Minnesota Is the Seventh-Safest State, Per New Report

With news of accidents, natural disasters, violent crime, massive layoffs and other tragedies constantly in the news, it can be hard not to worry about the safety of your family, both physically and financially. However, living in the right state can help minimize your stress. 

“The safest states in America protect their residents from harm in a multitude of different ways, from keeping crime rates low and maintaining safe roadways to having strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations. They have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates.”

In-Depth Look at Minnesota

Minnesota's roads are safe, as the state has the fourth-fewest traffic fatalities per 100 vehicle miles traveled. In addition, the North Star State has the third-lowest poverty rate in the country, so relatively few people deal with the dangers of not being able to provide for their daily needs. Minnesotans also have the highest median credit score in the country, at 751, which gives them the ability to borrow money at very reasonable rates if they have an emergency.

On the other hand, despite Minnesota's low traffic fatality rate, it has the sixth-most DUI arrests per capita. It also has the 10th-most hate crime incidents per capita, so most other states are safer for minorities. In addition, Minnesota had the 11th-most new unemployment claims per capita last year, though thankfully it seems like residents were able to weather this storm given the low poverty rate.

How Minnesota Ranks in Key Categories

• 23rd for Personal & Residential Safety
• Seventh for Financial Safety
• Sixth for Road Safety
• Second for Workplace Safety
• 23rd for Emergency Preparedness

This puts Minnesota in seventh place overall out of the 50 states in WalletHub's study.

Safest States in the U.S.

The methodology can be found on the full version of the article on WalletHub.