This Phoenix suburb is one of the safest for trick-or-treating

Parents looking for a safe place to take their kids trick-or-treating this Halloween don’t have to look far; a new national study by SafeHome.org named one Valley suburb one of the safest places in the country to snag some candy.

Gilbert is the fourth-safest city to trick-or-treat in the nation. It ranked high due to its low violent crime, few pedestrian fatalities and low number of sex offenders.  The town has been consistently ranked one of the safest in Arizona and in 2022 was named the second safest city in the nation according to the FBI crime reports.

Casey Walag, a realtor with SERHANT. specializing in the Gilbert and Chandler area, says if you are looking for where to trick-or-treat in Gilbert, Seville, Adora Trails and Agritopia are the neighborhoods to put at the top of the list. 

“Seville is a great place to stop,” Walag says. “It’s safe, everyone decorates, and because of how the neighborhood is laid out, you can go from house to house quickly and get a lot of candy easily.”

Seville and Adora are next to each other, so it would be easy to do both. If you want the full Halloween experience, Agritopia is the place to be for larger-than-life decorations.

“The last couple days, I have brought my kids and we have driven through the Agritopia neighborhood to look at the decorations,” Walag says. “This would be a perfect spot to take them for a themed trick-or-treat.”

The study by Safe Home.org analyzed safety metrics across 161 cities, including crime, pedestrian fatalities, number of registered sex offenders and number of law enforcement employees.

In the Valley, four suburbs ranked among the top 25 safest cities for trick-or-treating, more than any other metro in the country. Surprise came in at No. 6 due to fewer sex offenders but more property and violent crime than Gilbert. The other Valley cities on the list are Scottsdale at No. 8 and Chandler at No. 20.

The site ranked these five cities the safest in the country:

1. Yonkers, New York
2. Naperville, Illinois
3. New York, New York
4. Gilbert, Arizona
5. Frisco, Texas

Even in the safest city, parents should take precautions on Halloween. The report suggests that parents take their trick-or-treaters to well-lit areas to ensure drivers see them or go to “trunk-or-treat” events where cars are not driving.

Parents can also add reflective tape to make dark costumes more visible. Trick-or-treaters should also go in groups and stay with an adult. Finally, remind kids to cross the street safely by only crossing the street at crosswalks, looking both ways before they cross and making eye contact with drivers before crossing. 

The study also named the worst places to be on Halloween night. No Arizona cities made that list, but Memphis was named the worst place to trick-or-treat due to its high violent crime rate and concerns for pedestrian safety. The top five most dangerous cities for trick-or-treating are:

1. Memphis, Tennessee
2. Richmond, Virginia
3. Little Rock, Arkansas
4. Oakland, California
5. Salt Lake City, Utah