Where Does Illinois Place on the List of America’s Safest States?
It might get to you sometimes. You know, reading over and over again in various spots about how dangerous Rockford is. About how dangerous Chicago is. How dangerous Bloomington, Peoria, and East St. Louis are. How could you not think that Illinois is danger-central? Well, maybe because there are lots of other states that could take that title before us.
The numbers-crunchers over at personal finance site WalletHub took a look at a variety of factors that go into how safe residents of all 50 states and the District of Columbia feel living where they are. Here's some of their criteria:
With every new headline about a mass shooting, terrorist attack, hate crime or natural disaster, many of us fear for our safety and that of our loved ones. Safety is a fundamental human need. And we require some form of it, such as personal and financial protection, in every setting of daily life. But we’re likely to feel more secure in some states than in others. In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across 37 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories. Our data set ranges from assaults per capita to unemployment rate to total loss amounts from climate disasters per capita.
We'll get to Illinois' ranking, but first here are the top 5 safest states, according to WalletHub's study:
1) Vermont
2) Maine
3) Massachusetts
4) Minnesota
5) New Hampshire
And, the least safe states:
46) Missouri
47) South Carolina
48) Oklahoma
49) Louisiana
50) Mississippi
Here in Illinois, we come in at the #26 spot. Some of Illinois' specifics:
Safety in Illinois (1=Safest; 25=Avg.)
37th – Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
25th – Assaults per Capita
22nd – Total Loss Amounts from Climate Disasters per Capita
17th – Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers
14th – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel
3rd – Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
20th – Bullying Incidence Rate
14th – Sex Offenders per Capita
19th – Share of Population Lacking Health Insurance
So, you want safe?