Posted by: Adam McCann

With every new headline about a mass shooting, terrorist attack, hate crime or natural disaster, many of us fear for our safety and that of our loved ones. Just in 2017, four hurricanes struck the mainland U.S., killing over 100 people and devastating Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Puerto Rico. And Louisiana led the U.S. in the homicide rate, averaging 11.8 per 100,000 people. Each state is safe from some dangers but falls prey to others.

Safety is a basic human need. We require some form of it, such as personal and financial protection, in every part of daily life. But we’re likely to feel more secure in some states than in others.

In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 48 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories. Our data set ranges from assaults per capita to unemployment rate to total loss amounts from climate disasters per capita. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/4566/geochart-safest.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2WGygFV>

 

Safest States in the U.S.

Overall Rank (1 = Safest)	State	Total Score	‘Personal & Residential Safety’ Rank	‘Financial Safety’ Rank	‘Road Safety’ Rank	‘Workplace Safety’ Rank	‘Emergency Preparedness’ Rank
1	Vermont	66.02	2	3	9	17	9
2	Maine	65.41	4	8	14	11	3
3	Minnesota	61.86	11	7	1	2	22
4	Utah	61.39	21	10	6	4	2
5	New Hampshire	61.37	7	4	20	38	6
6	Connecticut	61.30	1	22	27	22	17
7	Rhode Island	61.12	5	21	3	24	11
8	Hawaii	59.42	12	6	39	19	5
9	Massachusetts	59.21	8	9	7	31	10
10	Washington	58.52	32	12	4	3	7
11	Iowa	56.97	3	11	18	13	43
12	Wisconsin	55.08	15	13	22	29	16
13	Oregon	54.39	39	16	10	14	14
14	Indiana	53.46	18	24	11	16	29
15	Delaware	53.18	16	39	21	33	15
16	Maryland	53.15	22	33	24	10	23
17	North Carolina	52.86	9	27	40	5	40
18	New Jersey	52.67	10	37	30	20	27
19	Virginia	52.54	27	15	26	6	30
20	North Dakota	52.41	6	2	8	49	41
21	Wyoming	51.87	20	25	15	39	21
22	Arizona	51.49	42	32	50	1	8
23	New York	51.46	19	18	17	30	28
24	Colorado	50.16	37	1	33	36	24
25	Nebraska	50.13	14	14	5	42	36
26	West Virginia	50.06	13	43	28	44	20
27	Idaho	49.93	29	19	37	45	18
28	Pennsylvania	49.91	17	35	31	34	26
29	Nevada	49.74	45	47	45	8	4
30	Ohio	49.48	33	34	12	23	25
31	Kentucky	48.82	26	31	35	18	31
32	California	48.29	46	20	41	21	19
33	New Mexico	47.69	38	50	48	15	12
34	Michigan	47.10	48	41	38	7	13
35	Illinois	46.94	35	44	2	25	34
36	Kansas	46.22	23	23	13	37	44
37	Georgia	45.77	25	45	34	26	33
38	South Dakota	45.34	24	5	16	50	42
39	Tennessee	44.71	47	28	19	12	35
40	Montana	44.14	28	17	25	46	38
41	South Carolina	43.65	44	36	49	9	37
42	Alaska	43.33	50	38	29	40	1
43	Missouri	43.05	36	40	42	27	39
44	Alabama	42.28	30	46	32	32	47
45	Arkansas	40.47	49	29	23	35	32
46	Florida	39.38	40	30	47	41	46
47	Texas	39.22	43	26	43	28	48
48	Oklahoma	39.05	34	42	44	47	45
49	Louisiana	35.21	41	49	36	43	49
50	Mississippi	32.90	31	48	46	48	50

Ask the Experts

No place is completely immune to danger of any form. Some areas simply deal with safety issues better than others. For additional insight and advice, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. There are many different potential threats to one’s safety: crime, weather, pollution, dangerous workplaces. In choosing a place to live, how should people weigh the risks?
2. What actions can the Trump administration undertake to reduce crime and improve public safety?
3. Do you agree with President Trump that increased border security will reduce crime?
4. What can state and local policymakers do to reduce crime in their communities?
5. What tips do you have for consumers looking to improve their financial safety?

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• Alexander Siedschlag Interim Director, School of Public Affairs, Professor of Homeland Security, School of Public Affairs, Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg
• Casey T. Harris Co-Director of the Center for Social Research, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Arkansas

Methodology

In order to determine the safest states in which to live, WalletHub compared the 50 states across five key dimensions: 1) Personal & Residential Safety, 2) Financial Safety, 3) Road Safety, 4) Workplace Safety, and 5) Emergency Preparedness.

We evaluated those dimensions using 48 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of safety.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Personal & Residential Safety - Total Points: 40

• Presence of Terrorist Attacks: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)Note: This binary metric considers the presence or absence of a terrorist incident or attack in a city.
• Number of Mass Shootings: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita: Double Weight (~3.90 Points)
• Forcible Rapes per Capita: Double Weight (~3.90 Points)
• Assaults per Capita: Double Weight (~3.90 Points)
• Thefts per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Sex Offenders per Capita: Double Weight (~3.90 Points)
• Drug Abuses per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Active Firefighters per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Suicide Rate: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Bullying Incidence Rate: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Share of Elder-Abuse, Gross-Neglect and Exploitation Complaints: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Hate-Crime Incidents per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Hate Groups per Capita: Full Weight (~1.95 Points)
• Number of Neighborhood Watch Groups: Half Weight (~0.98 Points)

Financial Safety - Total Points: 15

• Share of Uninsured Population: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Double Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Debt per Income: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Share of Adults with Rainy-Day Funds: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)Note: “Other” includes both financial and nonfinancial complaints.
• Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Share of Unbanked Households: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Job Security: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)Note: This metric was calculated as follows: (Total Workers in 2017 – Total Workers in 2016) / Total Workers in 2016.
• New Unemployment Claims per Total Civilian Labor Force: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)Note: “New Unemployment Claims” refers to the number of people making an initial claim for unemployment insurance benefits.
• Employment Growth (2017 vs. 2016): Full Weight (~0.75 Points)Note: This metric was adjusted for the working-age population growth.
• Share of Households with Emergency Fund: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)Note: This metric refers to the share of households who saved for unexpected expenses or emergencies in the past 12 months.
• Share of People Not Saving Money for Children’s College: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Share of Households Behind on Bills in Past 12 Months: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Personal Bankruptcy Filings per Capita: Full Weight (~0.75 Points)
• Share of Homes Underwater (with negative equity): Full Weight (~0.75 Points)

Road Safety - Total Points: 15

• Traffic Indiscipline (composite metric): Full Weight (~1.88 Points)Note: This is a composite metric that measures incidents due to poor behavior: phone use, speeding, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking, and poor turning.
• Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel: Double Weight (~3.75 Points)
• DUIs per Capita: Full Weight (~1.88 Points)
• Pedestrian & Pedalcyclist Fatality Rate per Capita: Double Weight (~3.75 Points)
• Road Quality: Full Weight (~1.88 Points)
• Driving Laws Rating: Full Weight (~1.88 Points)Note: This metric is based on the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety’s Roadmap Report of State Highway Safety Law. In order to achieve the highest rating, according to the organization, “States must have 11 to 15 laws including both primary enforcement seat belt laws, or 9 or more laws including both primary enforcement seat belt laws and an all-rider helmet law.”

Workplace Safety - Total Points: 15

• Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers: Double Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Injuries & Illnesses per 10,000 Full-Time Workers: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Median Days Lost Due to Occupational Injuries & Illnesses: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)
• Presence of Occupational Safety & Health Act Plans: Full Weight (~3.00 Points)Note: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “Under the [Occupational Safety and Health] Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace. OSHA's mission is to assure safe and healthful workplaces by setting and enforcing standards, and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.”

Emergency Preparedness - Total Points: 15

• Number of Climate Disasters Causing $1 Billion+ in Damages in Past Decades: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)Note: “Past Decades” refers to the period between 1980 and 2018.
• Loss Amount from Climate Disasters Causing $1 Billion+ in Damages per Capita: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)Note: This metric refers to the period between 1980 and 2018.

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• YouTube (for web embedding Minnesota)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, TransUnion, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, U.S. Fire Administration, Administration for Community Living - AGing Integrated Database, United Health Foundation, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. Department of Labor - Employment and Training Administration, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The Road Information Program, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, U.S. Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Wm. Robert Johnston, Gun Violence Archive, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Sheriffs’ Association, Renwood RealtyTrac, Zillow and EverQuote.

Image: vchal / Shutterstock.com

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