Once capital of drive-bys, San Antonio is safer





Click ahead to see where San Antonio, Austin, El Paso and Houston rank.



PHOTO: A man reacts after being stabbed by a woman during a fight at the corner of North Frio and West Travis Streets in San Antonio, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. The Alamo City is one of the safest large cities in the United States based on crime rate, according to data from the FBI. Unofficially dubbed the drive-by capital of the country in the 1990’s, San Antonio has made a dent in violent crimes since, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which tallies murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. - Kolten Parker, Staff WriterClick ahead to see where San Antonio, Austin, El Paso and Houston rank.PHOTO: A man reacts after being stabbed by a woman during a fight at the corner of North Frio and West Travis Streets in San Antonio, Tuesday, June 25, 2013. less The Alamo City is one of the safest large cities in the United States based on crime rate, according to data from the FBI. Unofficially dubbed the drive-by capital of the country in the 1990’s, San Antonio ... more Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Once capital of drive-bys, San Antonio is safer 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — The Alamo City is one of the safest large cities in the United States based on crime rate, according to data from the FBI.

Unofficially dubbed the drive-by capital of the country in the 1990's, San Antonio has made a dent in violent crimes since, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which tallies murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

Four Texas cities cracked the list of safest U.S. places.

Out of 33 large cities, requiring a population of more than 500,000, El Paso is the safest in the country based on crime rate, according to the 2013 rankings provided by Congressional Quarterly Press. Austin is the fourth safest city.

Houston is the only Texas city on any of the three most dangerous rankings, coming in with the tenth highest crime rate of large cities.

As for medium-sized cities, with populations between 100,000 and 499,999, Frisco is the ninth safest, ahead of Glendale, AZ, and behind Surprise, Ariz.

The statistics from CQ Press uses analysis from data released in 2012.

kparker@express-news.net Twitter: @KoltenParker