Do you feel safe in your community?

Background

Community safety is one of the most closely watched quality-of-life issues in the United States, and recent data paint a complicated picture: crime is falling sharply, yet many Americans still feel uneasy. According to the Council on Criminal Justice, homicides in large U.S. cities dropped roughly 21 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, potentially bringing the national murder rate to its lowest level since 1900. Reported levels of 11 of 13 tracked crime categories declined, with gun assaults down 22 percent and robberies down 23 percent. Yet perceptions have not fully caught up with the statistics. Gallup's October 2025 crime poll found that 49 percent of Americans still believed crime was rising nationally, the lowest share since 2001 but still nearly half the population. SafeWise's 2026 State of Safety report found that only about 52 percent of Americans feel safe in the state where they live, and roughly 46 percent remain concerned about crime and safety on a regular basis.

Those who emphasize the positive trend point to historic declines across virtually every major offense category and argue that evidence-based policing, community violence intervention programs, and advances in crime-fighting technology are producing measurable results. They contend that perceptions of danger are inflated by sensational media coverage and political messaging. Those who remain concerned counter that national averages can mask sharp local differences, noting that some neighborhoods still experience disturbingly high rates of violence, open drug use, homelessness, and property crime. Research from Gallup and the Marshall Project shows that partisan identity strongly shapes how safe people feel: Americans tend to report feeling less afraid when their political party holds the White House, suggesting that perceptions of safety are driven as much by politics and media as by lived experience.

The gap between falling crime rates and lingering fear has real consequences for policy and daily life. Communities where residents feel unsafe may see reduced foot traffic in public spaces, lower economic activity, and weakened social cohesion. Policymakers face decisions about whether to invest more in traditional law enforcement or in alternative approaches such as mental health services, violence prevention programs, and community engagement. Experts at the Brennan Center for Justice have warned that recent federal funding cuts to community safety programs could jeopardize the progress made in recent years. How Americans answer the question of whether they feel safe shapes not only local policing priorities but also national debates over criminal justice reform, immigration enforcement, and civil liberties.