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. In 2020, though, by far the biggest safety concern on Americans’ minds is the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed around 100,000 Americans and infected nearly 1.7 million as of late-May. To put that in perspective, last year 38,000 people died in car crashes and there were around 15,200 gun-related deaths (non-suicide). Though tragedy can strike in any state, especially during this pandemic, some states are more vulnerable to danger than others.

June is National Safety Month. With the U.S. devastated by the coronavirus pandemic this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2020’s Safest States in America.

In order to determine the most secure states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 53 key metrics. The data set ranges from the state’s coronavirus support to assaults per capita and the unemployment rate.

Safest States in America Least Safe States in America
1. Maine 41. South Carolina
2. Vermont 42. Georgia
3. Minnesota 43. Alabama
4. Utah 44. Missouri
5. Wyoming 45. Oklahoma
6. Iowa 46. Texas
7. Massachusetts 47. Arkansas
8. New Hampshire 48. Florida
9. Connecticut 49. Louisiana
10. Rhode Island 50. Mississippi

 

Where’s North Carolina in all this? North Carolina, the 10th largest state by population, ranks squarely in the middle at 26th for safety in this study.

Key Stats

  • South Dakota has the fewest murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 residents, 1.36, which is 8.4 times fewer than in Louisiana, the most at 11.37.
  • New Hampshire has the fewest thefts per 1,000 residents, 12.75, which is 2.8 times fewer than in New Mexico, the most at 35.55.
  • New Jersey has the most law-enforcement employees per 100,000 residents, 473, which is 2.2 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 211.
  • Delaware has the lowest share of high school students who were bullied online, 10.10 percent, which is 2.1 times lower than in Louisiana, the highest at 21.20 percent.

In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 53 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories. Our data set ranges from the state’s coronavirus support to assaults per capita and the unemployment rate. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

Source: WalletHub

 

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 Maine 66.02 1 20 1 22 1
2 Vermont 65.48 2 7 10 14 9
3 Minnesota 62.42 11 4 3 1 21
4 Utah 61.71 21 13 7 4 6
5 Wyoming 59.21 6 15 16 20 22
6 Iowa 59.21 3 3 4 10 44
7 Massachusetts 58.84 10 1 2 30 10
8 New Hampshire 58.82 7 10 22 43 4
9 Connecticut 58.81 4 17 23 24 16
10 Rhode Island 58.15 8 26 6 39 11
11 Washington 57.53 34 9 20 12 8
12 Oregon 56.99 26 21 18 9 13
13 Hawaii 55.89 22 8 43 21 5
14 New Jersey 53.71 9 23 28 23 24
15 Virginia 53.29 29 14 21 2 31
16 Maryland 52.32 30 22 19 15 23
17 Indiana 52.20 19 33 24 11 29
18 North Dakota 51.83 5 2 5 50 37
19 Wisconsin 51.71 20 19 15 34 18
20 Idaho 51.20 24 16 11 47 17
21 Delaware 50.83 13 37 17 40 14
22 Michigan 50.83 45 28 26 13 15
23 New York 50.40 12 24 8 32 28
24 Kentucky 50.37 15 43 35 16 30
25 Arizona 50.33 42 32 48 7 7
26 North Carolina 49.88 16 25 39 6 43
27 Nevada 49.78 48 40 45 3 3
28 New Mexico 49.64 38 45 49 5 12
29 Alaska 48.52 50 30 37 18 2
30 Nebraska 47.60 14 6 13 38 40
31 California 47.37 46 27 42 17 19
32 West Virginia 46.88 18 34 31 45 20
33 Pennsylvania 46.45 23 31 29 31 27
34 Illinois 45.92 33 41 9 25 34
35 Ohio 45.29 36 46 14 26 26
36 Colorado 44.45 39 5 40 42 25
37 Kansas 44.41 28 18 12 27 47
38 Montana 44.07 31 12 27 41 33
39 Tennessee 43.70 47 38 33 8 36
40 South Dakota 43.33 27 11 25 49 39
41 South Carolina 41.46 44 39 46 19 38
42 Georgia 40.91 25 50 44 28 35
43 Alabama 40.22 32 35 36 33 46
44 Missouri 40.12 37 29 38 29 41
45 Oklahoma 37.45 35 47 32 46 45
46 Texas 36.61 40 36 30 37 48
47 Arkansas 36.14 49 42 41 35 32
48 Florida 34.63 41 44 47 44 42
49 Louisiana 32.53 43 49 34 36 49
50 Mississippi 32.00 17 48 50 48 50

 

 

 

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