Rye is the safest city in New York State, according to SafeWise's 2026 Safest Cities report published in January. The Sound Shore community of 16,094 residents unseated Bedford, which held the No. 1 spot for two consecutive years, and edged out Scarsdale for the top ranking.

The jump is significant. Rye ranked third on the same list in 2025.

SafeWise's annual report, which analyzes FBI crime data across 63 qualifying New York cities, found Rye's violent crime rate held steady at 0.1 incidents per 1,000 residents year over year. The bigger story is property crime: Rye's rate dropped 44 percent, falling from 4.5 incidents per 1,000 in 2025 to 2.5 in 2026.

For context, New York State's statewide violent crime rate sits at 5.73 per 1,000 people, and the property crime rate is 23.72 per 1,000, according to Secret NYC's coverage of the report. Both figures exceed national averages. Rye's rates are a fraction of those numbers.

The city also landed at No. 39 on SafeWise's national list of the 100 safest U.S. cities for 2026.

Westchester County claimed three of the top four spots statewide: Rye at No. 1, Bedford at No. 2, and Scarsdale at No. 3. East Fishkill placed fourth, followed by Hyde Park, Saugerties, Ogden, Yorktown, Orangetown, and New Paltz to round out the top ten.

The ranking arrives as crime anxiety is rising statewide. SafeWise's 2026 State of Safety survey found that 68 percent of New York residents say they worry about violent crime daily, up from 62 percent the year before.

That figure ranks New York third-most worried in the country, behind Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

The Rye Police Department, led by Public Safety Commissioner Mike Kopy, has not issued a public statement about the ranking.

Residents with non-emergency questions can reach the Rye Police Department at (914) 967-1234.