The rankings are based on a variety of factors: personal and residential safety; financial safety; road safety; workplace safety; and emergency preparedness, according to the report.
WalletHub analyzed 52 metrics across the five categories, assigning each a score and then determining each state’s weighted average to develop an overall score, which was used to assign the rankings.
“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,” Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.
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“They have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too,” Lupo continued. “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.”
Vermont, with a total score of 67.94, topped all 50 states.
According to the report, the state excels in neighborhood safety, as nearly 77 percent of parents there believe they live in safe neighborhoods — “the second-highest percentage in the country.”
“In addition, the state has the seventh-most neighborhood watch groups per capita, which can help alert law enforcement of crimes or suspicious activity,” the report states. “Vermont has the 13th-fewest aggravated assaults, seventh-fewest murders and nonnegligent manslaughters, and 25th-fewest thefts per capita, too.”
The state also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and the “lowest share of seriously underwater mortgages and the second-fewest non-business bankruptcies per capita,” according to the analysis.
“Vermont residents also are largely safe from having their data stolen, as the state has the second-fewest identity theft complaints per capita,” the report states.
New Hampshire ranked second, in part, because it has “very little violence,” according to WalletHub.
“For example, New Hampshire had the fewest mass shootings between June 2022 and June 2024,” the study says. “The state also has the second-fewest murders and nonnegligent manslaughters per capita, and the fewest aggravated assaults per capita. On top of that, the state is also very safe from nonviolent crime, with the second-fewest thefts per capita.”
Meanwhile, Maine, which ranked third, “really shines when it comes to financial safety,” the report states.
“Its unemployment rate is just 2.7 percent, one of the lowest in the country,” the report states. “Workers also benefit from the fourth-best job security rate in the country and the third-best annual growth rate for new jobs.”
The report also touted a few specific areas where New England shines, compared with the rest of the country: Rhode Island, for example, had the fewest fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, followed by Massachusetts.
New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, in that order, had the fewest assaults per capita, and Massachusetts had the lowest share of people who are uninsured, according to the analysis.
Rhode Island also ranked as having the fewest fatal occupational injuries per the total number of workers, followed by Connecticut and Massachusetts, the study says.
The annual rankings arrived after WalletHub released its latest “Safest Cities in America” report earlier this month.
Several New England communities ranked among the top five in that roundup: South Burlington, Vt. ranked No. 1; Warwick, R.I. ranked No. 3; and Burlington, Vt. ranked No. 4.
Here are the top 10 “Safest States” ranked:
VermontNew HampshireMaineMassachusettsUtahHawaiiConnecticutMinnesotaRhode IslandWyoming
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
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Publish date : 2024-10-21 03:15:00
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