The Myth of Safety: Romania vs. The United States

Many Americans grow up believing the United States is the safest place on earth. We picture flashing sirens, neighborhood watch signs, and the comfort of knowing that law and order are part of who we are. And we grow up assuming that many far away countries are dangerous, corrupt, and unpredictable.

But as I started learning about Romania, I found the truth is practically the opposite. When you compare the numbers and the everyday lived experience, Romania is statistically safer than the United States in nearly every major category of crime.

The Numbers Tell a Different Story

Let's start with violence. Romania’s homicide rate hovers around 1.1 per 100,000 people, compared to the U.S. rate of about 6.3 per 100,000: roughly SIX times higher. When it comes to gun violence, the contrast becomes staggering: the U.S. has about 120 guns per 100 residents, while Romania has less than one. Gun-related homicides are more than twenty times higher in the U.S., and mass shootings are virtually unknown here, yet they have become a feature of American life.

Reported sexual assaults are about five to six times higher in the U.S. than in Romania, and robberies nearly four times higher. Americans are also more likely to experience burglary or car theft; property crime rates in many U.S. cities double or triple those of Bucharest or Cluj (Romania's largest cities).

Romania’s risks are different. Here, you’re far more likely to encounter a pickpocket in a crowded train station than a violent assailant. Petty theft is the country’s most common crime, but even that remains relatively low compared to Western Europe.

What Feels Safe

Statistics are one thing; how a place feels is another. In Romania, people walk at night. Teenagers gather in city squares long after dark. In small towns, it’s not unusual to see children walking to school alone.

You don’t hear gunfire in the distance. You don’t glance over your shoulder in parking lots. The kind of underlying fear that hums beneath daily life in America, the tightness in your chest when someone shouts in public, and the worry that anger could mean danger, simply isn’t part of the vibe here.

There’s a quieter kind of vigilance here. Drivers can be aggressive, rural roads are sometimes poorly lit, and corruption occasionally shows up as bureaucracy or inefficiency. But those risks don’t usually threaten your personal safety—they test your patience, not your survival.

Beyond the Headlines

Part of why Americans misjudge Romania is the way the country has been portrayed for decades: shadowy, impoverished, vaguely Eastern. The news rarely covers Romania unless something goes wrong, and few Americans can place it on a map without a pause. So “danger” fills in the blanks.

But what’s often called “dangerous” here is just different. Corruption mostly means paperwork delays, not violence. Organized crime is real but invisible to daily life. Human trafficking exists, but it’s mostly an international law enforcement issue, not something a resident or expat is likely to encounter directly.

Meanwhile, the U.S.—the supposed gold standard of safety—ranks higher than Romania in nearly every form of violent crime: murder, assault, robbery, sexual violence, and gun deaths. In other words, the country many people flee to is, statistically, far more dangerous than the one they fear.

A Different Kind of Security

Safety isn’t just about numbers—it’s about what it feels like to exist without constant threat. In Romania, you’ll see open markets, late-night cafés, and people lingering outdoors because they’re not afraid to. Police carry pistols, not assault rifles. Even in cities, the streets belong to people, not cars or cameras.

There are things to be cautious of—pickpockets in train stations, taxi scams at airports, reckless drivers—but fear doesn’t dominate the culture. Once you’ve lived here for a while, you realize that safety isn’t about force or surveillance; it’s about community, familiarity, and a slower rhythm of life.

Takeaways

Safety Snapshot: Romania vs. the United States

• Homicide rate: U.S. ≈ 6× higher

• Gun ownership: U.S. ≈ 120× higher

• Gun deaths: U.S. ≈ 20× higher

• Reported sexual assault: U.S. ≈ 5–6× higher

• Robbery: U.S. ≈ 4× higher

• Burglary and car theft: U.S. ≈ 2–3× higher

• Most common crime in Romania: petty theft and pickpocketing

• Most common danger in the U.S.: gun-related violence

Reality: The U.S. feels familiar but it’s statistically one of the most violent developed countries on earth. Romania feels unfamiliar but its danger is largely bureaucratic.

The Hearth of Everyday Life

If America’s safety is built on alarms and enforcement, Romania’s safety is built on familiarity and flow. People know their neighbors. Strangers still stop to help when your car breaks down. And while bureaucracy can test your patience, there’s comfort in the ordinariness of daily life, the kind of safety that doesn’t need to shout its presence.

For many expats, the most surprising thing about Romania isn’t how foreign it feels, but how quickly the body relaxes. You stop checking your locks twice. You stop flinching when someone raises their voice. You don't think about finding an exit if someone were to start shooting in a market. Safety, here, is steady.

And that, perhaps, is the greatest myth to unlearn: that safety must be policed, purchased, or proven. Sometimes, it’s simply lived, day to day, person to person.

Sources & Further Reading

Numbeo Crime Index: Romania vs. U.S. Comparison

UNODC Homicide Data: Global Study on Homicide

European Road Safety Observatory: Traffic Safety Statistics

NationMaster Comparative Crime Data: Romania vs. U.S. Violent Crime

EIGE: Gender-Based Violence Statistics (Romania)

WRAL Fact Check: U.S. vs. EU Gun Violence