Study says New York, Los Angeles, Chicago are safer than Washington

A training session for D.C. police officers on the department’s newest mode of transit, the Segway, at an RFK Stadium parking lot in Washington. (Jahi Chikwendiu)

Washington, D.C., is one of the 20 safest cities in the world, according to a new Economist Intelligence Report that looked at 50 cities.

The report takes a far more holistic look at a city’s safety than just its crime rate — which, of course, is good — but it’s worth noting that the District has, in recent years, ranked as a city with one of the worst murder rates in the country.

Washington ranked number 19 on the list out of the 50 cities the study included. Tokyo was named the safest city, and New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are the U.S. cities that came ahead of Washington on the list. And, well, it also should be noted that these are the only U.S. cities included in the report, so Washington ranked last among them.

The report took into account four main factors: digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal safety. Unsurprisingly, the report concluded that wealth and economic development yield safer cities. American cities scored high marks in digital security, though they did not fare as well when it came to personal safety.

Here’s how Washington ranked in each of the four categories:

• Digital security, which measures the resources a city dedicates to ensuring that people can use the Internet and other technologies safely: Washington ranked 15.
• Health security, which takes into account things like the number of hospital beds and life expectancy: Washington ranked 19.
• Infrastructure security, which takes into account factors like the quality of roads and deaths from natural disasters: Washington ranked 29.
• Personal security, which considers crime statistics and police engagement: Washington ranked 17.

Here are the top 20 safest cities on the list:

1. Tokyo
2. Singapore
3. Osaka
4. Stockholm
5. Amsterdam
6. Sydney
7. Zurich
8. Toronto
9. Melbourne
10. New York
11. Hong Kong
12. San Francisco
13. Taipei
14. Montreal
15. Barcelona
16. Chicago
17. Los Angeles
18. London
19. Washington, D.C.
20. Frankfurt.

Read the full report here.