Looking to move? Two Texas cities have seen the most crime reduction since 2020, new study says
If you’re considering a move in 2025 and safety is a top priority, two Texas cities should be on your radar — El Paso and Lubbock.
While they might not be among the most popular relocation destinations, they are leading the nation in crime reduction, making them increasingly attractive places to live, according to a recent study conducted by MoveBuddha, a tech company that allows customers to compare moving company quotes and prices.
The study found that 79% of Americans said they would think about relocating in 2025 if it meant going to a safer area. Providence, R.I. and Lansing, Mich. were the top cities people wanted to move to overall in the study.
MoveBuddha researchers analyzed data to determine which American cities are becoming safer. El Paso and Lubbock were the top two “crime reduction” cities in the study.
Why El Paso?
El Paso has seen a 52.9% drop in property crime and a 67.1% drop in violent crime since 2020, according to the study.
The study cited the West Texas border city’s slow population growth as one reason for its drop in crime, but noted that its population is slowly increasing, which could mean more crime in the future. It held the study’s highest “crime reduction” score.
Why Lubbock?
Lubbock, home to Texas Tech University, has seen a 43.5% reduction in violent crime and the highest property crime reduction of any city in the study at 56.7%.
Experts said given its ongoing expansion, as the 10th-largest city in Texas, its capacity to control crime is noteworthy.
How did MoveBuddha come up with its findings?
Researchers matched consistent local crime data with an examination of over 200,000 relocation searches concentrated on places with strong inbound and outward interest.
MoveBuddha tracked annual and multi-year changes in violent and property crimes then developed a safety score to rank the cities on a scale of 1 to 10.
What other Texas cities made the list?
Cedar Park is the only other Texas city that ranked among the top 10 that are seeing rapid crime reduction.
On the other hand, the study found that the fastest-growing suburb outside of Austin, Georgetown, is struggling to control violent crime.
Since 2020, the frequency of violent crimes like murder and assault has risen by 24.4% and 18.8% every year. However, the study also found that at least property crime rates in Georgetown have dropped by 12.1% in that time frame.
MoveBuddha’s Top 10 crime-stopper cities in 2025
- El Paso, Texas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Worcester, Mass.
- Providence, R.I.
- Baton Rouge, La.
- Lansing, Mich.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Hartford, Conn.
- Cedar Park, Texas
- New Orleans, La.
