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Risky business: The safest cities in the U.S. revealed

Irvine, California, has the fewest aggravated assault incidents (per 100,000 residents), 22.22,

Trucks block the Panamerican Highway in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama on July 15, 2022 amid protests over fuel and food prices
Trucks block the Panamerican Highway in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama on July 15, 2022 amid protests over fuel and food prices - Copyright AFP Sakis MITROLIDIS
Trucks block the Panamerican Highway in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama on July 15, 2022 amid protests over fuel and food prices - Copyright AFP Sakis MITROLIDIS

How safe is it to live in the U.S.? With the U.S. experiencing over 500 mass shootings and over 25,000 motor vehicle deaths so far this year, there are plenty of hazards for citizens to be aware of.

However, are these hazards distributed evenly and what are the relative risks between different locales? In an attempt to answer this, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2023’s Safest Cities in America. This is based on an examination of the key factors that contribute to ‘safety’.

To determine where those who live in the U.S. can feel most protected against life’s hazards, including nonphysical forms of danger, 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.

This produced the following top ten of the ‘safest’ areas:

1. Nashua, NH

2. Columbia, MD

3. South Burlington, VT

4. Gilbert, AZ

5. Warwick, RI

6. Portland, ME

7. Casper, WY

8. Yonkers, NY

9. Burlington, VT

10. Scottsdale, AZ

In contrast, the top ten least ‘safe’ areas were found to be:

173. Washington, DC

174. Los Angeles, CA

175. Oklahoma City, OK

176. Memphis, TN

177. Oakland, CA

178. Detroit, MI

179. Baton Rouge, LA

180. San Bernardino, CA

181. Fort Lauderdale, FL

182. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis is evidently a place to avoid. Beyond this, there were some interesting data variances. For example, Irvine, California, has the fewest aggravated assault incidents (per 100,000 residents), 22.22, which is 86.3 times fewer than in Memphis, Tennessee, the city with the most at 1,917.08.

Taking another metric, based on petty crime, Port St. Lucie, Florida, has the fewest thefts (per 1,000 residents), 8.26, which is 9.2 times fewer than in Salt Lake City, the city with the most at 75.93.

To meet the two crime based challenges, how do police rates compare? Washington has the most law-enforcement employees (per 100,000 residents), 624, which is 6.8 times more than in Chula Vista, California, the city with the fewest at 92.

On a different level, in terms of road safety, Plano, Texas and Lincoln, Nebraska, have among the fewest pedestrian fatalities (per 100,000 residents), 0.35, which is 25.4 times fewer than in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the city with the most at 8.89.

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Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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