Location is a key factor to consider when buying a home. Most people take into account nearby schools, restaurants, transportation options, and importantly, the safety in their prospective city. Let's face it, no one wants to live in a neighborhood with high crime rates. For this reason, whether or not an area is safe is typically a deal breaker for most home buyers.
Therefore, knowing which cities across the U.S. are the safest to live in can help you feel secure in your future home. Going abroad? Take a look at the 10 safest countries to visit.
How the safest cities were determined
WalletHub compared 182 cities in the U.S. (including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state) across 41 safety factors to determine which cities are the safest. These 41 safety indicators were divided into three key categories:
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- Home and community safety: Presence of terrorist attacks, thefts per capita, murders per capita, traffic fatalities per capita, etc.
- Natural-disaster risk: Earthquake risk, flood risk, tornado risk, etc.
- Financial safety: Unemployment rate, share of uninsured drivers, poverty rate, job security, etc.
"Our country faces many threats and hazards every year," Laurie J. Holien, Homeland Security and Emergency, Management Program Director at Idaho State University told WalletHub. "The top natural hazards are usually related to extreme weather. Other public safety threats that threaten American lives and property include targeted acts of violence, wildfires, and cyber-related crimes."
You can view the full list of factors on WalletHub.com. Each factor was graded on a 100-point scale (100 representing the highest level of safety) and evaluated based on its corresponding weight. To reach an overall safety score, WalletHub determined each city's weighted average across all metrics.
These 5 cities were found to be the safest in the U.S.
1. Nashua, NH
- Overall score: 86.00
- Home and community safety: #8
- Natural disaster risk: #27
- Financial safety: #8
2. Columbia, MD
- Overall score: 85.97
- Home and community safety: #1
- Natural disaster risk: #63
- Financial safety: #85
3. South Burlington, VT
- Overall score: 85.18
- Home and community safety: #21
- Natural disaster risk: #36
- Financial safety: #1
4. Gilbert, AZ
- Overall score: 84.24
- Home and community safety: #10
- Natural disaster risk: #14
- Financial safety: #56
5. Warwick, RI
- Overall score: 84.03
- Home and community safety: #9
- Natural disaster risk: #22
- Financial safety: #68
Taking a further look at the data, here are the cities that ranked safest in each specific category. Columbia, MD ranked safest in home and community safety, Dover, DE was the safest based on natural disaster risk and South Burlington, VT ranked first in financial safety.
Least safe cities in the U.S.
The following five cities were found to be the least safe.
- Detroit, MI: Tied for most assaults per capita/ Highest unemployment rate
- Baton Rouge, LA: Tied for second most traffic fatalities per capita
- San Bernardino, CA: Second lowest overall score in home and community safety
- Fort Lauderdale, FL: Tied for second most traffic fatalities per capita/ Tied for second lowest % of households with emergency savings
- St. Louis, MO: Tied for most assaults per capita
Even in the safest locations you need to make sure you have cover for all eventualities. After all, even in a city with a low crime rate, a natural disaster (rather than a man-made one) might be the thing that upturns your domestic life. Use our home insurance tool — in partnership with Bankrate — to find the best deals available.
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