammamish earned an A+ rating for public safety, thus demonstrating that the community is still regarded as the safest one among local citizens.
The Bottom Line
Raw data does not intend to deceive—regarding the crime rates, including violent ones and property offenses, Sammamish consistently outranks its counterparts from Washington and takes the crown of the safest city. By playing proactive roles in safety programs, attentive policemen, and sensible citizens, Sammamish is rightfully considered one of the safest neighborhoods in which to purchase a house and have children. Sammamish has proved to be the state’s safest city if safety is your major priority you can easily choose to live here.
