With the U.S. experiencing over 400 mass shootings and nearly 25,000 motor vehicle deaths so far this year, WalletHub recently released its report on “2024’s Safest Cities in America,” highlighting where people are at the lowest risk of physical and financial harm.
WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 41 key metrics. The data set ranged from traffic fatalities per capita and assaults per capita to the unemployment rate and the percentage of the population that is uninsured.
The top 10 safest cities were determined to be South Burlington, Vt.; Casper, Wyo.; Warwick, R.I.; Burlington, Vt.; Boise, Idaho; Yonkers, N.Y.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Columbia, Md.; Portland, Maine and Virginia Beach, Va.
The least-safest cities were San Bernardino, Calif.; Philadelphia; Oakland, Calif.; Cleveland; Baltimore; New Orleans; Baton Rouge, La.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla; Detroit, and Memphis, Tenn.
The safest versus the least-safest takeaways were:
- Virginia Beach, Va., has the fewest aggravated assault incidents (per 100,000 residents), which is 65.5 times fewer than in Oakland, Calif., the city with the most.
- Warwick, R.I., has the fewest thefts (per 1,000 residents), which is 47.8 times fewer than in Jackson, Miss., the city with the most.
- Washington, D.C. has the most law-enforcement employees (per 100,000 residents), which is 5.3 times more than in Irvine, Calif., the city with the fewest.
- Jersey City, N.J., has among the fewest pedestrian fatalities (per 100,000 residents), which is 39 times fewer than in Memphis, Tenn., the city with the most.