Safest Cities in America

People encounter hazards every day, some serious, others rare and innocuous. We fear certain kinds more than others, though, and COVID-19 is one of the biggest concerns in 2021. A recent Gallup poll found that 49% of Americans are “very” or “somewhat” worried about getting coronavirus, though that number has been as high as 59% in recent months. While COVID-19 has dominated the news this year, Americans still have other dangers to worry about, from mass shootings to riots to traffic accidents.

People can feel unsafe in other ways, too. Aside from the types of hazards that can cause bodily injury or other physical harm, taking out an unaffordable second mortgage, forgoing health insurance or even visiting unsecured websites are also ways people run into danger. One of the biggest worries for many people is the availability of affordable healthcare. In fact, half of all U.S. adults are worried a major health event could lead to bankruptcy.

No one can avoid all danger, however, and we take on a certain level of risk based on where we choose to live. Some cities are simply better at protecting their residents from harm. To determine where Americans can feel most secure — in more than one sense — WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 42 key indicators of safety. Our data set ranges from COVID-19 cases in the past seven days per 100,000 residents and assaults per capita to the unemployment rate and road quality.

Main Findings

Safest Cities in the U.S.

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Ask the Experts

For the best ways to improve safety, we asked a panel of experts to weigh in with their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What steps should local authorities take to help reduce the public costs associated with cleanups after major natural disasters? Should flood or other types of insurance be mandatory?
2. What measures can police departments take to increase public trust? How important is it to have a police force that is representative of the local community?
3. What can local authorities do to ensure a safe reopening of businesses and prevent new surges in coronavirus cases?
4. What can consumers do to increase their financial literacy, considering sound financial decisions increase a person's financial safety?

Methodology

In order to determine the safest cities in which to live, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across three key dimensions: 1) Home & Community Safety, 2) Natural-Disaster Risk, and 3) Financial Safety.

We evaluated those dimensions using 42 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of safety.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the city proper in each case, excluding cities in the surrounding metro area.

Home & Community Safety - Total Points: 50

• Average COVID-19 Cases per Capita: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)
• Presence of Terrorist Attacks: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)
  Note: This binary metric considers the presence or absence of terrorist attack or terrorist-related incident in the city between 2010 and 2020.
• Number of Mass Shootings: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)
• Forcible Rapes per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Assaults per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Thefts per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Sex Offenders per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita: Half Weight (~1.14 Points)
• Active Firefighters per Capita: Half Weight (~1.14 Points)
• EMTs & Paramedics per Capita: Half weight (~1.14 Points)
  Note: “EMTs” refer to Emergency Medical Technicians.
• Hate Crimes per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Share of Sheltered Homeless: Half Weight (~1.14 Points)
• Perception of Safety (Safety walking alone during daylight/night): Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: These data are based on perceptions of visitors of Numbeo website in the past 3 years. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.
• Drug Poisoning Deaths per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Traffic Fatalities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Pedestrian Fatalities per Capita: Full Weight (~~2.27 Points)
  Note: “Pedestrians” also includes pedacyclists.
• Road Quality: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Natural-Disaster Risk - Total Points: 30

• Earthquake Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Flood Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Hail Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Hurricane Storm-Surge Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Tornado Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Wildfire Risk Level: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Financial Safety - Total Points: 20

• Unemployment Rate: Double Weight (~2.11 Points)
• Underemployment Rate: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Share of Uninsured Population: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Share of Uninsured Drivers: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Debt-to-Income Ratio: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Share of Owner Occupied Housing Units Spending at Least 35% of Their Household Income on Housing: : Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Poverty Rate: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: “Other” includes both financial and nonfinancial complaints.
• Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Share of Unbanked Households: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Job Security: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated as follows: (Total Workers in 2019 – Total Workers in 2018) / Total Workers in 2018.
• Employment Growth: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: This metric was adjusted for the working-age population growth and compares figures between 2019 and 2018.
• Share of Households with Emergency Savings: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of households that saved for unexpected expenses or emergencies in the past 12 months.
• Retirement Plan Access & Participation Rate: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: “Retirement Plan” includes only employer-based plans.
• Personal Bankruptcy Filings per Capita: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
• Share of Underwater Homes: Full Weight (~1.05 Points)
  Note: “Underwater” describes homes with negative equity.

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, TransUnion, Parents for Megan’s Law, U.S. Fire Administration, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Insurance Research Council, Wm. Robert Johnston, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chmura Economics & Analytics, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The Road Information Program, Renwood RealtyTrac, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Zillow, County Health Rankings, Numbeo, Gun Violence Archive, ATTOM Data Solutions and The New York Times.

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