The Safest States to Live in (And the Most Dangerous)

We all want to have live in and raise our family in a safe and nurturing environment, but where are these to be found? Recently CQ- Press released their annual survey of the safest and most dangerous states. There were some surprises on the list, in both categories. City-Data.com also released their safest cities in the US and it is interesting to match up the city listings with the state listings. For instance, Massachusetts had the most cities in the safest top 20 with 8, but did not rank in the top ten safest states. New York posted 6 of the top 20 safest cities but it too missed the top ten in safest states. Pennsylvania was the only other state with multiple safe cities (2) and they too missed the top ten.

For the most part the safest states where grouped in the Northeast and the Midwest. In overall crime rates based on per capita information, the safest states in which to live are;

1. New Hampshire

2. Maine

3. North Dakota

4. Vermont

5. South Dakota

6. Wyoming

7. Montana

8.Iowa

9. Idaho

10. Wisconsin

11.Connecticut

12. Rhode Island

13. Utah

14. West Virginia

15. Virginia

The most dangerous states to live in based on crime per capita are;

1. Nevada

2. Louisiana

3. New Mexico

4. South Carolina

5. Arizona

6. Tennessee

7. Maryland

8. Alaska

9. Florida

10. Michigan

Ready for a few surprises? The state in which you are most likely to be murdered is Louisiana. Most likely to be assaulted? That would be South Carolina. Raped? Would you have ever guessed Alaska? The number one state for car theft and Robbery, is Nevada.

The lowest murder rate in the country belongs to New Hampshire, while the lowest burglary rate can be found in Montana. You are least likely to have your car stolen in South Dakota. By the way, New Hampshire also has the second lowest rates for assaults and burglaries among the 50 states.

Looking for a nice place to settle down or retire? You may want to avoid Nevada and Louisiana and check out the northeast. It seems New Hampshire and Maine have some very nice things to offer, including some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere in the world.

Sources:

CQ- Press's annual survey of the safest and most dangerous states. (http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime2008/citycrime2008.htm)

City-Data.com's safest cities in the US
(http://www.city-data.com/)