Mar 11, 2026 - Politics & Policy
In many cities, women say they're less safe than men
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Men and women in many U.S. cities feel notably different about their personal safety, per new Gensler survey data.
- In New York City, for example, 60% of men say they feel "safe" or "very safe," compared to just 45% of women.
How it works: That's based on results from Gensler's survey of about 13,500 residents across 27 major U.S. cities conducted between July and November 2024.
- The design and architecture firm's research wing recently published City Pulse 2025: The Magnetic City, a look at how city residents feel about many different issues.
Zoom in: Some cities have both a wide gender gap and poor perceptions overall.
- In Philadelphia, for instance, just 43% of men say they feel safe, compared to 37% of women.
The other side: Boston has almost no gender gap around safety, and good perceptions overall.
- 80% of men there say they feel safe, with 77% of women reporting likewise.
- Minneapolis and Nashville have near-parity, with 67-68% of both groups saying they feel safe.
The bottom line: Perceived and actual safety can sometimes be two different things — but city leaders need to address both.
- Sofia Song, global leader of cities research at Gensler's Research Institute, tells Axios: "Safety shapes how people experience a city, and our data shows that when women feel secure moving through the city, satisfaction with the city rises across the board."
