Houston's safest neighborhood

[august948]

February 23, 2010

Houston's safest neighborhood

If you live around Highway 6 and Westheimer, your chances of becoming a victim of a crime are one in 833, making it the safest neighborhood in Houston.

That's according to personal finance blog WalletPop.com, which partnered with NeighborhoodScout.com to determine the safest neighborhoods in the largest 50 cities.

The Houston neighborhood, which can be seen here, is found within ZIP codes 77094, 77450, 77082.

The rankings were based on FBI data as well as "exclusive neighborhood crime data" developed by NeighborhoodScout.com.

Continue reading to see the complete list and read the methodology.

The No. 1 Safest Neighborhood in Each of America's 50 Biggest Cities

(The 50 largest U.S. cities are listed below in order of population size within the city limits. The #1 safest neighborhood in each city is shown. You can click on the neighborhood name for a neighborhood map and more details. The Crime Index indicates how safe that neighborhood is. 50 is average for America. 100 is safest among all neighborhoods in America.)

City: New York, N.Y.

Safest Neighborhood: (New York U Institute of Fine Arts / 5th Ave.)

Crime Index: 96

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 625

City: Los Angeles, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Sesnon Blvd. / Tampa Ave.)

Crime Index: 95

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 588

City: Chicago, Ill.

Safest Neighborhood: (Bedford Park)

Crime Index: 97

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 1,000

City: Houston, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Route 6 / Westheimer Rd.)

Crime Index: 97

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 833

City: Phoenix, Arizona

Safest Neighborhood: (Parkview Estates)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 294

City: Philadelphia, Pa.

Safest Neighborhood: (Allens Ln. / Wissahickon Ave.)

Crime Index: 85

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 182

City: San Antonio, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Timberwood Park)

Crime Index: 94

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 455

City: Dallas, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Hillcrest Rd. / Alpha Rd.)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 303

City: San Diego, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Carmel Mountain Rd. / Black Mountain Rd.)

Crime Index: 97

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 769

City: San Jose, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (English Town)

Crime Index: 94

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 500

City: Detroit, Mich.

Safest Neighborhood: (The Strand / Casino Way)

Crime Index: 59

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 57

City: San Francisco, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Bay Shore Blvd. / Raymond Ave.)

Crime Index: 84

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 164

City: Jacksonville, Fla.

Safest Neighborhood: (Ortega Forest)

Crime Index: 84

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 167

City: Indianapolis, Ind.

Safest Neighborhood: (Meridian Hills/Williams Creek)

Crime Index: 89

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 263

City: Austin, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (U.S. Route 290 / Farm-to-Market Rd. 1826)

Crime Index: 96

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 714

City: Columbus, Ohio

Safest Neighborhood: (Marble Cliff)

Crime Index: 94

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 476

City: Fort Worth, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Haslet)

Crime Index: 92

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 357

City: Charlotte, N.C.

Safest Neighborhood: (Providence Rd. / Colville Rd.)

Crime Index: 87

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 213

City: Memphis, Tenn.

Safest Neighborhood: (Capleville)

Crime Index: 84

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 172

City: Baltimore, Md.

Safest Neighborhood: (Glendale / Glenmont)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 323

City: Boston, Mass.

Safest Neighborhood: (Washington St. / Rutherford Ave.)

Crime Index: 81

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 141

City: El Paso, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Horizon City)

Crime Index: 88

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 238

City: Milwaukee, Wis.

Safest Neighborhood: (Kinnickinnic River Pky / Cleveland Ave.)

Crime Index: 82

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 147

City: Denver, Colo.

Safest Neighborhood: (Twin Lakes)

Crime Index: 92

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 333

City: Seattle, Wash.

Safest Neighborhood: (Lavilla)

Crime Index: 88

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 227

City: Nashville, Tenn.

Safest Neighborhood: (Woodmont Blvd. / Hillsboro Pike)

Crime Index: 73

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 92

City: Washington, D.C.

Safest Neighborhood: (College of Preachers / Rock Crk & Potomac Pky)

Crime Index: 93

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 370

City: Las Vegas, Nev.

Safest Neighborhood: (Buffalo Dr. / Lake Mead Blvd.)

Crime Index: 84

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 167

City: Portland, Ore.

Safest Neighborhood: (Sylvan)

Crime Index: 83

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 159

City: Louisville, Ky.

Safest Neighborhood: (Shippingport Dr. / 27th St.)

Crime Index: 99

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 5,000

City: Oklahoma City, Okla.

Safest Neighborhood: (119th St. / Portland Ave.)

Crime Index: 81

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 141

City: Tucscon, Ariz.

Safest Neighborhood: (Willow Canyon / Soldier Camp)

Crime Index: 90

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 270

City: Atlanta, Ga.

Safest Neighborhood: (Spalding Dr. / Jett Ferry Rd.)

Crime Index: 94

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 435

City: Albequerque, N.M.

Safest Neighborhood: (Paseo del Norte Blvd. / Browning St.)

Crime Index: 90

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 286

City: Kansas City, Mo.

Safest Neighborhood: (Parkville / Park College)

Crime Index: 90

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 270

City: Fresno, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Raisin City)

Crime Index: 99

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 5,000

City: Sacremento, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Laguna / Cosumnes River College)

Crime Index: 92

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 333

City: Long Beach, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Arlington College / Studebaker Rd.)

Crime Index: 88

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 238

City: Mesa, Ariz.

Safest Neighborhood: (Rancho de Arboleda / Mesa Grande Trailer Ranch)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 323

City: Omaha, Neb.

Safest Neighborhood: (Q St. / 144th St.)

Crime Index: 95

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 588

City: Cleveland, Ohio

Safest Neighborhood: (Rocky River Dr. / Edgecliff Ave.)

Crime Index: 83

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 159

City: Virginia Beach, Va.

Safest Neighborhood: (Forest Hills / Great Neck Manor)

Crime Index: 93

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 385

City: Miami, Fla.

Safest Neighborhood: (Tamiami)

Crime Index: 93

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 370

City: Oakland, Calif.

Safest Neighborhood: (Leimert Blvd. / Monterey Blvd.)

Crime Index: 87

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 204

City: Raleigh, N.C.

Safest Neighborhood: (Six Forks)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 313

City: Tulsa, Okla.

Safest Neighborhood: (Sheridian Rd. / 111th St.)

Crime Index: 91

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 313

City: Minneapolis, Minn.

Safest Neighborhood: (Route 5 / Glumack Dr.)

Crime Index: 98

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 1,429

City: Colorado Springs, Colo.

Safest Neighborhood: (Broadmoor)

Crime Index: 90

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 278

City: Honolulu, Hawaii

Safest Neighborhood: (Kalanianaole Hwy / Kealahou St.)

Crime Index: 86

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 192

City: Arlington, Texas

Safest Neighborhood: (Lindberg)

Crime Index: 86

Chance of Becoming a Victim Here (In One Year): 1 in 200

Methodology

Location, Inc. offers the most detailed national database of neighborhood crime statistics available today.

Most city and town crime data are incomplete and inaccurate because crimes are reported by individual law enforcement agencies (municipal, university, county, etc.), rather than by city or town, and many cities have more than one agency responsible for law enforcement. Even FBI data are reported by agency not by city or town. But Location, Inc. collects data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies in America, and uses a special approach to assign reported crimes from each agency to the city or town where they occurred. Our method provides an accurate representation of the complete number and types of crimes that truly occur within any city or town. With this accurate foundation, Location, Inc. uses more than eighteen proprietary computer models developed by its expert analysts to statistically estimate the number of violent crimes and property crimes for every neighborhood in the U.S. - creating a national database of accurate neighborhood crime statistics and crime risk.

Our crime data cover every one of the 61,000 neighborhoods in America (sub zip code), and every one of the 14,464 cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and hamlets in the U.S. No piece of land in America is without detailed crime statistics.

For this study to identify the safest neighborhood in each of America's largest cities, the crimes included in the analysis were both violent crimes and property crimes from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary (breaking and entering, including breaking into private homes), motor vehicle theft, and regular theft (larceny over $50).

Based on multiple years of data, and predicted to the individual neighborhood level by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive crime models, we identify the No. 1 safest neighborhood in each large city where your risk of becoming a victim of a crime is lowest. The rating is based on the predicted number of violent and property crimes in the neighborhood per 1,000 population of the neighborhood.

The data are averaged across the most recent three years of non-preliminary (final) data from the FBI. This moving three-year window helps stabilize data where a single year could be uncharacteristically high or low, providing a more accurate risk assessment. Note that very recent changes in a neighborhood may not be reflected in our findings, as we use non-preliminary data in our models that take a year to be released.

Posted by Nancy Sarnoff at February 23, 2010 02:47 PM

[Fringe]

Am I reading that right? Hwy 6 and Westheimer is the safest area in Houston? 

[sarahiki]

If you look at the map they link to, the area they are talking about is about 2/3 park and 1/3 actually residential. So if they're figuring out crime per square mile (I don't know if that's how they do it) it's going to be low.

That said, I know there are some very nice neighborhoods around there.

edit: just read the blurb more carefully; they do it by population, not square mile.

[AtticaFlinch]

Am I reading that right? Hwy 6 and Westheimer is the safest area in Houston?

I guess the word "in" is now relative.

Edit: Also, anyone think it's a bit scary that in the safest neighborhood in Detroit, you have a 1 in 57 chance of being a crime victim each year? The worst neighborhood must be even money.

[20thStDad]

Well, the park has a shooting range. That's pretty safe.

[TheNiche]

I guess the word "in" is now relative.

No, it's a fairly absolute term. The area is within the city limits of the City of Houston. Since that's how police jurisdictions are demarcated, it is nothing if not a consistent measure, at least.

Still, I agree that these data are not especially useful on account of that political boundaries are irregular and frequently senseless. On a certain level, if Houston didn't have among the safest neighborhoods in the country, I would've been surprised. We just encompass so much land area that surely there has to be a safe spot.

[AtticaFlinch]

No, it's a fairly absolute term. The area is within the city limits of the City of Houston. Since that's how police jurisdictions are demarcated, it is nothing if not a consistent measure, at least.

Still, I agree that these data are not especially useful on account of that political boundaries are irregular and frequently senseless. On a certain level, if Houston didn't have among the safest neighborhoods in the country, I would've been surprised. We just encompass so much land area that surely there has to be a safe spot.

The city of Juneau, Alaska covers over 3,000 square miles to support a population of around 30,000 people. The city limits include sheer mountains and glacier fields where it may be possible for only a house or two to stand for several miles in any direction. If no crime occurs in those houses, is it then reasonable to say Juneau contains the 100 percent safest neighborhood in the US? You know, besides the crippling meth problems and rampant pedophilia plaguing the rest of the residents in the city, the ones who actually live in or near the city core?

[TheNiche]

The city of Juneau, Alaska covers over 3,000 square miles to support a population of around 30,000 people. The city limits include sheer mountains and glacier fields where it may be possible for only a house or two to stand for several miles in any direction. If no crime occurs in those houses, is it then reasonable to say Juneau contains the 100 percent safest neighborhood in the US? You know, besides the crippling meth problems and rampant pedophilia plaguing the rest of the residents in the city, the ones who actually live in or near the city core?

I would suspect that this data are limited to what might be considered "major" cities. ...or it could be flawed. There are lots of stupid pseudo-urbanists out there.