Covington ranks among Louisiana's safest

SafeWise ranked Covington No. 3 in Louisiana in its “Safest Cities of 2026” report published January 29, placing the St. Tammany Parish city behind Harahan and Addis. The report listed 10 Louisiana cities and said its rankings were based on the latest FBI crime data available. Covington’s placement puts it ahead of other Northshore and south Louisiana communities that also made the list, including Mandeville, Slidell and Carencro. Niche, a separate rankings site built around public data and resident reviews, describes Covington as a suburb of New Orleans with 11,658 residents and gives it a C+ Crime & Safety grade. The site also says Covington is one of the better places to live in Louisiana and notes that most residents own their homes. ### Where did Covington land on the 2026 list? (safewise.com) SafeWise’s January 29 report placed Covington third on its 2026 Louisiana list. The full top 10, as shown on the company’s state page, was Harahan, Addis, Covington, Mandeville, DeRidder, Broussard, Baker, Slidell, Zachary and Carencro. The SafeWise report said Louisiana remained above the national average in both violent crime and property crime. (niche.com) Against that statewide backdrop, Covington’s appearance near the top of the city ranking indicates lower reported crime rates than many other Louisiana communities included in the analysis. ### What numbers are behind Covington’s safety profile? (safewise.com) Niche’s crime-and-safety page for Covington lists violent-crime figures per 100,000 residents that are below the national figures shown on the same page. The site lists assault at 146 compared with a national 282.7, murder at 0 compared with 6.1 nationally, rape at 17.2 compared with 40.7, and robbery at 8.6 compared with 135.5. (safewise.com) Niche’s property-crime page for Covington also shows burglary at 154.6 per 100,000 residents compared with a national 500.1, theft at 807.5 compared with 2,042.8, and motor vehicle theft at 51.5 compared with 284. ### How does SafeWise say it builds the ranking? SafeWise said its 2026 state reports use the most recent FBI crime data available, and its national 2026 methodology page says that data covers calendar year 2024. (niche.com) The company said its annual safest-cities comparisons focus on reported violent and property crime rates per capita. SafeWise also noted that some cities do not appear in its reports if they fall below the population threshold or do not submit a complete crime report to the FBI. That matters in Louisiana, where not every community is included in every statewide ranking. ### Why does Niche show a different picture? Niche’s statewide “Safe Places to Live in Louisiana” page says its ranking is based on crime rates for murder, assault, rape, burglary and other offenses, and includes only places that earned strong Crime & Safety grades. (safewise.com) That means Niche’s statewide list is not built the same way as SafeWise’s city-by-city crime ranking. Covington’s own Niche page gives the city a C+ Crime & Safety grade even though several listed crime-rate categories are below national benchmarks. Niche also includes resident polling on local safety: 55% of respondents said the area is “pretty safe,” 36% said “very safe,” and 55% said police are “very visible and very responsive.” (niche.com) ### What should readers take from the two rankings? SafeWise and Niche are measuring different things in different ways. SafeWise’s Louisiana list is a narrow ranking of cities using reported crime data, while Niche combines crime statistics with broader place-to-live grading and resident feedback. For Covington, both sources still point readers to the same basic fact set: SafeWise places the city in Louisiana’s top three for 2026, and Niche’s local data page shows several violent and property crime categories below national rates. (niche.com) Readers who want the underlying tables can review SafeWise’s 2026 Louisiana report and Niche’s Covington crime-and-safety page, both of which remain available online as of August 6, 2026. (safewise.com)