With all of the chaos taking place in the world these days, being safe has become more and more difficult. There are, however, some places that are more safe than others, but where are they? According to a new study, the safest states in America are all located in the northeast.
To make this determination, the folks over at WalletHub examined all 50 states using 52 important safety metrics divided into five categories to identify the safest states in the United States. The data set includes everything from the unemployment rate to assaults per capita and the total lost amount from climate disasters per capita.
“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,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst. “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.”
Based on all of the data, Vermont was determined to be the safest state in America
According to the study, in terms of neighborhood safety, Vermont is the safest state. Vermont has the third-highest percentage of parents in the nation, nearly 76%, who think the neighborhoods they live in are safe.
Furthermore, Vermont has the seventh-highest number of neighborhood watch groups per capita and ranks sixth in murders and non-negligent manslaughter, 15th in serious assaults and 21st in thefts per capita.
In terms of financial security, Vermont also performs quite well. At 2.7%, it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. The state also has the third-lowest rate of non-business bankruptcies per capita and the lowest percentage of mortgages that are significantly underwater.
Vermont has the second-lowest number of identity theft complaints per capita, safe roads, with the second-best road quality in the U.S., the fifth-fewest traffic fatalities per 100 million miles traveled and the 13th-fewest pedestrian fatalities per capita.
Idaho (the “best” state to live in) ranked 19th overall, and Virginia, which has two of the safest big cities in America, ranked 12th.
The rest of the top 10 safest states in America, and the least safe states
The second-safest state is Massachusetts, which excels in terms of financial security. A large portion of Massachusetts parents also believe their children are safe at school. Low levels of crime, the 23rd-most EMTs per capita and a very low vulnerability to natural disasters also makes the state one of the safest in the nation.
Due in great part to its low level of violence, Maine is the third-safest state. The state has the third-fewest murders and non-negligent manslaughter per capita, the fewest aggravated assaults per capita, and the fourth-fewest thefts per capita. Over 72% of people in Maine feel that they live in safe neighborhoods, over 73% feel that their children go to safe schools, and many Maine residents enjoy financial safety.
Coming in fourth and fifth on the list of safest states in America are New Hampshire and Connecticut.
The balance of the top ten is filled out by Utah, Minnesota, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Hawaii (the happiest state in America).
On the flip side, Mississippi ranked last on the list of safest states. It was followed by Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Alabama and Georgia as the least safe states in the country.
Mississippi scored dead last in financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness. Louisiana ranked 49th in financial safety and emergency preparedness, while Texas ranked 48th in emergency preparedness. Alaska finished last in personal and residential safety,