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GOBankingRates

Heather Taylor

The Safest and Richest US Cities To Live in 2025

United States GOBankingRates Illinois New Jersey Ohio Massachusetts Recession

Bruce Wilson Photography / Getty Images/iStockphoto

You might be familiar with the safest and wealthiest U.S. cities to live in circa 2024, but how do those rankings stack up against this year’s results?

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GOBankingRates’ 2025 original research on the nation’s safest and richest cities to live added 20 more cities to the overall ranking — for a total of 50 cities. The top 1,000 cities with the highest household mean income were identified using the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Additional data points include the average home value, annual cost of living and property and violent crime rates.

Key Findings

Western Springs, Illinois, again ranks as the nation’s safest and richest city to live. As of 2025, the household mean income is $294,896.
Four cities in Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland and Ohio debuted among the richest and safest in this year’s top 10. In order of the states mentioned, they include Whitefish Bay (#4), Huntington Woods (#5), University Park (#9) and Upper Arlington (#10).
Only two California cities — Mill Valley (#27) and Lafayette (#47) — cracked this year’s top 50. Seven California cities were featured in 2024’s top 30.
Illinois experienced the biggest jump in wealthy cities to rank in the top 50 — with 12 cities this year compared to four in 2024. These 12 cities are Western Springs (#1), Winnetka (#7), Kenilworth (#8), Libertyville (#16), Hinsdale (#17), Deerfield (#28), Park Ridge (#33), Elmhurst (#34), Wilmette (#35), La Grange (#38), Glen Ellyn (#42) and Naperville (#49).
No Florida cities made the rankings in 2024 or 2025.

See which 50 U.S. cities are the safest and richest to live in this year.

Also see last year’s list.

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1. Western Springs, Illinois

Household mean income: $294,896
Single family home average value: $837,238
Total cost of living annually: $84,810
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 2.657
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.076

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2. Lexington, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $300,716
Single family home average value: $1,697,821
Total cost of living annually: $145,764
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 2.937
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.294

3. Winchester, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $296,327
Single family home average value: $1,721,011
Total cost of living annually: $147,229
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.029
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.221

4. Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

Household mean income: $208,063
Single family home average value: $646,546
Total cost of living annually: $69,458
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.396
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.275

5. Huntington Woods, Michigan

Household mean income: $225,070
Single family home average value: $530,900
Total cost of living annually: $62,174
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 3.207
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.321

6. Ottawa Hills, Ohio

Household mean income: $259,011
Single family home average value: $435,312
Total cost of living annually: $52,730
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.468
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.417

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7. Winnetka, Illinois

Household mean income: $457,404
Single family home average value: $1,803,555
Total cost of living annually: $153,532
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.144
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.164

8. Kenilworth, Illinois

Household mean income: $460,411
Single family home average value: $1,945,017
Total cost of living annually: $163,712
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.189
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.000

9. University Park, Maryland

Household mean income: $239,838
Single family home average value: $695,938
Total cost of living annually: $75,913
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 16.532
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.424

10. Upper Arlington, Ohio

Household mean income: $208,451
Single family home average value: $687,463
Total cost of living annually: $71,587
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 9.203
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.140

11. Ridgewood, New Jersey

Household mean income: $288,861
Single family home average value: $1,182,764
Total cost of living annually: $112,398
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.252
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.379

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12. Hudson, Ohio

Household mean income: $216,934
Single family home average value: $556,085
Total cost of living annually: $61,805
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.335
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.525

13. Westfield, New Jersey

Household mean income: $297,367
Single family home average value: $1,263,623
Total cost of living annually: $117,378
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.662
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.164

14. Wellesley, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $368,179
Single family home average value: $2,098,597
Total cost of living annually: $174,523
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.326
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.256

15. Madeira, Ohio

Household mean income: $246,617
Single family home average value: $535,451
Total cost of living annually: $61,439
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.160
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.213

16. Libertyville, Illinois

Household mean income: $214,676
Single family home average value: $647,306
Total cost of living annually: $69,234
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.397
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.394

17. Hinsdale, Illinois

Household mean income: $376,366
Single family home average value: $1,259,123
Total cost of living annually: $114,926
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 3.554
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.117

18. Birmingham, Michigan

Household mean income: $240,711
Single family home average value: $822,581
Total cost of living annually: $82,101
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.947
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.369

19. Purcellville, Virginia

Household mean income: $189,791
Single family home average value: $898,023
Total cost of living annually: $91,010
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 5.784
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.334

20. Sammamish, Washington

Household mean income: $280,644
Single family home average value: $1,757,741
Total cost of living annually: $149,693
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.486
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.246

21. Madison, New Jersey

Household mean income: $247,235
Single family home average value: $1,047,592
Total cost of living annually: $102,035
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.807
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.125

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22. Haddonfield, New Jersey

Household mean income: $279,257
Single family home average value: $832,771
Total cost of living annually: $83,587
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 13.310
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.239

23. Glen Ridge, New Jersey

Household mean income: $300,489
Single family home average value: $1,165,641
Total cost of living annually: $111,066
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 17.652
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.370

24. Snoqualmie, Washington

Household mean income: $245,628
Single family home average value: $1,202,635
Total cost of living annually: $110,755
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 13.137
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.149

25. Wyoming, Ohio

Household mean income: $203,661
Single family home average value: $509,376
Total cost of living annually: $58,841
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 9.066
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.232

26. Belmont, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $239,287
Single family home average value: $1,686,352
Total cost of living annually: $144,788
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.435
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.603

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Sundry Photography / Getty Images/iStockphoto

27. Mill Valley, California

Household mean income: $308,154
Single family home average value: $2,111,866
Total cost of living annually: $176,163
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 7.983
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.503

28. Deerfield, Illinois

Household mean income: $246,543
Single family home average value: $712,853
Total cost of living annually: $74,156
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 5.040
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.318

29. Reading, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $187,490
Single family home average value: $977,318
Total cost of living annually: $94,467
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.854
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.278

emiliomarin66 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

30. Narberth, Pennsylvania

Household mean income: $210,873
Single family home average value: $986,544
Total cost of living annually: $94,984
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 11.148
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.223

31. Summit, New Jersey

Household mean income: $304,408
Single family home average value: $1,368,214
Total cost of living annually: $124,152
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.216
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.494

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32. Pleasant Ridge, Michigan

Household mean income: $197,870
Single family home average value: $482,215
Total cost of living annually: $58,386
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 5.058
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 2.335

33. Park Ridge, Illinois

Household mean income: $187,830
Single family home average value: $610,055
Total cost of living annually: $68,801
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.175
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.664

DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto

34. Elmhurst, Illinois

Household mean income: $200,730
Single family home average value: $631,934
Total cost of living annually: $70,240
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 9.168
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.400

35. Wilmette, Illinois

Household mean income: $291,930
Single family home average value: $1,005,748
Total cost of living annually: $96,945
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 11.651
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.335

Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA 4

36. University Park, Texas

Household mean income: $389,868
Single family home average value: $2,432,712
Total cost of living annually: $195,836
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 11.483
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.319

Discover More: Here’s the Minimum Salary Required To Be Considered Upper-Middle Class in 2025

37. Sharon, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $213,836
Single family home average value: $899,720
Total cost of living annually: $91,254
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 2.710
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.271

38. La Grange, Illinois

Household mean income: $210,646
Single family home average value: $705,658
Total cost of living annually: $75,553
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 9.616
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 1.603

39. Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $295,018
Single family home average value: $1,001,895
Total cost of living annually: $97,022
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 3.528
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.665

40. Newton, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $261,666
Single family home average value: $1,737,762
Total cost of living annually: $148,234
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 5.563
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.586

41. Needham, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $281,049
Single family home average value: $1,595,565
Total cost of living annually: $139,457
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 7.366
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.774

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42. Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Household mean income: $190,562
Single family home average value: $605,296
Total cost of living annually: $68,523
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 6.043
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.462

43. Beverly Hills, Michigan

Household mean income: $202,450
Single family home average value: $563,075
Total cost of living annually: $64,401
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 4.918
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.964

44. Keller, Texas

Household mean income: $217,210
Single family home average value: $650,165
Total cost of living annually: $71,569
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 7.996
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.689

45. Vienna, Virginia

Household mean income: $273,768
Single family home average value: $1,197,684
Total cost of living annually: $111,327
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.400
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 1.173

46. Fox Point, Wisconsin

Household mean income: $239,298
Single family home average value: $556,377
Total cost of living annually: $63,474
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 9.340
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.306

47. Lafayette, California

Household mean income: $319,744
Single family home average value: $1,945,074
Total cost of living annually: $165,358
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 12.459
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.804

48. Brookline, Massachusetts

Household mean income: $217,943
Single family home average value: $1,703,401
Total cost of living annually: $147,401
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 7.886
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.655

49. Naperville, Illinois

Household mean income: $192,516
Single family home average value: $645,120
Total cost of living annually: $71,529
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 8.582
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.639

50. Metuchen, New Jersey

Household mean income: $190,858
Single family home average value: $712,725
Total cost of living annually: $78,779
Property crime rate (per 1,000): 12.327
Violent crime rate (per 1,000): 0.400

Find more original studies and surveys in the GOBankingRates original research center.

Editor’s note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed.

Methodology: Using the U.S. Census American Community Survey, the 1,000 cities with the highest household mean income were identified. The average single-family home value was sourced from Zillow Home Value Index for May 2025. The cost-of-living indexes were sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and, using the national average expenditure costs for all households, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure costs were calculated for each location. Using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Data Explorer, the property crime rate per 1,000 residents and the violent crime rate per 1,000 residents were both calculated. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes and any location with a livability index below 80 was removed for this study as it represents a location with a lower quality of life. Using the average mortgage (calculated from Federal Reserve data) and expenditure costs, the cost of living was calculated for each location. The total average cost of living was scored and weighted at 1.00, the property crime rate per 1,000 was scored and weighted at 1.00, the violent crime rate per 1,000 residents was scored and weighted at 1.00, the household mean income was scored and weighted at 1.00, and the livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the safest and richest cities. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Aug. 4, 2025.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Safest and Richest US Cities To Live in 2025

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