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A view of Water Street in downtown Henderson in this 2008 file photo. Forbes ranked Henderson as No. 2 on a list of the nation’s safest cities.
By Ric Anderson (contact) 
Monday, Dec. 19, 2011 | 9:15 a.m.
Home News
A new ranking of the safest cities in the nation places Henderson at No. 2 behind the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas.
Forbes produced the rankings based on such factors as median income, poverty rate, violent crime and traffic fatality statistics.
Henderson was cited for having a relatively high median income of $61,861, a low poverty rate — 7 percent — and higher median home prices than Las Vegas.
While pointing out that the Las Vegas metro area ranked No. 9 this year on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities, Forbes quoted UNLV criminology professor Tamara Madensen as saying that “casinos in Henderson cater mainly to local residents, which reduces traffic and the number of tourists moving about in the city.”
The relatively low amount of tourist traffic helps Henderson, Forbes reported, because crime rates are based on Census population and violent crimes involving tourists inflate the numbers.
“The number of people who visit the Strip and downtown Las Vegas each year” — more than 35 million — “make it difficult to estimate the real ‘risk’ of crime for individuals living in Las Vegas. Tourist numbers are rarely factored into risk analyses,” Madensen said in the report.
Plano’s strengths included a median household income of $79,234, a high percentage of college graduates on the police force and a strong community watch program.
Rounding out Forbes’ Top 10 list were: Honolulu, Santa Ana, Calif., Lincoln, Neb., San Jose, Calif., Mesa, Ariz., Colorado Springs, Colo., Aurora, Colo., and New York City.
Seems like they factor in a bunch of irrelevant data (number of college educated on police force - WTF?). Why not just look only at the violent crime rates?
I am having a hard time believing that NYC is in the top 10 of "Safest Cities"! This study is obviously skewed!
We need to make this national news, start giving Nevada a good reputation again. All in all, Henderson is a pretty great place to call home. It's good to see it get recognized.
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Family oriented and fun...
I work in Las Vegas and live in Henderson. Every night I get off work and drive home, as I notice all the trash, bums, drug addicts, hookers, and Metro Helecopters flying over with the search light on. I think to myself, thank God I moved to Henderson when I got out here.
It is like night and day. The people are friendly, the parks are nice, and it still has sort of a small town feel to it.
Don't get me wrong I love the Casinos and entertainment. But I am just glad I go home to Henderson when I am done with it.
I seldom leave Henderson to head towards the Strip and points North. Nutty traffic, nutty people. The only problem in Henderson is all the overpaid loafers in the PD and Fire Dept. Oh well, we all know that Henderson has the right mix of ethnic groups, with a small amount of the trouble making kind. You know who I mean...
Hate to say it, but its #2 because 3/4 of the homes are vacant. lol
@Doogie
'The only problem in Henderson is all the overpaid loafers in the PD and Fire Dept.'
Gee, I don't know? Do you think HPD might have something to do with the safety of Henderson.
There's always someone out there who has to complain about something!
Wunderbar!
I'm sure the fine, upstanding citizenry of Henderson & Plano never venture into the 'dangerous' denizens of adjoining Las Vegas & Dallas...and thank GOD the 'bad guys' never cross city lines!
If Summerlin was a city, where would it rank?
Truth is, like ANY major metro area in the USA, the valley here is predominately safe for folks that practice the fine art of common sense.
Viva, Los Henderson!
Anything to make a buck by Forbes. They seem to be saying Tourist are the responsible party for Las Vegas Crime. And there is an Invisible line between Henderson and Las Vegas where criminals(tourists) do not cross. Nonsense. By that logic, if we close McCarran and I-15 plus let Henderson take over the entire valley - we should be Crime Free.
Ae condos cheap in Henderson too?
Funny, I worked in Plano, and I live in Henderson now. Plano is a beautiful place-great schools, clean streets, nice educated people. Only one problem-it is totally boring. Nothing to do. No gambling, that's for sure. Their highlight is on Sunday, when they go to the nearest Baptist church. They live in fear of Demon Rum, because you might get giddy-and have a good time on Saturday night. Kind of like living in Salt Lake City.
Both states have no income tax, but Plano's property taxes are triple Henderson's. Overall, I moved to Henderson because of the regular people and the casinos. Less humidity, too. To each his own, I guess...
Santa Ana?!? Who are they kidding?
The City of Henderson is overstaffed with police. Huge expenditures that could and should be cut substantially.
I must say, skewed or not, I'm happy to see this good pub for Henderson. That said, I have to be realistic. Did the writers of this article take a trip to New York City, Santa Ana, or Aurora or did they just look at some seemingly random statistics? In this case I think the age old cliche "The numbers don't lie" could be challenged.