News about mass shootings, terrorist attacks, hate crimes
and natural disasters don’t always make us feel safe and secure as a society. And
beyond the physical threats, inflation remains a pressing concern as Americans
face increasing
instability and financial risks.
Safety
levels vary across the country, and in order to determine the safest states
in America, personal finance website WalletHub analyzed all 50 states using 52
indicators of safety incorporated into five safety categories. These include assessments
of personal and residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace
safety and emergency preparedness.
Ready to dive in and see the results?
Vermont lands top billing as the safest state, especially in
neighborhood safety. It excels in financial safety with one of the best job
growths and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Vermont has safe roads, with the second-best
road quality in the U.S. and the 11th-fewest pedestrian fatalities
and 6th-fewest pedestrian fatalities per capita.
Massachusetts comes in as the second-safest state, especially
when it comes to financial safety. The state has low levels of crime, the third-best
security rate in the U.S., fourth-fewest thefts and fourth-fewest murders and
manslaughters per capita along with low incidences of sex crimes and drug
arrests.
New England states represent the safest regions of the U.S.
with six states included in the top 10.
Chip Lupo, Wallethub Analyst said in a statement, “The
safest states in America protect their residents from harm in a multitude of
different ways, from keeping crime rates low and maintaining safe roadways to
having strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into
dangerous financial situations.”
He added, “They have high levels of occupational safety and
disaster preparedness, too. In addition, states are made safer by efforts that
individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in
firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates.”
The full list of America’s safest cities (in descending
order) with total score includes:
Vermont 67.22Massachusetts 66.56New Hampshire 65.75Maine 64.69Utah 62.88Connecticut 62.25Hawaii 61.52Minnesota 61.25Rhode Island 60.17Wyoming 59.04Indiana 58.63Iowa 57.49Maryland 57.44Virginia 57.13Washington 57.01New Jersey 56.90New York 56.19Idaho 55.97Wisconsin 55.11Kentucky 54.99Arizona 54.40North Carolina 54.21Delaware 53.79Michigan 53.53North Dakota 53.21Oregon 52.99New Mexico 51.78Alaska 51.59Ohio 51.35Nevada 51.03Pennsylvania 50.76Nebraska 50.70Kansas 50.64West Virginia 50.11South Dakota 50.04Illinois 50.01South Carolina 74.36California 46.91Montana 46.39Tennessee 45.97Missouri 45.22Georgia 44.05Alabama 43.81Colorado 43.12Oklahoma 42.51Arkansas 40.16Florida 38.67Texas 38.14Mississippi 36.77Louisiana 36.20
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
