Arlington is one of the safest localities in America, new study suggests

Arlington County is one of the top 15 safest “cities” in the United States, according to a new set of rankings.

The number crunchers at SmartAsset looked at violent and property crime rates, as well as rates of vehicle-related deaths, drug-related deaths and excessive drinking. They ranked Arlington at No. 11, below No. 10 Yonkers, New York, No. 6 Alexandria and No. 1 Frisco, Texas, among others.

Arlington outperformed Alexandria in all published metrics, so it’s unclear why the charming city to our south was ranked higher. The county had significantly higher rates of violent and property crime than Frisco, however.

On the positive side, Arlington had the lowest rate of vehicle deaths — 3.1 per 100,000 residents — of any city in the top 15. That vehicle mortality rate was less than half that of any of the six Texas cities that topped the rankings.

Arlington is now in the third year of its Vision Zero plan to reduce or eliminate vehicle fatalities and severe injuries.

The crime data was primarily supplied by a 2021 FBI database, SmartAsset said. That year saw a decline in carjackings, car thefts and homicides in Arlington. The county has since seen a rise in carjackings and student overdoses, in particular, to start the year.