Philadelphia

Less than half of Americans surveyed believe Philadelphia is a safe place to visit or live, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll about perceptions of 16 major U.S. cities, which was conducted in July and released last week, found that 47% of surveyed Americans said they believe Philadelphia is safe. The poll is based on how respondents perceive a city’s safety, regardless of whether they have actually been there. It’s unclear what percentage of respondents were familiar with the city. It’s also worth noting that people’s perceptions don’t necessarily mirror crime data points, and the poll did not define “safety” for its respondents.

The poll was based on telephone interviews conducted in July with a random sample of 1,015 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Each city was rated by a random half-sample of approximately 500 adults.

When prompted with a city’s name, respondents replied “safe” or “unsafe” according to Gallup. From there, the samples were weighted to reflect U.S. population demographics.

According to the poll, Dallas and Boston ranked highest in perceived safety, with about three-quarters of participants viewing the cities as “safe.” Detroit and Chicago scored the lowest, with only 26% and 27% of poll-takers, respectively, ranking them as safe.