These are the 20 safest US cities for solo travelers – 10 of them in California

Whether you’re traveling the world with a group of your closest friends, or you’re heading out alone, it’s important to know that your destination is safe.

TripIt, the travel app, shared its list of the 20 safest cities in the US for female travelers exclusively to CNBC Make It.

Using data from GeoSure, a platform that analyzes metadata to determine the safety of specific destinations, TripIt ranks cities using a score from 1 to 100. The cities on the list were ranked based on variables such as:

• rights and freedoms
• environmental factors
• ability to meet needs.

All cities on the list scored 71–80 points. According to the GeoSure methodology, this “indicates a high level of security for women, representing an area with very good protection of equal rights and freedoms such as reproductive autonomy, access to education and justice, and anti-discrimination laws.”

Jen Moyes, TripIt’s vice president of products, told CNBC Make It that the safest destinations in the US have a few things in common. Some of them, including Cambridge, Thousand Oaks and Fort Collins, are college towns. Other popular destinations are well-known technology hubs.

“Not only do these destinations report a low risk of violence, but thanks to nearby organizations, women have very good access to education, healthcare and financial resources,” she said.

Top 5 safest US cities for solo travelers

1. Cambridge, Massachusetts (74/100)
2. Roseville, California (73/100)
3. Thousand Oaks, California (73/100)
4. Fort Collins, Colorado (73/100)
5. Bellevue, Washington (73/100)

Most of the cities in the top five are college campuses. Cambridge, Massachusetts is home to two of the best universities in the world: Harvard and MIT.

Roseville, California is only 20 minutes from Sacramento, which is why the city is considered a college town as it is close to UC Sacramento and UC Davis.

Fort Collins, Colorado, which came in second. Fourth on the list is Colorado State University.

Another California city in the top five is Thousand Oaks. The Los Angeles suburbs consistently rank among the safest cities, according to the FBI.

Bellevue, Washington rounded out the top five. The city is a renowned technology hub with companies such as T-Mobile and Microsoft. Bellevue is also home to Amazon — Jeff Bezos founded the company there in 1994, and Amazon is still headquartered in the city.

Here is the complete list.

20 safest US cities for solo travelers

1. Cambridge, Massachusetts (74/100)
2. Roseville, California (73/100)
3. Thousand Oaks, California (73/100)
4. Fort Collins, Colorado (73/100)
5. Bellevue, Washington (73/100)
6. Irvine, California (73/100)
7. Temecula, California (72/100)
8. Fremont, California (72/100)
9. Naperville, Illinois (72/100)
10. Sunnyvale, California (72/100)
11. Simi Valley, California (72/100)
12. Amherst, NY (72/100)
13. Stamford, Connecticut (72/100)
14. Edison, New Jersey (72/100)
15. Orange, California (72/100)
16. Scottsdale, Arizona (71/100)
17. Torrance, California (71/100)
18. Boulder, Colorado (71/100)
19. Berkeley, California (71/100)
20. Sterling Heights, Michigan (71/100)

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