Brownsville, Texas, again ranks as the safest city, with Boston as the most collision-prone

Key takeaways:

• For the second straight year, Brownsville, Texas, ranks as the safest city, with drivers going nearly 15 years between collisions. Boston remains the most collision-prone at just 3.76 years. Drivers in the safest cities are nearly four times less likely to experience a crash.
• Waco, Texas, made the largest improvement year over year (+40 spots), while Detroit saw the steepest decline (-38 spots). About one-third of cities moved 10 spots or more and three new cities entered the top or bottom 10, showing how changing traffic patterns and behavior impact risk.
• New insights from Drivewise®, available in the Allstate mobile app, show how habits like speeding, hard braking, phone use and nighttime driving influence risk across the country. These are behaviors drivers can control to lower their chances of a crash and help avoid the out-of-pocket and insurance costs that often follow.

NORTHBROOK, Ill., July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Drivers in the safest U.S. cities can go years longer between collisions, reducing risk and helping keep insurance costs more manageable, according to Allstate's 2026 America's Best Drivers Report. The report highlights how location and everyday driving habits influence both safety and, in turn, the costs drivers may ultimately face.

Texas again has multiple cities among the safest drivers in the nation, while Massachusetts cities including Boston, Worcester and Springfield rank highest for crash risk. The report answers a key question for drivers: How likely am I to experience a crash where I live, and how can I reduce my risk?

Now in its 18th year, the report ranks the 200 largest U.S. cities based on auto insurance claims data and includes insights from Drivewise, available in the Allstate mobile app. Drivewise provides feedback on behaviors such as speeding, braking and phone use to help drivers improve how they drive.

Together, the data shows how often crashes occur and highlights behaviors that increase risk, giving drivers actionable ways to stay safer, avoid the costs associated with collisions and help lower their insurance costs over time.

Laura Hoffman, vice president of auto design and telematics at Allstate:
"Where you drive plays a role in your risk, but how and when you drive matters just as much. By pairing claims data with driving insights such as speeding, hard braking and phone use from Allstate's Drivewise, we're helping drivers take simple steps to prevent crashes and keep insurance costs down."

Driving by the numbers: Where are the safest and most collision-prone cities?
For the second straight year, Brownsville, Texas, ranks as the safest city, with drivers going nearly 15 years between collisions, while Boston remains the most collision-prone, with drivers averaging 3.76 years between collisions. Boston drivers are 189% more likely to experience a collision than the national average, which can lead to higher costs, including repairs and insurance prices.

Texas and Colorado cities lead the best drivers list, with McAllen, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, entering the top 10. The Northeast is home to seven of the 10 riskiest cities, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, with Sunrise Manor, Nevada, joining this year.

• Big swings in rankings show how quickly positions can change. Waco, Texas, climbed 40 spots year over year, the biggest improvement. Other cities making big gains include Savannah, Georgia (+30), New Orleans, Louisiana (+29), and Kansas City, Kansas (+29).
  
  Detroit, Michigan, saw the biggest slide, dropping 38 spots. Rockford, Illinois (-34), Arlington, Virginia (-20), Tampa, Florida (-19), and Anchorage, Alaska (-18) also fell, showing how changes in traffic patterns and driving conditions can influence rankings over time.

• Regional patterns continue to shape the rankings. Georgia cities were among the most improved, with Savannah, Macon and Columbus climbing 20 spots or more. The Midwest saw some of the biggest drops in the rankings, including Omaha (-16), Milwaukee (-15), Chicago (-13) and Indianapolis (-11).

Driving by the numbers: What does Drivewise data reveal about driver behavior?
New insights from Drivewise, available in the Allstate mobile app, show how habits like speeding, hard braking, phone use and nighttime driving influence driving risk across the country. Drivewise helps drivers understand these patterns in real time to help lower their chances of a collision and save money.

• Nighttime driving is highest in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and New York City. Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria and Arlington, and the Las Vegas Valley are among the highest for nighttime driving. Nighttime driving can increase risk due to reduced visibility and a higher likelihood of fatigue or impaired driving.
  
  
• Phone use is elevated in major metros. Cities like Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Boston are among the highest for phone use while driving, showing how distraction is more prevalent in dense, urban environments.
  
  
• Speeding varies by market. Bridgeport, Connecticut, has the highest levels of speeding, followed by Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Chicago and three Alabama cities — Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville. Speeding can reduce driver reaction time and make collisions more severe.
  
  
• Hard braking is most elevated in Arizona and North Carolina. The highest rates of hard braking are in North Carolina and Arizona, with Raleigh, Fayetteville and Durham, North Carolina, and Chandler, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona, all among the highest. Hard braking can signal stop-and-go driving or close following, which may increase collision risk.

Helping drivers stay safer: What tools and protections can help?
No matter where you live, small changes behind the wheel can reduce crash risk, and Allstate offers tools designed to help drivers understand and improve their driving before a collision happens.

"You don't have to overhaul your driving habits to make a difference," said Hoffman. "Simple steps like slowing down, staying focused and giving yourself space can go a long way in helping reduce risk."

Tools that help drivers stay safer on the road
Allstate's Drivewise gives drivers visibility into their driving behavior and helps them improve over time and recover from a collision by offering:

• Driving scores in the Allstate mobile app on speed, braking and phone use, with insights after each trip to help drivers identify risky habits and make safer choices on their next drive.
• Progress tracking that shows trends in driving behavior and helps reinforce safer habits to reduce crash risk, out-of-pocket costs and insurance prices.
• Crash detection features that can quickly connect drivers to help after a collision, reducing stress and helping speed recovery.

Protections that help reduce the financial impact of a crash
Allstate also offers optional features that can help drivers recover more quickly after a crash and reduce the financial strain that can follow. These are part of a broader set of options that give customers more ways to stay protected before and after an incident, including:

• Accident Forgiveness helps prevent a driver's car insurance rate from increasing just because of an accident. This helps reduce the long-term financial impact of a mistake.
• Transportation Expense Coverage provides a set amount of money after a covered crash that drivers can use for a rental car, rideshare or other transportation while their vehicle is being repaired.

Find more safety tips, the full list of cities and additional insights from the report at www.allstate.com/best-drivers, or visit www.allstate.com to learn more.

Drivers can also download the Allstate mobile app to access Drivewise and better understand their behavior behind the wheel.

What is the Allstate America's Best Drivers Report?
Allstate America's Best Drivers Report is an annual study that sheds light on driving safety trends across the country to help educate drivers, encourage safer habits and support a broader conversation about road safety. By analyzing auto claims data from the 200 most populous U.S. cities, the report identifies where drivers are more and less likely to experience a collision compared with the national average. This year marks the 18th edition of the report.

How does Allstate rank cities?
Cities are ranked using Allstate auto claims data to compare collision trends across the 200 most populous U.S. cities. Rankings are based on property damage claim frequency, reflecting how often drivers cause damage to others. Results are expressed as average years between collisions and likelihood compared with the U.S. average.

A collision is defined as any auto crash resulting in a property damage or collision claim.

What data is used in the report?
The rankings are based on property damage claim frequency from claims reported over a two-year period from January 2023 through December 2024, reflecting how often drivers cause damage to others. Allstate policies represent approximately 10% of all U.S. auto policies, making the report a broad snapshot of driving trends across the country.

Overall claims data is also used to inform national benchmarks, such as the average years between collisions, providing a more complete picture of crash frequency and helping put city-level rankings in a broader national context.

What's new in 2026?
The 2026 report continues to use claims data as the foundation for the rankings. This year, it also includes Drivewise behavioral insights, including speeding, hard braking, phone use and nighttime driving, to provide additional context behind the results. These insights, based on aggregated and anonymized Drivewise data collected from January 2025 through December 2025, help illustrate how driving habits can vary across cities but are not used to determine rankings.

What is Drivewise, and how is it used in this report?
Drivewise, available in the Allstate mobile app, helps drivers better understand their driving habits and supports a more personalized auto insurance rate. It provides behavior-based insights on drivers' phone use, speeding, braking and nighttime driving. In this report, those insights are used to help explain patterns in the rankings, not as a separate scoring or ranking system.

Does Allstate use this report to set auto insurance rates?
No. The report and its rankings are not used to set auto insurance rates. It is designed to provide insight into driving trends and encourage safer driving behaviors. Rates are based on a range of factors, which may include underlying claim trends and driving-related data, among other considerations used to assess risk.

Methodology
The 2026 Allstate America's Best Drivers Report analyzes Allstate auto claims data to compare collision trends across the 200 most populous U.S. cities. Rankings are based on property damage claim frequency, reflecting how often drivers cause damage to others. Results are expressed as average years between collisions and likelihood compared with the U.S. average. Likelihood values use a U.S. baseline of 0, where negative values indicate lower-than-average likelihood and positive values indicate higher-than-average likelihood.

Allstate analyzed property damage claims reported during the two-year period from January 2023 through December 2024 to rank cities. The company also reviews overall claims data, including both property damage and collision claims, to inform national benchmarks, such as the average years between collisions. A collision is defined as any auto crash resulting in a property damage or collision claim. U.S. Census Bureau data was used to identify the 200 largest U.S. cities. According to Allstate claims data, the average U.S. driver experiences a collision once every 10.86 years. Allstate's auto policies represent approximately 10% of all U.S. auto policies, making the report a realistic snapshot of driving trends across the country.

Drivewise behavioral metrics, including phone use, speeding, hard braking and nighttime driving, are included as aggregated context to help explain patterns observed in the claims data. These insights are based on aggregated and anonymized Drivewise data collected from January 2025 through December 2025, providing a more recent view of driving behaviors. They are used to illustrate how driving habits vary across cities, rather than to rank them. Drivewise behavioral metrics are expressed as indices benchmarked to a U.S. average of 100, using a trip-distance-weighted average across cities, where values above 100 indicate higher rates of the behavior and values below 100 indicate lower rates. Speeding reflects the share of miles driven 15 mph or more over the posted speed limit, hard braking captures sudden braking events per 100 miles driven, phone use reflects phone unlock events while driving, and nighttime driving represents the share of miles driven during overnight or low-light hours.

In Michigan, where a no-fault insurance system changes how certain claims are recorded, results are included but may not be directly comparable to other states.

The Allstate America's Best Drivers Report is produced to support a broader conversation about safe driving and to increase awareness of the importance of attentive driving habits. The report is not used to determine auto insurance rates.

About Allstate
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) protects people from life's uncertainties with affordable, simple and connected protection for autos, homes, electronic devices and identities. Products are available through a broad distribution network including Allstate agents, independent agents, major retailers, online and at the workplace. Allstate has more than 212 million policies in force and is widely known for the slogan "You're in Good Hands with Allstate." For more information, visit www.allstate.com.

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