California Not Exactly Safest State in Nation

California Not Exactly Safest State in Nation, According to WalletHub

With nearly 10,000 Americans having died from gun violence this year and the U.S. experiencing 27 billion-dollar climate disasters in 2024, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on 2026’s Safest States in America,  Surprise: California is not among them.

To identify the most secure states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 52 key metrics, ranging from assaults per capita and the total loss from climate disasters per capita to the unemployment rate.

Safety in California (1=Safest; 25=Avg.)

Overall rank for California: 39th

• 23rd – Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
• 38th – Assaults per Capita
• 19th – Loss Amounts from Climate Disasters per Capita
• 22nd – Job Security
  9th – Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers
• 28th – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel
• 15th – Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
• 38th – Bullying Incidence Rate
• 22nd – Sex Offenders per Capita
• 16th – Share of Uninsured Population

“The safest states in America protect their residents from harm in a multitude of different ways, from keeping crime rates low and maintaining safe roadways to having strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations, Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst writes in the report. “They have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too. In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates.”

Vermont is the safest state, and nearly 76% of parents in Vermont believe they live in safe neighborhoods, the third-highest percentage in the country. In addition, Vermont has the 15th-fewest aggravated assaults, sixth-fewest murders and nonnegligent manslaughters, and 21st-fewest thefts per capita. Vermont excels when it comes to financial safety, with one of the lowest unemployment rates. In addition, Vermont has the second-fewest identity theft complaints per capita. To top things off, Vermont has safe roads, with the second-best road quality in the U.S., the fifth-fewest traffic fatalities per 100 million miles traveled and the 13th-fewest pedestrian fatalities per capita.”

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-states-to-live-in/4566