WalletHub named this New England state the safest in the US — again

The region dominated the personal finance site's top 10.

The Vermont State House in Montpelier. WalletHub has named Vermont the safest state in the United States for the second year in a row. Ted Shaffrey/Associated Press/File

By Sury Chakraborty

October 22, 2024

3 minutes to read

Vermont is the safest state in the country, according to rankings WalletHub published Monday.

New England dominated the list, with all six states making it into the top 10:

1. Vermont
2. New Hampshire
3. Maine
4. Massachusetts
5. Utah
6. Hawaii
7. Connecticut
8. Minnesota
9. Rhode Island
10. Wyoming

The personal finance website analyzed the 50 states across five key dimensions: personal and residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness.

Vermont

The Green Mountain State led the pack, thanks to parents and its community commitment to crime-stopping.

“Nearly 77% of parents in Vermont believe they live in safe neighborhoods, the second-highest percentage in the country,” the report reads. “In addition, the state has the seventh-most neighborhood watch groups per capita.”

Here’s how Vermont fared in all of the categories:

Personal and residential safety: 6
Financial safety: 1
Road safety: 4
Workplace safety: 2
Emergency Preparedness: 9

➡️ 2023 rank No. 1 (No change in ranking)

New Hampshire

The Granite State landed at No. 2 “in large part because it has very little violence,” the report reads. “New Hampshire had the fewest mass shootings between June 2022 and June 2024. The state also has the second-fewest murders and nonnegligent manslaughters per capita and the fewest aggravated assaults per capita. On top of that, the state is also very safe from nonviolent crime, with the second-fewest thefts per capita.”

New Hampshire also has the most neighborhood watch groups per capita, according to the report, and great financial security: “The state has a 2.9% unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the country, along with the lowest poverty rate. This has helped residents largely stay current on their bills and has helped them achieve the second-best average credit score in the country, at 748. That’s well into the excellent credit range!”

Here’s how New Hampshire ranked in all of the categories:

Personal and residential safety: 1
Financial safety: 2
Road safety: 8
Workplace safety: 42
Emergency Preparedness: 3

⬆️ 2023 rank No. 3 (Moved up one spot)

Maine

The Pine Tree State stood out for financial safety, with the fourth-best job security rate in the nation and third-best annual growth rate for jobs. “Maine has the second-smallest percentage of people without a bank account and the third-fewest non-business bankruptcy filings per capita, as well,” the report reads. “On top of all these factors that demonstrate financial stability, Maine adds an additional layer of safety by having the 10th-fewest identity theft complaints per capita.”

Here’s how New Hampshire ranked in all of the categories:

Personal and residential safety: 4
Financial safety: 3
Road safety: 15
Workplace safety: 22
Emergency Preparedness: 2

⬇️ 2023 rank No. 2 (Moved down one spot)

Connecticut

Here’s how the Nutmeg State ranked in all of the categories:

Personal and residential safety: 2
Financial safety: 26
Road safety: 20
Workplace safety: 28
Emergency Preparedness: 16

⬇️ 2023 rank No. 6 (Moved down one spot)

Rhode Island

adobe-stock-providence-skyline — The Providence skyline at dusk. *– Adobe Stock*

Here’s how the Ocean State ranked in all of the categories:

Personal and residential safety: 19
Financial safety: 13
Road safety: 11
Workplace safety: 38
Emergency Preparedness: 8

➡️2023 rank No. 9 (No change in ranking)

Other takeaways

Rhode Island ranked No. 1 for the fewest fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel. Massachusetts was No. 2. The worst state under this metric? South Carolina.

New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (in that order) snagged the top three spots for having the fewest assaults per capita. New Mexico, Alaska, Arkansas, and Tennessee tied for last.

Rhode Island ranked third and Massachusetts took the No. 5 spot for having low incidence rates of bullying. New Hampshire came in at No. 45.

New Hampshire, South Dakota, North Dakota, Hawaii, and Vermont tied for first for having the lowest unemployment rates. Nevada ranked last.

Massachusetts ranked first, Vermont landed at No. 3, and Rhode Island came in fourth for having the lowest share of the population that is uninsured. Texas ranked last.

For the percentage of adults with a rainy-day fund, Hawaii and Delaware led the pack, followed by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. West Virginia ranked last.

For total loss amount from climate disasters per capita, Nevada ranked first for losing the least. Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Louisiana tied for the last spot.

For fatal occupational injuries per total workers, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts took the top three spots. Wyoming and North Dakota tied for last.

Here are WalletHub’s rankings for all 50 states:

Source: WalletHub

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score	Personal & Residential Safety Rank	Financial Safety Rank	Road Safety Rank	Workplace Safety Rank	Emergency Preparedness Rank
1	Vermont	67.94	6	1	4	2	9
2	New Hampshire	65.58	1	2	8	42	3
3	Maine	64.19	4	3	15	22	2
4	Massachusetts	63.59	3	4	3	24	10
5	Utah	62.67	27	14	7	1	4
6	Hawaii	60.11	11	6	27	15	11
7	Connecticut	59.51	2	26	20	28	16
8	Minnesota	59.04	22	9	2	6	23
9	Rhode Island	57.45	19	13	11	38	8
10	Wyoming	55.87	15	15	21	21	21
11	Idaho	55.6	17	24	5	47	13
12	Indiana	55.53	12	43	13	8	29
13	Iowa	55.48	5	25	1	5	46
14	Arizona	54.29	34	21	48	7	6
15	Virginia	54.19	30	11	24	3	31
16	Maryland	53.87	29	20	19	17	22
17	New Jersey	53.28	8	41	14	29	24
18	Washington	53.25	43	19	30	11	7
19	Wisconsin	52.95	25	8	16	33	20
20	Delaware	52.84	7	28	40	41	12
21	Kentucky	52.72	10	35	32	16	30
22	Oregon	51.65	46	18	28	9	15
23	North Carolina	51.5	14	29	31	4	40
24	New York	51.27	20	33	6	30	26
25	Alaska	51.21	49	23	36	13	1
26	Michigan	50.79	38	40	35	10	17
27	North Dakota	50.43	9	10	10	50	35
28	Pennsylvania	50.03	23	22	25	26	27
29	South Dakota	49.19	13	5	18	48	39
30	West Virginia	49.07	24	39	22	45	19
31	Illinois	48.31	21	46	23	23	38
32	Ohio	48.04	31	30	17	31	25
33	New Mexico	47.98	41	37	49	14	14
34	Nebraska	47.55	18	12	9	39	42
35	Kansas	45.79	28	17	12	34	45
36	Nevada	45.22	50	50	42	19	5
37	California	45.06	48	45	47	20	18
38	Montana	44.37	37	7	29	36	32
39	Missouri	43.84	26	27	43	27	41
40	Tennessee	43.46	47	31	37	12	37
41	South Carolina	43.32	42	32	46	18	33
42	Georgia	42.92	33	48	39	25	36
43	Colorado	42	44	16	34	43	28
44	Alabama	41.85	32	42	26	37	43
45	Oklahoma	39.92	36	34	38	35	44
46	Florida	37.66	35	44	41	43	47
47	Arkansas	36.85	45	36	45	46	34
48	Texas	36.41	39	38	44	32	48
49	Mississippi	35.13	16	47	50	49	50
50	Louisiana	33.27	40	49	33	40	49

Source: WalletHub

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WalletHub named this New England state the safest in the US — again