What safe means in this guide
Two measures, both public. Crime is the FBI's violent crime rate for 2024, the number of reported violent crimes for every hundred thousand residents. Disaster risk is FEMA's National Risk Index, the expected yearly loss from natural hazards as a national percentile. Neither is a full picture of safety: the crime figure leaves out property crime, and neither one covers road deaths or health. But they are the two questions most people mean when they ask whether a state is safe.
The states that do well on both
Only three states are among the ten lowest on both measures: Maine, Rhode Island and Virginia. Widen the net to the twenty lowest on both and eight states qualify.
| State | Violent crime, of the fifty states | Disaster risk, of the fifty states | Two-bedroom rent, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | lowest | 9th lowest | $1,714 |
| Rhode Island | 4th lowest | 6th lowest | $1,911 |
| Virginia | 10th lowest | 8th lowest | $1,792 |
| Vermont | 11th lowest | 13th lowest | $1,773 |
| Pennsylvania | 16th lowest | 10th lowest | $1,528 |
| Idaho | 14th lowest | 16th lowest | $1,367 |
| Minnesota | 19th lowest | 14th lowest | $1,507 |
| North Dakota | 18th lowest | 20th lowest | $1,102 |
Ranks run from lowest to highest, so a low rank is the safer result. States are ordered by how they do on the two measures together.
Maine leads the list, with the lowest violent crime rate in the country and disaster risk 9th lowest. Wyoming just misses the eight: its crime rate is 5th lowest, but its disaster risk falls one place outside the twenty lowest. Its rent, the 4th lowest in the country, may make that worth a look anyway.
Low crime does not mean low risk
New Hampshire has the 2nd lowest violent crime rate, but its disaster risk is 11th highest. Connecticut is 3rd lowest on crime and 6th highest on disaster risk. Hawaii is the sharpest case: 8th lowest on violent crime and the highest disaster risk of the fifty states.
Low risk does not mean low crime
It runs the other way too. Maryland has the lowest disaster risk in the country and the 15th highest violent crime rate. Michigan is 2nd lowest on disaster risk and 11th highest on crime. Anyone using a single ranking to decide would read these states very differently from someone using the other. The full lists are on the violent crime and natural disaster rankings.
Where both measures run high
Alaska and New Mexico have the two highest violent crime rates, with Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana next. Three states are among the ten highest on both measures: Alaska, California and Louisiana. A state average is not a verdict on a neighborhood, but the figures do say to look closely before you sign.
What a safer state costs
Among these eight, safety rarely comes with low rent. Maine and Rhode Island look strong on both safety measures, but a year of rent takes the 7th highest and 6th highest share of income among the fifty states. Rhode Island has the highest rent of the eight states above.
North Dakota is the exception. It is the only one of the eight in the lowest ten on rent, at $1,102 a month, and rent takes a smaller share of income there than in any other state. Idaho and Minnesota also sit in the lower half on the same measure, at 10th lowest and 14th lowest. If you want a safer state without paying extra for it, start with those three.
Why a state average is only the start
Both figures hide wide gaps. Violent crime is concentrated in particular areas, and a state's rate can say little about the street you would live on. Rates also depend on what local agencies report to the FBI. Disaster risk changes from county to county, even within a state, so a coastal or river town can look nothing like the state average.
- Use the state ranking to build a shortlist, then check the specific city and county.
- Look up your own address on a flood map before you rent or buy.
- Ask for an insurance quote early. It is the market's own estimate of the risk.
- Visit on an ordinary weeknight, not only on a sunny weekend. The scouting trip guide has a plan for it.
The free quiz lets you say how much safety and disaster risk matter to you and ranks all fifty states with those weights, so a state that is safe but wrong for you in every other way will not win. The city pages add county risk and metro rent. The Move Decision Kit, $39 once, then runs your own income and household through a chosen state.
Figures are FBI Uniform Crime Reporting for 2024, FEMA's National Risk Index, HUD Fair Market Rents and Census median household income. They are state figures; conditions in a given city or neighborhood can be very different.