According to a recent study published by Moving Waldo, Rancho Santa Margarita took the number one spot as the safest city in California.
The study, titled Top 10 Safest Cities in California With Best Quality of Life 2023, was released in January. The ranking of cities was based on three criteria: violent-crime rate, property crime rate, and total crime rate. It cites statistics that come from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR Program) and Neighborhood Scouts. According to the FBI, The UCR Program "includes data from more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies. Agencies participate voluntarily and submit their crime data through a state UCR program or the FBI's UCR Program."
The study said that Rancho Santa Margarita clinched the top spot thanks to its violent and property crime rate of 1.32 per 1,000, significantly lower than California's average rate for violent and property crimes, along with its excellent quality of life.
Visit Moving Waldo to read the full article on the top 10 safest cities in California.