When it comes to feeling safe, the threats aren’t just about crime or car accidents anymore. Safety today involves everything from public health and natural disasters to the rising cost of living and financial stability. A new WalletHub report set out to find which U.S. cities do the best job at protecting their residents—physically, financially and beyond—and Aurora, Illinois, earned pretty good marks.
In its annual Safest Cities in America list for 2025, WalletHub compared more than 180 towns across 41 key indicators of safety, including traffic fatalities, assaults, unemployment and the percentage of uninsured residents. The finance site analyzed the numbers to measure safety in three main categories: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial security.
Aurora ranked number 33 overall, making it the only city in Illinois to crack the top 50. It scored particularly well within the home and community safety category, landing at number 17 when looking at those parameters exclusively. The city also posted a "natural disaster risk rank" of 62 and a "financial safety rank" of 126, earning an overall score of 66.5.
Aurora’s strong showing puts it ahead of major Midwestern neighbors like Chicago, which landed at number 161, just behind Los Angeles. Only three Midwest cities ranked higher than Aurora: Overland Park, Kansas (number two); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (number 19) and Madison, Wisconsin (number 25).
At the top of the national list were Warwick, Rhode Island; Overland Park, Kansas; Burlington, Vermont; Juneau, Alaska and Yonkers, New York.
For the second-largest city in Illinois, the ranking is a reflection of long-running community efforts to keep neighborhoods safe and financially stable.
Ten safest cities in the U.S. according to WalletHub
- Warwick, Rhode Island
- Overland Park, Kansas
- Burlington, Vermont
- Juneau, Arkansas
- Yonkers, New York
- Casper, Wyoming
- South Burlington, Vermont
- Columbia, Maryland
- Lewiston, Maine
- Salem, Oregon