Collision frequency shifted substantially at the city level over the past year, with roughly a third of the nation's 200 largest cities moving 10 or more ranking spots in either direction, according to Allstate's 2026 America's Best Drivers Report, released July 1.
The year-over-year movement is more granular than national claims figures alone, showing that crash frequency is not shifting uniformly across U.S. markets. Roughly a third of the 200 ranked cities moved 10 or more spots in either direction between the 2025 and 2026 reports.
What the report measures
Now in its 18th year, the report ranks the 200 most populous U.S. cities, identified using U.S. Census Bureau data, based on property damage claim frequency from Allstate policyholder claims reported between January 2023 and December 2024, according to Allstate's newsroom release.
Results are expressed as the average number of years between collisions for each city, along with each city's collision likelihood relative to the national average. Allstate states its auto policies represent approximately 10% of all U.S. auto policies. According to the report's methodology, the average U.S. driver experiences a collision once every 10.86 years.
The biggest year-over-year movers
Allstate's release specifically calls out the scale of movement between the 2025 and 2026 rankings as a notable finding, stating that about one-third of the 200 ranked cities moved 10 or more spots and that three new cities entered the top or bottom 10.
Waco, Texas, posted the largest improvement, climbing 40 spots, according to the release. Other cities with large gains included Savannah, Ga. (up 30 spots), New Orleans (up 29 spots) and Kansas City, Kan. (up 29 spots).
Detroit posted the steepest decline, falling 38 spots. Other cities with significant drops included Rockford, Ill. (down 34 spots), Arlington, Va. (down 20 spots), Tampa, Fla. (down 19 spots) and Anchorage (down 18 spots), according to the release.
Allstate's release also identified regional patterns within the shifts. Georgia cities were among the most improved, with Savannah, Macon and Columbus each climbing 20 or more spots. The Midwest saw some of the largest declines, including Omaha (down 16 spots), Milwaukee (down 15 spots), Chicago (down 13 spots) and Indianapolis (down 11 spots).
Safest and riskiest cities
Brownsville, Texas, ranked as the safest city for the second consecutive year, with drivers there going an average of 14.99 years between collisions, a collision likelihood 27.5% below the national average, according to the report. Fort Collins, Colo., and Boise, Idaho, ranked second and third. McAllen, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colo., were new entrants to the top 10 this year.
Boston again ranked as the most collision-prone city, with drivers averaging 3.76 years between collisions, a likelihood 188.7% above the national average, according to the report. Washington, Baltimore, Worcester, Mass., and Springfield, Mass., rounded out the five riskiest cities. Allstate's release states the Northeast is home to seven of the 10 riskiest cities overall, with Sunrise Manor, Nev., newly appearing among the bottom 10 this year.
New this year: behavioral data layered onto claims data
For the first time, the 2026 report layers in behavioral data from Allstate's Drivewise telematics program, covering speeding, hard braking, phone use, and nighttime driving from January through December 2025. Allstate states the data provides context for the rankings and does not determine them.
Hard braking was most elevated in North Carolina and Arizona, led by Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Durham, N.C., and Chandler, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa, and Gilbert, Ariz. — several of them Sun Belt markets that also shifted in this year's rankings.
Allstate states its auto policies represent approximately 10% of all U.S. auto policies, that the rankings are not used to set insurance rates, and that the report is intended to support driver education.
