No city is perfect. Despite ranking highly in most areas like employment and cost of living, Odessa has higher-than-average crime, but Midland is safer. The Odessa crime rate is 3,312 total crimes and 808 violent crimes per 100,000 people. That’s 18% higher than the national average. The Midland crime rate is 2,847 total crimes and 594 violent crimes per 100,000. That’s 20% below the national average. Remember that both cities have many very safe places to live for families, retirees, and singles.