Every year, the money-advice website WalletHub ranks the safest cities in America. And every year lately, Yonkers shows up near the top. The 2026 list came out in October, and Yonkers landed at No. 10 out of 182 cities.
That's not a fluke. It's a streak.
How WalletHub Built the List
WalletHub didn't just count one thing. It looked at 41 different measures and split them into three groups. Home and community safety is the big one, worth 60% of the score. Natural disaster risk is worth 20%. Financial safety, which covers things like jobs, debt and how many people have insurance, is the other 20%.
The 182 cities include the 150 biggest in the country, plus at least two of the biggest in every state. WalletHub only counted each city itself, not the suburbs around it. The data came from places like the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI, collected as of September 21, 2026.
Where Yonkers Landed
Yonkers finished 10th overall with a score of 68.23. Juneau, Alaska took No. 1. Warwick, Rhode Island and Overland Park, Kansas rounded out the top three. Yonkers sits right between Boise, Idaho at No. 9 and Portland, Maine at No. 11.
Think about that list for a second. Two state capitals. A Vermont college town. Cities out west near the mountains. And then Yonkers, right on the Bronx line.
The Part That Counts the Most
Yonkers did best in the category that matters most. It came in 3rd out of all 182 cities for home and community safety. Only Columbia, Maryland and Pearl City, Hawaii scored higher there.
This isn't a crime-only ranking. Home and community safety also covers road safety, emergency crews and how safe people say they feel walking around.
Fewer Traffic Deaths Than Almost Any City on the List
Here's the stat that surprised us most. Per person, Yonkers had the third-fewest traffic deaths of all 182 cities. Only Burlington, Vermont and Pearl City, Hawaii had fewer.
For a city crossed by the Thruway, the Saw Mill and the Cross County Parkway, that's a real number. Per person, fewer people die on the roads here than almost anywhere on the list.
Yonkers ranked lower in the other two groups. It came in 59th for natural disaster risk and 108th for financial safety. The big score came from the part closest to home.
Six Years in a Row
This is where "again" comes in. Yonkers has made WalletHub's top 10 every year since 2021.
In 2022 it was 6th. In 2023 it was 8th. In 2024 it was 6th again. Last year it hit 5th, its best finish of the last four years. Now it's 10th. Rankings move a little from year to year. The top 10 finish keeps holding.
Go Enjoy It
A safe city is a city you can actually get out and use. So use it.
Walk the South County Trailway where it passes under McLean Avenue. Stand by the Saw Mill River at Van der Donck Park downtown, where the river runs in the open again. Or head up to Untermyer Gardens at 945 North Broadway. It's a city park, and the stone temple and waterfall on our cover are in there.
Bring someone who still thinks Yonkers is just the place past the Bronx.
Follow @TheYonkersCollective for more Yonkers stories, and read Not Upstate at thenineonefour.com.
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