With June being National Safety Month and 375,000 Americans having died from COVID-19 in 2020, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021's Safest States in America, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
In order to determine the most secure states, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 55 key metrics. The data set ranges from the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated to assaults per capita and the unemployment rate.
| Safest States in America | Least Safe States in America |
| 1. Vermont | 41. Tennessee |
| 2. Maine | 42. Missouri |
| 3. New Hampshire | 43. Florida |
| 4. Minnesota | 44. Alabama |
| 5. Utah | 45. Montana |
| 6. Connecticut | 46. Oklahoma |
| 7. Massachusetts | 47. Arkansas |
| 8. Rhode Island | 48. Texas |
| 9. Washington | 49. Mississippi |
| 10. Maryland | 50. Louisiana |
Key Stats
- New Hampshire has the fewest murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 residents, 0.88, which is 18 times fewer than in Louisiana, the most at 15.80.
- Massachusetts has the fewest thefts per 1,000 residents, 10.97, which is 2.7 times fewer than in Louisiana, the most at 29.65.
- New Jersey has the most law-enforcement employees per 100,000 residents, 580, which is 2.8 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 208.
- Delaware has the lowest share of high school students who were bullied online, 10.10 percent, which is two times lower than in New Hampshire, the highest at 20.10 percent.
To view the full report and your state rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
More from WalletHub
- Safest Cities in America
- Best & Worst States to Raise a Family
- Best & Worst States to Be a Police Officer
Expert Commentary
What tips do you have for consumers looking to improve their “financial” safety?
“Get out of credit card debt. If you can do that, then get out of other debt. If you can do that, start saving in a meaningful way. How to do the above? Spend less…That is it. No one step will get you more financial safety than getting out of credit card debt – paying off your credit cards in full each month, carrying no balances. The typical interest rates you pay to borrow on your cards exceed 15% per year.”
Roman L. Weil – Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
“For consumers looking to improve their financial safety, I would echo the sentiments of most financial advisors and fraud investigators. The most basic financial safety net is to develop and adhere to a realistic budget; to periodically evaluate and adjust said budget; to maintain 3 to 6 months of living expenses in savings account with a trusted financial institution; to live within your means; to be cautious with those involved in your financial decisions, and to actively monitor all of your financial accounts so that problems are identified as soon as possible.”
V. Lynn Tankersley – Associate Professor, Mercer University
There are many different potential threats to one’s safety: crime, weather, pollution, dangerous workplaces. In choosing a place to live, how should people weigh the risks?
“With all of the threats, one should take into consideration the actions (or lack of) taken by the government to prevent or intervene in the threats. There is only so much that a human can do to prevent ‘Acts of God’; however, there are actions that can reduce the negative impact of those acts. As far as ‘man-made’ threats, one should look at the policy responses by national, state, and local governments. In both cases, if the risks outweigh the benefits, one should look elsewhere for a place to reside.”
Morris Jenkins, J.D., Ph.D. – Department of Justice, Law and Public Safety, Lewis University
“Folks should assess the risks, rank them in order of importance and then assess their ability to mitigate each risk to form the base of their decisions. I recommend people use a chart or a spreadsheet and rank different factors on a scale. Allow a small percentage for ‘feel’ because humans are not completely rational when making decisions, but if we recognize that we can control the amount of influence it has.”
Douglas Babcock, M.B.A., C.E.M. – President, Cygnus Security Consulting, and Associate Director of Safety and Security – Dartmouth College
What actions can the Biden administration undertake to reduce crime and improve public safety?
“Getting better control of inflation and bringing food and housing prices back down to pre-pandemic levels is one of the most important actions the Biden administration can take to reduce crime and improve public safety because it will encourage households to save, thereby reducing vulnerabilities and increasing resilience to financial shocks.”
Jon A. Baumunk – Lecturer, San Diego State University
“I believe the real path toward a safe society is better socioeconomic and educational opportunities. While that answer does not address issues that occur today, it is the key to reducing or preventing crime in the future. Educated and economically stable people engage in crime at lower rates than people in failing schools, blighted neighborhoods, and nutrition deserts. Improving these conditions require far more engagement that just the current presidential administration both in term and breadth. We need a generational commitment at the federal, state, and local levels to increasing socioeconomic and educational conditions to generate substantive improvement.”
Douglas Babcock, M.B.A., C.E.M. – President, Cygnus Security Consulting, and Associate Director of Safety and Security – Dartmouth College
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