States Ranked by Safety 2025

Key Points (2025)

• Overall safety leaders: WalletHub’s 2025 comprehensive safety ranking places Vermont first, followed by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Utah, measuring across personal and residential safety, financial security, road conditions, workplace protections, and natural disaster risk.
• Lowest violent crime: Maine leads with just 102.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, followed by New Hampshire at 126, and Vermont at 173.4, making the Northeast region notably safer than national averages.
• Least safe states: Louisiana ranks as the most unsafe state with a 36.20 total safety score and leads the nation in murder rate at 14.4 per 100,000 residents, followed by Mississippi and Texas at the bottom of comprehensive safety rankings.
• Performance context: The safest states consistently combine low violent crime rates with strong financial security through low unemployment, minimal natural disaster exposure, excellent healthcare access, and robust community policing that creates environments where residents feel genuinely secure.

Safest States Overall (Comprehensive Rankings)

WalletHub evaluates state safety across 52 metrics in five key dimensions including personal and residential safety, financial security, road safety, workplace protections, and emergency preparedness. This comprehensive approach reveals which states offer the most secure living environments across multiple aspects of daily life. Here are the top 10 safest states in 2025 and what makes them stand out.

Sources: WalletHub “Safest States in America 2025”; World Population Review “Safest States in the US 2025”; The Well News safety data analysis.

States With Lowest Violent Crime Rates

Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, representing the most serious threats to personal safety that directly impact how secure people feel in their daily lives. States with low violent crime rates consistently perform better across broader safety metrics because these crimes create the most fear and harm to communities.

Sources: Get Safe and Sound “What State Has the Highest Crime Rate” 2025; World Population Review “Crime Rate by State 2025”; FBI Crime in the United States data.

The national violent crime rate stands at 359.1 per 100,000 residents, meaning Maine’s rate of 102.5 comes in at less than one-third of the national average. The Northeastern region shows the lowest regional violence at 292.4 per 100,000 residents, substantially better than the Western states’ rate of 413.5 per 100,000, which makes regional location a significant factor in overall safety.

Least Safe States (High Crime & Risk)

At the opposite end of the safety spectrum, several states face significant challenges across multiple safety dimensions including violent crime, property crime, financial insecurity, and natural disaster exposure. Understanding these patterns helps explain why safety varies so dramatically across the country.

Sources: WalletHub “Safest States in America 2025”; Newsweek analysis; Axios FBI data review; The Global Statistics Louisiana crime data 2025.

Regional Crime Patterns Across America

Crime and safety vary dramatically by region, with distinct geographic patterns that help explain why some areas of the country consistently perform better than others when it comes to keeping residents secure.

The Northeastern states lead the nation in safety with the lowest regional violent crime rate at 292.4 per 100,000 residents, well below the national average of 359.1. This region benefits from stronger social safety nets, better healthcare access, higher education levels, and generally more stable economic conditions. States like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island all rank in the top tier nationally, creating a regional safety advantage that extends across multiple metrics from violent crime to financial security.

The Southern states face more significant challenges, leading the nation in homicide rates with Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee accounting for disproportionately high murder rates. An Axios review of FBI data found that southern states including Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina ranked among national leaders in both violent crime and homicide rates, all showing rates well above the national average. Economic challenges, historical patterns, and in some cases limited resources for social services and mental health support contribute to these elevated rates.

Western states report the highest regional violent crime rate at 413.5 per 100,000 residents, driven largely by New Mexico, Alaska, and Colorado. Alaska’s extreme geographic isolation creates unique law enforcement challenges where response times can span hours and some communities have limited or no permanent police presence. New Mexico follows with a violent crime rate of 757.7 per 100,000, more than double the national average. However, the West shows significant variation, with states like Idaho and Utah maintaining much lower rates that approach Northeastern levels.

Midwest states generally fall in the middle range, showing crime rates closer to national averages with some variation. States like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota perform well, while others struggle more with urban crime in major metros like Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. Rural Midwest areas typically show lower crime rates, though violence in small towns receives less attention despite driving some elevated state-level statistics.

An important finding from recent analysis reveals that rural areas in states like Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Arkansas face higher per-capita crime rates than commonly assumed, challenging the perception that only big cities struggle with violence. Geographic isolation, limited resources, and economic challenges in rural communities contribute to crime patterns that often go overlooked in political discourse that focuses primarily on urban areas.

What Safe States Share (Common Patterns)

Across different safety metrics and rankings, the same patterns emerge among states that consistently rank as safest. Understanding these common factors helps explain why some states maintain secure environments while others struggle with persistent safety challenges.

Strong community policing and engagement appears in virtually every top-ranked state. Vermont shows the seventh-most neighborhood watch groups per capita, while New Hampshire residents report the most neighborhood watch participation nationwide. Maine benefits from small-town policing where officers know community members personally, creating trust and enabling prevention rather than just response. This community engagement creates eyes on the street and social cohesion that naturally deters crime.

Low unemployment and economic stability prove critical for safety beyond just crime statistics. Vermont shows the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent, New Hampshire follows at 2.6 percent, and Massachusetts ranks third-best for job security. When people have stable employment and economic opportunity, financial desperation that can drive property crime and other offenses decreases substantially. States with strong economies also generate tax revenue that funds effective police, social services, and mental health support.

Quality healthcare access connects directly to safety through mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and crisis intervention. Massachusetts offers the best healthcare among top safety states, while New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine all show strong healthcare infrastructure relative to their populations. States that invest in mental health services and addiction treatment reduce the desperation and instability that often precede violent incidents.

Education levels and opportunity correlate strongly with safety, as states with better education systems typically show lower crime rates. The Northeast dominates both education rankings and safety rankings, suggesting that investment in schools, early childhood programs, and pathways to higher education pays dividends in community security over time.

Limited natural disaster exposure impacts overall safety scores in ways many people don’t immediately consider. New Hampshire averages just 0.5 natural disasters per year, Vermont and Maine show similarly low exposure, and the absence of hurricanes, earthquakes, or major tornado activity contributes to overall stability. States facing frequent natural disasters deal with disrupted communities, displaced residents, and stretched emergency resources that can indirectly impact crime and security.

Geographic and demographic factors also matter, though not deterministically. Lower population density in states like Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Wyoming reduces some crime types simply through fewer opportunities and less anonymity. Smaller towns where people know their neighbors create informal social control that supplements formal law enforcement. However, density alone doesn’t determine safety since Massachusetts ranks second overall despite being more populous than other top states.

Property Crime: A Different Safety Picture

While violent crime garners the most attention and creates the greatest fear, property crime including burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft occurs far more frequently and impacts many more residents. Property crime decreased eight percent nationally year-over-year, with motor vehicle theft showing the most significant drop. However, some cities and states still struggle with elevated property crime that affects residents’ sense of security even when violent crime remains low.

Seattle ranks worst in the nation for burglary, continuing a troubling trend that has persisted despite efforts to address property crime. Seattle‘s overall property crime rate of 5,007.6 per 100,000 residents runs 184.5 percent higher than the national average. The city ranked fourth most crime-ridden among the 30 largest U.S. cities in 2024 with a total crime rate of 5,782.7 incidents per 100,000 residents. However, Washington state did see property crime decrease by over 13 percent in 2024, suggesting improvement may be underway.

Oakland topped multiple property and violent crime categories, leading all medium-sized cities in aggravated assault, robbery, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. St. Louis continued to appear near the top of nearly every crime list, underscoring its long-standing struggles with both violent and property crime. Cleveland showed the highest burglary rate among medium-sized cities in addition to staggering violent crime rates that create compounding safety concerns.

New Hampshire stands out for the lowest burglary rate in the entire country, demonstrating that property crime prevention works when communities invest in prevention, lighting, security systems, and neighborhood watch programs that make burglary less attractive and more risky for perpetrators.

Financial Safety: Beyond Crime Statistics

Comprehensive safety rankings include financial security as a critical component because economic instability creates stress, limits options, and can force families into unsafe situations even in areas with low crime. States that perform well on financial safety metrics give residents economic buffers that translate into genuine security.

Vermont leads with the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent and shows high job growth rates that create opportunity across income levels. The state also demonstrates the second-fewest identity theft complaints per capita, protecting residents from financial crimes that can devastate household stability. New Hampshire achieves the lowest unemployment rate nationwide at 2.6 percent combined with the lowest poverty rate, giving residents the economic foundation to maintain secure housing and avoid desperation.

Massachusetts ranks second for financial safety with the third-best job security rate and the fourth-best annual growth rate for new jobs. Strong employment options in healthcare, education, technology, and professional services provide diverse pathways to economic security. Connecticut and Rhode Island show similar patterns where robust economies create the financial stability that underlies overall safety.

States with weak financial safety often struggle with broader safety challenges as economic desperation drives some property crime and creates household instability. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas show both elevated crime rates and weaker economic indicators, illustrating how these factors reinforce each other in ways that make improvement difficult without addressing root causes.

Road Safety: Traffic Deaths & Infrastructure

Road safety represents another dimension of security that affects everyone who drives or walks near traffic. Massachusetts ranks first nationally for road safety, while Vermont shows the second-safest roads with the 11th-fewest traffic deaths and the sixth-fewest pedestrian deaths per capita. These achievements reflect both driver behavior and infrastructure investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, and road maintenance.

States with harsh winter weather face additional road safety challenges from ice, snow, and reduced visibility that contribute to accidents despite generally responsible driving cultures. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other northern states show elevated winter accident rates that impact their overall road safety scores. Southern states with less winter weather but higher speeds on rural roads face different challenges, with higher fatality rates when crashes do occur.

Urban areas typically show more traffic incidents simply due to volume, but severity often runs lower with slower speeds reducing fatalities. Rural areas may have fewer total crashes but higher fatality rates when accidents happen at highway speeds far from trauma centers. This urban-rural divide affects state-level road safety scores in ways that don’t always reflect driver behavior alone.

Methodology & Definitions for Safety Rankings

Different safety rankings answer fundamentally different questions about what it means to be “safe” in a particular place. Crime-focused rankings measure violent and property crime rates but ignore financial security, natural disasters, workplace safety, and road conditions. Comprehensive rankings like WalletHub’s blend multiple dimensions to capture overall security, which is why states can rank differently depending on which methodology you examine. When comparing states for safety, understanding these distinctions helps you focus on the metrics that matter most for your specific concerns and family situation:

• Violent crime rate: includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault expressed per 100,000 residents. The national average stands at 359.1 per 100,000, with rates below 200 indicating very safe states and rates above 600 signaling serious safety concerns.
• Property crime rate: includes burglary, theft, larceny, and motor vehicle theft per 100,000 residents. Property crime occurs far more frequently than violent crime and significantly impacts residents’ sense of security even when physical safety isn’t directly threatened.
• Financial safety: measures unemployment rate, poverty rate, job security, identity theft complaints, and economic stability. States scoring well here give residents economic buffers that translate into genuine security by avoiding desperation and instability.
• Road safety: captures traffic fatalities, pedestrian deaths, infrastructure quality, and driver behavior. Massachusetts ranks first nationally while states with harsh winters or high-speed rural roads face more challenges.
• Natural disaster exposure: measures frequency and severity of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and floods. New Hampshire and Vermont average just 0.5 natural disasters per year, while Gulf Coast and tornado-prone states face recurring threats.
• Workplace safety: includes injury rates, OSHA violations, and worker protections. States with stronger labor laws and enforcement typically show better workplace safety outcomes.

A 90-Second Safety Comparison Recipe

1. Start by identifying 3 candidate states using both crime-focused rankings for violent and property crime rates, plus comprehensive safety rankings that include financial security, road safety, and natural disaster risk to get a complete picture.
2. Within each state, research 2 to 3 specific communities where you might actually live, since crime rates vary dramatically between different cities and counties even within the same state. State averages tell you regional patterns but not neighborhood reality.
3. Check local police department statistics for your target neighborhoods, looking at trends over the past three to five years rather than single-year snapshots. Improving trends matter more than absolute numbers since they suggest effective interventions and engaged communities.
4. Assess financial security factors by researching local unemployment rates, job market strength in your field, median incomes, and poverty rates. Economic stability creates the foundation for safety that crime statistics alone don’t capture.
5. Evaluate environmental factors including natural disaster exposure for your specific area, road conditions and traffic fatality rates, and air quality that affects daily health and security.

Regional Safety Snapshots

Safety patterns cluster geographically in ways that help explain regional differences and the factors that contribute to security or challenge it. Here’s how safety typically looks across different regions:

Urban vs. Rural Safety Patterns

Conventional wisdom suggests cities are dangerous while rural areas are safe, but recent analysis reveals a more complex picture that challenges these assumptions. Rural areas in states like Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Arkansas show higher per-capita violent crime rates than commonly assumed, with violence in small towns and isolated communities driving some of the nation’s highest state-level crime rates.

Alaska, the country’s most rural state, leads the nation with the highest violent crime rate of 1,194.3 per 100,000 residents, more than three times the national average. Geographic isolation creates unique challenges where law enforcement response can take hours, some communities lack permanent police presence, and informal dispute resolution sometimes escalates into violence. New Mexico follows similar patterns as the second most rural state with a violent crime rate of 757.7 per 100,000, more than double the national average.

However, not all rural areas struggle with crime. Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire show that rural states can achieve exceptional safety through strong community bonds, adequate law enforcement resources relative to population, and economic stability that reduces desperation. The difference often comes down to whether rural communities have been economically stable or struggling, with declining manufacturing towns and agricultural areas facing economic hardship showing elevated crime compared to stable rural areas.

Urban areas naturally concentrate more crime in total numbers due to population density, but per-capita rates tell a different story. Big states like California and New York rank high in total violent crime because of their large populations, but their per-capita rates run similar to Arkansas and Tennessee. Illinois, home to Chicago which gets labeled a “killing field” in political discourse, shows a homicide rate of 6 per 100,000 residents, ranking 20th nationally behind numerous states with smaller cities and more rural profiles.

The reality is that safety depends less on urban versus rural classification and more on economic conditions, law enforcement resources, community cohesion, and access to mental health and substance abuse treatment regardless of setting. Struggling communities face elevated crime whether they’re inner-city neighborhoods or isolated rural towns, while prosperous communities with strong institutions maintain safety in both urban and rural environments.

Mass Shootings & Exceptional Violence

Mass shootings represent a distinct category of violence that creates widespread fear disproportionate to their statistical frequency, though the trauma they inflict on communities extends far beyond immediate victims. Between June 2023 and June 2025, states showed dramatic variation in mass shooting incidents.

New Hampshire experienced the fewest mass shootings in this two-year period, contributing to its strong overall safety ranking. Massachusetts ranked eighth-fewest for mass shootings despite being more populous than many states, suggesting that gun laws, mental health services, and community intervention can reduce these events even in dense areas. Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island similarly showed very low mass shooting rates relative to population.

States with higher mass shooting rates face compounding challenges because these events traumatize entire communities, strain law enforcement resources, and create lasting fear that impacts how residents perceive safety even when other crime metrics might be moderate. The presence or absence of extreme violence events shapes community psychology and behavior in ways that crime statistics alone don’t fully capture.

Data Glossary

• Violent crime rate: includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault expressed per 100,000 residents. Rates below 200 per 100,000 indicate very safe states, 200 to 400 represents moderate safety, and rates above 600 signal serious concerns.
• Property crime rate: includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson per 100,000 residents. Property crime occurs much more frequently than violent crime and significantly impacts how safe residents feel.
• Homicide rate: murders and nonnegligent manslaughters per 100,000 residents. The national average is approximately 5 per 100,000, with rates above 10 indicating serious violence issues.
• Safety score: composite measure across personal and residential safety, financial security, road safety, workplace safety, and natural disaster exposure. Scores above 60 indicate strong overall safety, while scores below 40 suggest multiple safety challenges.
• Regional crime rate: violent crime rate averaged across all states in a geographic region. The Northeast shows 292.4 per 100,000, the West shows 413.5 per 100,000, with South and Midwest falling between these extremes.
• Neighborhood watch participation: percentage of communities with active neighborhood watch programs that provide informal surveillance and social cohesion that deters crime.

Planning Checklist for Safety Research

Why Safety Rankings Differ Between Sources

Different safety rankings produce varying results because they measure fundamentally different aspects of what it means to be secure. Crime-focused rankings like those from Get Safe and Sound or FBI data emphasize violent and property crime rates, which captures the most immediate physical threats but ignores financial security, natural disasters, workplace safety, and road conditions that also affect how safe residents actually feel.

Comprehensive rankings like WalletHub’s blend 52 metrics across five dimensions including personal and residential safety, financial security, road safety, workplace protections, and emergency preparedness. This broader view explains why Vermont ranks first in WalletHub’s comprehensive ranking with a 67.22 score, while Maine technically shows the lowest violent crime rate at 102.5 per 100,000. Vermont’s combination of low crime, exceptional financial security with 2.3 percent unemployment, safe roads, and minimal natural disaster exposure creates overall security that exceeds states with slightly lower crime but weaker economic conditions.

U.S. News ranks New Hampshire first for public safety, Maine second, and Idaho third, focusing more heavily on crime statistics but also incorporating healthcare access and resident perceptions of safety. This methodology produces somewhat different results than WalletHub’s broader approach, though the top states remain concentrated in the Northeast with some Mountain West representation.

DataPandas uses a safety index where Massachusetts scores 80.4, New Jersey 79.4, and New Hampshire 78.8, creating yet another ordering based on their particular weighting of safety factors. Massachusetts rises to the top in this methodology due to exceptional road safety, financial security, and healthcare access that compensate for slightly higher violent crime than Maine or New Hampshire.

The variance between rankings highlights that you should choose the methodology matching your priorities. If violent crime is your primary concern, focus on crime-specific rankings. If overall security including economic stability and disaster resilience matters equally, comprehensive rankings provide better guidance. If you’re concerned about specific crime types like property crime or specific factors like road safety, dig into those individual metrics rather than relying solely on overall scores.

Planning a Move to a Safer State?

If relocating to a safer environment is part of your family’s future plans, it makes sense to pair your safety research with practical moving logistics. Our long-distance moving guide explains how delivery windows, valuation coverage, and interstate regulations work when you’re moving across state lines. Our packing services overview shows how partial packing options help keep your week manageable while you transition to your new, safer community.

How to Use Safety Rankings Without Missing the Details

The smartest approach starts with using statewide safety rankings as an initial filter to narrow your options to regions and states that generally perform well, then drilling down into the specific communities where you would actually consider living. A state’s average crime rate matters far less than the actual crime patterns in the neighborhoods, school districts, and commuting areas you’ll experience daily. Access crime maps and statistics from local police departments for your target neighborhoods, looking at three-year trends rather than just last year’s snapshot to understand whether conditions are improving, stable, or deteriorating. Talk to residents in online community forums and during visits to get perspectives on safety that statistics alone cannot capture, including whether people feel comfortable walking at night, whether package theft is a concern, and how responsive local police are to calls. Consider your specific situation including whether you have children, what hours you’ll be commuting, and whether you’ll be in urban, suburban, or rural settings since safety profiles vary dramatically within the same state. Finally, balance safety with other priorities like employment, education, affordability, and quality of life since the safest state may not be the best overall fit for your family’s complete set of needs and values.

If you are interested, we also prepared articles for States Ranked by Healthcare in 2025, States Ranked by Quality of Life in 2025, and States Ranked by Housing Affordability 2025

FAQ

What is the safest state in America in 2025?

Vermont ranks first in WalletHub’s comprehensive safety ranking with a 67.22 score, while Maine shows the lowest violent crime rate at just 102.5 per 100,000 residents. Both states excel across multiple safety dimensions including low crime, strong financial security, and minimal natural disaster exposure.

Which state has the lowest violent crime rate?

Maine leads with just 102.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, followed by New Hampshire at 126 per 100,000, and Vermont at 173.4 per 100,000. All three states show rates well below the national average of 359.1 per 100,000.

What are the least safe states in 2025?

Louisiana ranks as the most unsafe state with a 36.20 safety score and the nation’s highest murder rate at 14.4 per 100,000 residents. Mississippi follows at 36.77, and Texas ranks third least safe at 38.14. When looking at violent crime rates alone, Alaska shows the highest at 1,194.3 per 100,000 residents.

Why does the Northeast have the lowest crime rates?

The Northeastern region shows the lowest regional violent crime rate at 292.4 per 100,000 residents due to strong social safety nets, excellent healthcare access including mental health services, higher education levels, stable economic conditions with low unemployment, and strong community policing traditions. Six of the top ten safest states are concentrated in this small region.

Are rural areas actually safer than cities?

Not always. While some rural areas show very low crime rates, states like Alaska with a 1,194.3 rate and New Mexico with 757.7 per 100,000 demonstrate that rural isolation can create safety challenges including limited law enforcement response, economic hardship, and informal conflict resolution that sometimes escalates. Safety depends more on economic conditions and community resources than urban versus rural classification alone.

Which states have the highest murder rates?

Louisiana shows the highest murder rate at 14.4 per 100,000 residents, followed by Alaska and New Mexico both at 11.3 per 100,000, then Pennsylvania at 10.1, Alabama, and Tennessee. The national average sits at approximately 5 per 100,000, making these rates more than double the norm.

Do comprehensive safety rankings include factors beyond crime?

Yes. WalletHub’s comprehensive methodology includes 52 metrics across five dimensions covering personal and residential safety including crime rates, financial security measured by unemployment and poverty, road safety including traffic fatalities, workplace safety with OSHA data, and natural disaster exposure. This explains why rankings vary between crime-focused and comprehensive approaches.

References

1. WalletHub Safest States in America 2025.
2. U.S. News Rankings: Public Safety States With the Lowest Crime Rates.
3. World Population Review Safest States in the US 2025.
4. World Population Review Crime Rate by State 2025.
5. Get Safe and Sound What State Has the Highest Crime Rate Key Statistics for 2025.
6. Axios Rural South, West states have highest violent crime rates FBI Data.
7. Newsweek Map reveals most dangerous states in the US.