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There is no work fighting crime for the tanks of the National Guard or Sam Spade in Fort Worth, Texas.
Actually, surely there would still be something to do for the cool and tough Spade, best known for his work in San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon.
But, according to SmartAsset, inspired by current events in other American locales, it wouldn’t be much.
SmartAsset’s data showed that Fort Worth, the 11th-largest city in the country, is the third-safest major city in the U.S.
There were, in fact, three Texas cities in the top 10, including Arlington at No. 7 and El Paso at No. 8.
SmartAsset compared data for 50 of the largest U.S. cities by population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023), weighing violent and property crime, vehicular fatalities, drug overdose deaths, and excessive drinking. Access to such data, the firm noted, can help Americans better evaluate tradeoffs in lifestyle, opportunity, and security when deciding where to live, work, or retire.
It’s no surprise people are flocking here. Fort Worth’s most recent population estimate was 1,008,106 — just 1,727 fewer than Jacksonville. That’s the equivalent of a few plane loads of arrivals at DFW who never return home. Chances are, we’ve already claimed the spot as the nation’s 10th-largest city.
The results suggest that, for now, Fort Worth has managed its explosive growth and crime well. Moreover, recent data released by the city showed a 14.3% reduction in overall crime in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same timeframe a year ago. In 2021, FWPD introduced the #FortWorthSafe Initiative, a crime reduction strategy focused on violent crimes.
Fort Worth hired Eddie Garcia as new police chief two weeks ago. He succeeds Neil Noakes.
This topic of safe cities became all the more relevant when the Trump administration recently declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., issuing an Executive Order that brought together the local police force, more than 2,000 National Guard members, and several state governors in a coordinated effort to curb crime. President Trump also put Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on notice that that Chicago would be next if crime there is not addressed swiftly. Pritzker and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, both Democrats, have argued that their cities are safer than Trump claims.
Chicago ranked 38th in this analysis. D.C. came in at 40th. New York was No. 25. Spade’s old stomping grounds, San Francisco, ranked 37th.
Dallas, the ninth-largest city at 1.3 million, was 18th, Houston No. 24, and Austin and San Antonio were Nos. 28-29.
San Jose, California, the 12th-largest city, ranked No. 1.
Take a look here for the full report.