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. Safety is a fundamental human need. And we require some form of it, such as personal and financial protection, in every setting 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’s analysts compared the 50 states across 37 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.
Safest States in America
| 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 | 65.09 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 15 | 14 |
| 2 | Maine | 62.46 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 3 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 62.03 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 8 |
| 4 | Minnesota | 61.78 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 61.48 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 37 | 4 |
| 6 | Washington | 60.75 | 16 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Connecticut | 59.98 | 2 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 15 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 59.65 | 13 | 30 | 1 | 25 | 11 |
| 9 | Utah | 59.48 | 29 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Hawaii | 58.60 | 11 | 2 | 42 | 18 | 10 |
| 11 | Virginia | 57.81 | 12 | 14 | 22 | 2 | 27 |
| 12 | Oregon | 56.12 | 39 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| 13 | New York | 56.04 | 3 | 26 | 19 | 27 | 28 |
| 14 | Maryland | 55.82 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 23 |
| 15 | New Jersey | 55.09 | 6 | 38 | 29 | 20 | 30 |
| 16 | Indiana | 54.74 | 19 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 29 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 54.26 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 5 | 37 |
| 18 | Iowa | 54.03 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 13 | 48 |
| 19 | Arizona | 53.24 | 35 | 34 | 49 | 3 | 7 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 52.94 | 20 | 12 | 36 | 30 | 16 |
| 21 | California | 52.20 | 32 | 25 | 40 | 12 | 18 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | 51.73 | 9 | 29 | 45 | 36 | 25 |
| 23 | Ohio | 51.62 | 15 | 35 | 28 | 29 | 24 |
| 24 | Idaho | 51.21 | 23 | 15 | 23 | 44 | 19 |
| 25 | Delaware | 51.17 | 42 | 32 | 4 | 24 | 17 |
| 26 | Illinois | 51.07 | 22 | 40 | 2 | 28 | 33 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 50.31 | 24 | 31 | 18 | 23 | 32 |
| 28 | Michigan | 50.19 | 46 | 36 | 33 | 9 | 9 |
| 29 | Colorado | 50.08 | 28 | 11 | 25 | 38 | 26 |
| 30 | Nevada | 49.43 | 44 | 47 | 43 | 14 | 2 |
| 31 | West Virginia | 49.06 | 25 | 37 | 31 | 42 | 20 |
| 32 | Georgia | 47.92 | 26 | 45 | 12 | 34 | 31 |
| 33 | Wyoming | 47.30 | 27 | 22 | 39 | 41 | 22 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 46.98 | 21 | 7 | 27 | 40 | 42 |
| 35 | Tennessee | 46.85 | 45 | 39 | 10 | 16 | 35 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 45.98 | 47 | 49 | 48 | 10 | 12 |
| 37 | Kansas | 45.21 | 31 | 23 | 6 | 31 | 46 |
| 38 | Alaska | 45.04 | 50 | 43 | 32 | 19 | 5 |
| 39 | North Dakota | 44.53 | 17 | 4 | 41 | 50 | 38 |
| 40 | Alabama | 43.52 | 33 | 48 | 11 | 35 | 44 |
| 41 | Texas | 43.08 | 30 | 33 | 21 | 33 | 47 |
| 42 | Florida | 41.36 | 36 | 42 | 37 | 39 | 43 |
| 43 | South Dakota | 41.04 | 41 | 3 | 38 | 46 | 40 |
| 44 | Montana | 40.60 | 34 | 16 | 44 | 45 | 41 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 40.02 | 48 | 24 | 15 | 43 | 34 |
| 46 | Missouri | 39.90 | 43 | 41 | 46 | 32 | 39 |
| 47 | South Carolina | 39.21 | 49 | 28 | 47 | 21 | 36 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | 38.11 | 38 | 44 | 35 | 48 | 45 |
| 49 | Louisiana | 35.73 | 40 | 50 | 20 | 47 | 49 |
| 50 | Mississippi | 30.70 | 37 | 46 | 50 | 49 | 50 |
