WalletHub is back with another study – this time, it is 2024’s Safest Cities in America that highlights where people are at the lowest risk of physical and financial harm.
South Burlington, Vermont, topped the list as the safest city of the year, an honor attributed in large part to its safe roads – it has one of the lowest pedestrian fatality rates, along with the 13th-lowest percentage of uninsured motorists and the ninth highest number of EMTs and paramedics per capita. South Burlington was also cited for the lowest unemployment rate in the country (1.9%), the second-lowest share of seriously underwater mortgages, and the third-fewest non-business bankruptcy filings per capita over the past year. Plus, the city’s safety from natural disasters including floods and tornadoes weighed in its favor.
Rounding out the top five safest cities were Casper, Wyoming; Warwick, Rhode Island; Burlington, Vermont; and Boise, Idaho. At the other end of the spectrum, the least safest cities were Memphis; Detroit; Fort Lauderdale; Baton Rouge; and New Orleans.
One of the most striking data findings in the report was Washington, D.C., having the most law-enforcement employees (per 100,000 residents), which is 5.3 times more than in Irvine, California, the city with the fewest.
“When people think about safety in a city, their minds probably immediately go to things like the crime rate, auto fatality rate or risk of natural disasters,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst. “The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people’s financial safety. Financial safety includes things like minimizing the risk of fraud and identity theft, keeping the population employed and insured, and combating homelessness.”
Photo courtesy Cinema Crazed
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