(Daily Mail) The safest and most dangerous cities in the United States have been revealed, with the Northeast dominating the list of where people can feel most relaxed.
In compiling their data, Wallethub assessed more than 180 cities across 41 indicators of safety.
This ranged from traffic fatalities and assaults per capita as well as levels of unemployment and the number of citizens that are uninsured.
The company compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated areas in each state.
According to the WalletHub website, the ratings were based on 41 key metrics where Americans ‘feel most protected against life’s hazards, including nonphysical forms of danger.’
Every city was graded on three key areas, home and community safety, natural-disaster risk, and financial safety.
Coming out on top as the safest place in the states was Nashua, New Hampshire, while St. Louis, Missouri, was considered the most dangerous.
Wallethub then determined each city’s average across all metrics to calculate an overall score, ranking the cities with the lowest
Below, DailyMail.com has broken down the top five safest cities in the United States, and what are considered the five most dangerous.
The Top Five Safest Cities in the Country
1. Nashua, New Hampshire
With a population of just over 91,000, Nashua is the second largest city in northern New England.
Overall, the findings gave the city a score of 86.00, less than a point higher than second place with the city being ranked low for its home and community safety.
In an annual police report filed last year by the Nashua Police Department, they reported an six percent decrease in crimes against people from the year previously.
In 2021, there had been 1,019 cases of crimes against people, which includes crimes including assaults, homicide, and sexual offences.
New Hampshire was revealed to be the safest city, according to the data
Last year, this number had dropped to 961 instances, with large drops in the number of forcible sex offences which well 28 percent.
Property crime also decreased six percent between 2021 to 2022, from 1,745 cases in 2021 to 1,635 in 2022.
While crimes against society, which include drug offenses, DUI, and trespassing fell an astonishing 29 percent from the previous year.
2. Columbia, Maryland
Situated between Baltimore and Washington DC, Columbia is built up of 10 self-contained villages and forms part of the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Wallethub have ranked the city as having the lowest Home and Community Safety ranking.
Despite this, the number of violent crimes being reported in the county jumped last year from 419 cases in 2021 to 527 cases in 2022.
This represents a rise of 25 percent in violent crime in the area, with property crime again increasing by a dramatic amount.
Aerial panorama of single family homes and town house neighborhoods around Lake Elkhorn, a manmade lake in Owen Brown village in Columbia Maryland USA
Last year, there was 4,511 reports of property crime while there was 3,637 reports in 2021, increasing 24 percent in one year.
Earlier this year, the city was ranked as one of the best cities to raise a family in by Wallethub.
At the time, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said: ‘It is humbling to be ranked Maryland’s best place to raise a family and best place to live.
‘These distinctions are a testament to our continued investment in our families, community, and overall quality of life.’
3. South Burlington, Vermont
Continuing the trend of cities on the East Coast of the country making up the safest cities is South Burlington in Vermont.
Known as being the headquarters for famed ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s, the city was ranked as having a worse community safety ranking than the first two cities.
Despite this, its financial safety ranking is the lowest in the country according to the findings.
The view of fall foliage and Adirondack Mountains in New York from Overlook Park in South Burlington, Vermont
In a report by NBC5 last year, they said that crime had skyrocketed in the city, which has a population of just over 20,000.
Since 2020 until 2022, the amount of stolen vehicles has climbed dramatically, according to the outlet.
Shawn Burke, South Burlington’s police chief, at the time said: ‘We’re not seeing a stolen car being parted out.
‘They’re being used in other crimes like retail theft and burglary. We’ll get a lead on a video of a car, but the lead does not belong to the suspect.’
4. Gilbert, Arizona
Moving away from the East Coast, Gilbert in Arizona, located southeast of Phoenix, was once known as the ‘Hay Shipping Capital of the World’.
Originally a agriculture-based community, the town has since undergone rapid urbanization – with the population climbing from 5,717 in 1980 to over 281,000 in 2022.
With a total score of 84.24, Wallethub ranked the city as having a great home and community safety and a low risk of natural disaster.
Despite this, the company opted to rank the city with a financial safety score of 56 – placing it amongst other cities like Lubbock, Texas, and Worcester, Massachusetts.
The high ranking on the list comes after a warning in a recovery plan published last year following the Covid-19 pandemic which talked of an ‘uptick’ in violent crime.
Street view of downtown Gilbert, Arizona, which has been included in the survey as one of the safest places to stay
Originally a agriculture-based community, the town has since undergone rapid urbanization
According to the report, total violent crime increased by eight percent in 2021, with homicides increasing a worrying 125 percent, and rapes rising eight percent.
To combat this rising crime, the Gilbert Police Department expanded their staff and facilities to assist victims of crime.
The city has been frequently recognized as among the best places to live in the country.
In 2014, Time’s Money Magazine ranked Gilbert as the 22nd most livable small city in America.
At the time, then Mayor John Lewis said: ‘We are honored to receive this recognition from Money Magazine.
‘For a community of Gilbert’s size to be recognized as one of the most livable is an incredible achievement and is a reflection of our great residents, businesses, and schools.’
5. Warwick, Rhode Island
Rounding out the top five safest cities in America is Warwick in Rhode Island, which holds on to its ranking after being labelled the fifth safest in 2022 also.
The city had previously been ranked the country’s seventh safest city in 2021 and the 12th safest in 2020.
According to the study, the Rhode Island city has the third fewest amount of assaults per capita.
Warwick, in Rhode Island, rounded out the top five safest places to stay in America, with the Warwick Neck Lighthouse pictured here
According to the study, the Rhode Island city has the third fewest amount of assaults per capita
In an annual report last year, the Warwick Police Department said they had arrested 2,308 people, an increase of 5.2 percent on the previous year.
According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the city had just 60 violent crime incidents, with a further 1,012 incidents of property crime reported in 2021.
Police Chief Col. Bradford Connor told Warwick Online: ‘Traditionally the city scores fairly high in this report. It’s a testament to the city as a whole.
‘Our professional public safety entities which are supported by our elected officials and citizens alike contribute to the great success of Warwick and its high ratings.’
The Five Most Dangerous Cities in the Country
1. St Louis, Missouri
Consistently ranked amongst the most dangerous cities in the US, St Louis, Missouri, had long been labelled the murder capital until last year when it was dethroned.
After being leapfrogged by New Orleans, Louisiana, last year which now has the highest murder rate, St Louis now has the second highest number of murders.
Last year, there was 200 murders in the city, which was a decrease on the year previous – dropping from 201 in 2021.
Wallethub gave the city an overall score of 44.88, a few points below the next worst in the city.
According to the study, the city was tied with several others as having the worst assaults per capita rate in the county – being 86 times worse than the city with the least, Irvine in California.
People look into a damaged business following overnight riots and looting on June 2, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri
Despite this, the city has one of the lowest numbers of hate crimes per capita in the nation. Ranking third best according to Wallethub.
According to Spectrum Local News, the city had 2,228 incidents in 2022 involving aggravated assaults with a firearm which had dropped seven percent from 2021.
Motor thefts skyrocketed last year, increasing 78 percent to 7,366 reported thefts in the city.
Last year, Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis said: ‘There is a long way to go to reduce homicides in St. Louis to levels that are comparable to other cities like ours, but what is heartening is that we didn’t see an increase in 2022.
‘We have a real crime problem and we have a crime perception problem.
‘What people tend to do is assume that what is happening in the areas of the city where violence is exceptionally high, to use that to kind of paint a broad brush over the entire city, as if all areas had violent crime levels that high.’
Last year, Rosenfeld said the biggest overcome for policing to reduce crime is to reduce firearm violence.
So far this year, there have been 127 homicides in the city with the large number of them being committed using firearms.
