According to a new SmartAsset study, Texas cities have a notable presence in safety rankings, with Plano being named the second safest large city in the United States, following Virginia Beach. Laredo also made the top ten, ranking sixth, while Dallas and Houston found themselves in the bottom ten, with Houston ranked second from last.
The study evaluated 83 cities across the nation, each with populations exceeding 250,000, which encompasses over 90 percent of the largest cities in the country. Plano outperformed cities such as Madison, Wisconsin; Honolulu; and Chesapeake, Virginia, which completed the top five.
The methodology of the study combined four metrics rather than focusing solely on crime rates. Two of these metrics were derived from the FBI's 2024 Crime in the United States report, specifically measuring the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 1,000 residents.
Additionally, the study included motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000 residents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and assessed disaster risk using FEMA's National Risk Index as of April 2026, converted to a five-point scale.
In terms of specific figures, Plano reported 1.5 incidents of violent crime for every 1,000 residents, with property crimes at 14.7 per 1,000 residents and auto fatalities at a rate of 6.9 per 100,000 residents.
However, one of the metrics negatively impacted Plano's score. The city received a “Relatively High” rating for disaster risk, which contributed to its overall ranking of second place rather than enhancing it.