When we think of large cities, we often think about high crime. Although that is often the case, there are some large cities in the United States that, despite their size, boast some of the lowest crime rates in the country.

Large Cities that Deal with Crime Best

Here are the top five safest large cities when it comes to violent crime.

Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach is the safest large American city, according to a recent study. Virginia Beach is a fairly affluent city, with a median income of $70,500 and a low poverty rate. In 2018, the violent crime rate was 1.38 per 1,000, making it the safest large city in the United States by far.

Honolulu, HI

The capital city of Hawaii is home to nearly 1 million people. Despite its size, Honolulu boasts some of the lowest crime rates in the United States. In 2017, violent crime in Honolulu was 2.46 per 1,000. With almost 5 million visitors per year to this vacation destination city, it is even  more remarkable that violent crime remains so low in Honolulu.

San Diego, CA

With a population of over 1.4 million people, it may come as a surprise that San Diego is among the safest large cities in the United States with a violent crime rate of 3.67 per 1,000. The median income in the city is over $71,000, which could be a contributing factor in San Diego’s low crime rate.

El Paso, TX

Despite being a large border city, El Paso posted some of the lowest violent crime rates for large cities in the United States. El Paso has a median income of around $44,000, which is much lower than other cities on the list. Despite relatively low median income and high poverty rates, El Paso continues to be one of the safest large cities in America.

San Jose, CA

The median income in San Jose is over $96,000 which likely contributes to its low violent crime rates. Despite having a population of over 1 million people, San Jose’s violent crime rate is very low at 4.04 per 1,000.

Those are just a few of the large cities that deal with crime best. All the cities on this list prove that high population does not always lead to high crime. Effective policing and socio-economic factors are more important factors when it comes to crime than population alone.