The Best and Worst Cities for Crime in Georgia

For the most part, major metropolitan areas in Georgia don’t have above-average crime rates. There are a few exceptions, however, including the Macon and Athens metro areas.

Not only does Macon-Bibb County, a consolidated city-county municipality, rank first overall in murder rate among all metro areas included in the FBI’s data, but it’s also third for aggravated assault. According to the most recent FBI data, murder (and non-negligent homicide) occurs at a rate of 29 per 100,000 people in the Macon metro, which is nearly five times higher than the overall U.S. rate. Athens-Clark County, another consolidated city-county, ranks 15th among all metro areas in rape rate.

Crime occurs outside of metro areas, too, and many cities and towns across Georgia have high crime rates.

College Park, for example, is just outside the Atlanta metro area, and it ranks in the top three for both violent crime and property crime. The city’s permanent population is just under 14,000, though, which means its high crime rate could be influenced by its proximity to Atlanta’s international airport and the Georgia International Convention Center.

On the other hand, Maysville had the state’s lowest property crime rate, making it one of the safest cities. The rural town in northeast Georgia has a population of less than 2,000 people and is known for its historical Victorian architecture. Holly Springs, which boasted the lowest violent crime rates, has grown in popularity in recent years. Between 2000 and 2022 its population exploded, rising from around 3,500 people to more than 18,000.

Statewide Property Crime Trends in Georgia

When determining property crime rates in Georgia, we looked at larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft incidents.

The total property crime rate in Georgia is 1,691 per 100,000 people, or 14 percent lower than the overall U.S. rate of 1,954 per 100,000.
Georgia ranks 31st for property crime, much better than some of its regional counterparts, including Arkansas, which ranks sixth, and Louisiana, which is fifth.
Larceny is the most common property crime in Georgia, as it is everywhere else in the country, with nearly 1,300 incidents per 100,000 people.

Statewide Violent Crime Trends in Georgia

Violent crimes, such as murder/non-negligent homicide, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery, are considerably less common than property crimes in both Georgia and the country as a whole.

Georgia’s violent crime rate is 367 per 100,000 people, which is slightly below the overall national rate of 381 per 100,000.
The state ranks 24th, which is expected considering its rate is near average.
As with property crime, Georgia’s violent crime rate distinguishes it from other Southern states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina, all of which have violent crime rates in the top 10 nationally.

Our data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

The Best and Worst Cities for Crime in Georgia

Statewide Property Crime Trends in Georgia

Statewide Violent Crime Trends in Georgia

Our data

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