Not all dividend stocks are created equal. Some offer monstrous 10% yields or more, but their share prices dwindle with each passing year. With that in mind, I have identified two dividend stocks that offer above-average yields and have characteristics that suggest they should be safer than most massive yielders.

A niche New York bank: New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB) is one of the highest-yielding banks, and arguably one of the safest. The bank focuses on lending to multifamily investors in the New York City area, where rents are seemingly always on the rise and demand for housing is permanently strong. Due to the underlying characteristics of the real estate market, the bank's credit metrics are often near the top of the industry, even during the depths of the financial crisis.The stock is no slouch, though. Today's buyers will pay about 16 times last year's earnings. 

A federation of free cash flow: Federated Investors (NYSE: FII) also looks appealing, even though its biggest business isn't contributing to the bottom line. Federated Investors is an asset manager. It collects fees for managing more than $358 billion in client funds. The bulk of its business comes from the fixed-income side: 86% of its assets under management can be found in bond and money market investments.

Hamstrung by low rates, Federated Investors has voluntarily waived fees on its money market funds.

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