When assessing where to live, work, and build a future, safety often extends far beyond neighborhood crime statistics. A comprehensive report released on Monday by the personal finance website WalletHub evaluates all 50 US states to determine the safest and least safe places across the country. The evaluation examines 52 distinct indicators divided across five core categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness.
The analysis incorporates data from federal and public health agencies including the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Labor, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Metrics range from per capita emergency responders and traffic fatalities to unemployment rates, poverty levels, median credit scores, and vulnerability to climate disasters.
Evaluating the Safest States in America
Topping the list as the safest state in the US is Vermont, bolstered by a 2.7% unemployment rate—one of the lowest nationwide—which propelled the state to fourth place in financial safety. Vermont also recorded the second-fewest identity theft complaints per capita, alongside strong figures in road quality and traffic safety, ranking third overall in road safety.
Massachusetts captured the second-spot ranking by placing in the top 10 across nearly every evaluated category.
Rounding out the top tier, New Hampshire claimed the fourth position while holding the highest financial safety ranking of any state in the study. Connecticut secured the highest personal and residential safety score of any state in the nation. Utah claimed the top spot for road safety, while also placing third in emergency preparedness and fourth in workplace safety. Minnesota, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Hawaii filled out the remaining positions in the top 10, with Hawaii earning the second-highest financial safety score among all states.
Examining the Least Safe States and Policy Pushback
At the opposite end of the spectrum, WalletHub’s analysis ranked Mississippi as the least safe state in the US, citing low scores in financial, road, workplace, and emergency preparedness safety, alongside high rates of traffic fatalities relative to vehicle miles traveled. Other states ranking toward the bottom of the index included Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Alabama, and Georgia.
The methodology used by personal finance rankings often draws scrutiny from state officials. When reached by Business Insider, Eric Maruyama questioned the inclusion of metrics such as credit scores and household savings in an index focused on safety. “It’s unclear why this ranking of safest to least safe states takes into account things like credit scores, college savings, and household emergency funds, which are very different things than public safety and crime,” Maruyama said in an email.
Maruyama pointed to internal state metrics showing positive trajectories, noting that Colorado has seen violent crime drop by 10.7%, aggravated assaults decrease by 9%, property crime fall by 17.3%, and motor vehicle thefts drop by 36.8% between 2024 and 2025 following legislative investments in law enforcement and auto theft penalties.
State rankings will continue to serve as a benchmark for researchers and policymakers examining the interplay between economic well-being, public infrastructure, and community protection.
