Mental Floss

The 25 Safest College Campuses in America

By Michele Debczak

Andy Sacks/Royalty-free/iStock via Getty Images
facebooktwitterreddit

College is many people’s first chance to live on their own—even if that means sharing a bathroom with roommates and cooking meals on a hotplate. Freshmen (and their parents) want their first home-away-from-home to feel safe, and many institutions excel in that department. According to Niche, these are the safest college campuses to live on in the upcoming school year.

Concordia University earned the highest marks in safety for 2023. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the Christian school enrolls around 2400 undergraduates per year. Niche, which ranks and reviews college across America, also gave Concordia above-average grades in value, diversity, and the quality of the campus.

The second safest college campus in the U.S. is Bay Path University located in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. This school is even smaller than Concordia, with an enrollment of just over 600 students. Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, claims the third spot on the list, and Penn State Lehigh Valley in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, takes fourth place.

To determine their ranking, Niche relied on local crime statistics, student surveys, and data from the U.S. Department of Education. Though campus crime and local crime rates were weighted the most, the site also analyzed sexual violence rates in residence halls as well as drug- and alcohol-related arrests.

You can view the full list of the safest college campuses in America below. If value is just as important to you as safety, check out the top 20 private colleges in the country, ranked from most to least expensive.

  1. Concordia University // Saint Paul, Minnesota
  2. Bay Path University // Longmeadow, Massachusetts
  3. Geneva College // Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
  4. Penn State Lehigh Valley // Center Valley, Pennsylvania
  5. Joyce University of Nursing and Health Sciences // Draper, Utah
  6. Penn State Scranton // Dunmore, Pennsylvania
  7. Rochester University // Rochester Hills, Michigan
  8. UMass Global // Irvine, California
  9. University of Mount Olive // Mount Olive, North Carolina
  10. Ohio Christian University // Circleville, Ohio
  11. National University // La Jolla, California
  12. Everglades University // Boca Raton, Florida
  13. University of Connecticut - Avery Point // Groton, Connecticut
  14. Southwestern Assemblies of God University // Waxahachie, Texas
  15. Molloy University // Rockville Centre, New York
  16. Central Baptist College // Conway, Arkansas
  17. Stanbridge University - Orange County // Irvine, California
  18. Grace Christian University // Wyoming, Michigan
  19. Bryant & Stratton College - Wauwatosa // Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
  20. College of Health Care Professions - Houston Northwest // Houston, Texas
  21. University of the Cumberlands // Williamsburg, Kentucky
  22. New York Film Academy - Los Angeles // Burbank, California
  23. St. Petersburg College // Clearwater, Florida
  24. Trinity Washington University // Washington, DC
  25. St. Joseph’s University - New York // Brooklyn, New York


Home/EDUCATION