America's safest beach towns offer more than just sand and sunshine
The safest? It's Bandon, Oregon, where there are—wait for it—zero violent crimes per 1,000 residents. What makes Bandon such a dreamboat of a beach town? Perhaps its small population (3,304 people in 2023), which means that people keep an eye out on each other and pull them back in line when they're drifting. It's also got a cool, mild summer temperature that makes it warm enough to swim, but cool enough to avoid sunstroke and other heat-related health risks.
Bandon has the 14th ranking on the list for property crime—not great, but still decent enough to keep it on the top overall. It's ranked 38th for having urgent care clinics at the ready. And Bandon's beaches are said to be unspoiled, with views of isolated columns of rock in the water called sea stacks.
In second place for safest beach town is Bristol, Rhode Island. It's second only to Bandon on the metric of avoiding violent crime and does well on property crime rates and access to urgent care. It's 22nd on the scale for summer heat. Right near the beach are wonderful restaurants serving up fresh-caught seafood. The city has an interesting maritime history and is known for hosting our country's oldest Fourth of July celebrations.
The third place goes to Chatham, Massachusetts; it's got solid numbers for all four metrics, plus beautiful coastal scenery, maritime culture and a lively downtown. It was once a whaling town and is close to Cape Cod.
Something all three of these winners have? A cute little lighthouse, just like every quaint coastal town should have!
Here are the top 10 safest beach towns in the U.S.:
1. Bandon, Oregon
2. Bristol, Rhode Island
3. Chatham, Massachusetts
4. Rockport, Massachusetts
5. Sandwich, Massachusetts
6. Pacific Grove, California
7. Montauk, New York
8. Morro Bay, California
9. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
10. Huntington Beach, California
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Time Out
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America's safest beach towns offer more than just sand and sunshine
In general, beaches are known for being happy places to build sandcastles, play volleyball, jump in the waves and go surfing or kayaking. But some things can make that glorious place turn dangerous: violent crime, property crime, out of control temperatures and a shortage of urgent care clinics to address that reef abrasion, sunburn, shark bite or twisted ankle. To make sure you feel safe venturing off your beach blanket, security company Vivint has just released a study that ranks 72 beach towns across the U.S. to find the safest ones. The safest? It's Bandon, Oregon, where there are—wait for it—zero violent crimes per 1,000 residents. What makes Bandon such a dreamboat of a beach town? Perhaps its small population (3,304 people in 2023), which means that people keep an eye out on each other and pull them back in line when they're drifting. It's also got a cool, mild summer temperature that makes it warm enough to swim, but cool enough to avoid sunstroke and other heat-related health risks. Bandon has the 14th ranking on the list for property crime—not great, but still decent enough to keep it on the top overall. It's ranked 38th for having urgent care clinics at the ready. And Bandon's beaches are said to be unspoiled, with views of isolated columns of rock in the water called sea stacks. In second place for safest beach town is Bristol, Rhode Island. It's second only to Bandon on the metric of avoiding violent crime and does well on property crime rates and access to urgent care. It's 22nd on the scale for summer heat. Right near the beach are wonderful restaurants serving up fresh-caught seafood. The city has an interesting maritime history and is known for hosting our country's oldest Fourth of July celebrations. The third place goes to Chatham, Massachusetts; it's got solid numbers for all four metrics, plus beautiful coastal scenery, maritime culture and a lively downtown. It was once a whaling town and is close to Cape Cod. Something all three of these winners have? A cute little lighthouse, just like every quaint coastal town should have! Here are the top 10 safest beach towns in the U.S.: 1. Bandon, Oregon 2. Bristol, Rhode Island 3. Chatham, Massachusetts 4. Rockport, Massachusetts 5. Sandwich, Massachusetts 6. Pacific Grove, California 7. Montauk, New York 8. Morro Bay, California 9. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 10. Huntington Beach, California
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