The 10 Safest States In The US For 2024


The safest states are New Hampshire and Maine for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Safest states in the United States research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to survey the safest states for 2024. The data comes from the FBI Crime Explorer, and the report is not a testament to the effectiveness of local law enforcement. This report reflects our tenth time ranking the safest states in America.

  • The safest state in the United States is New Hampshire based on our analysis of FBI crime data.

  • The state with least violent crime per capita is Maine with 108.6 violent crimes per 100k people.

  • The state with least property crime per capita is Massachusetts with 1,053.2 property crimes per 100k people.

  • The state with least murders per capita is New Hampshire with 0.9 murders per 100k people.

  • The most dangerous state in the United States is New Mexico.


Safest States In America Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | Summary


Odds are likely that you, or someone you know, has not been the victim of a crime in the past year. That’s because, despite what you hear on the news, America has been incredibly safe over the past two decades.

It’s just a matter of determining which states are more crime-free than others.

The safest states are the best states in America to raise kids and excellent places to retire. Because if crime is really low, everyone wants to be there.

The states below all have spaces so safe you’ll sleep soundly no matter the surroundings.

The 10 Safest States In The United States For 2024

  1. New Hampshire
  2. Maine
  3. Vermont
  4. New Jersey
  5. Idaho
  6. Rhode Island
  7. Virginia
  8. Connecticut
  9. Massachusetts
  10. Wyoming

What is the safest state in America for 2024? The safest state in America is New Hampshire according to the most recent FBI data based on an index of property and violent crimes per capita.

The most dangerous state to live in America? New Mexico. More on that later.

For more reading, check out:

The 10 Safest States To Live In America For 2024

1. New Hampshire

New-Hampshire|Nh, NH

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 1,366,275
Violent Crime Per Capita: 146 (Second safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,098 (Second safest)

And where’s the safest state in America? Is it much of a surprise to hear that it’s New Hampshire?

It’s official: just about the entire New England area north of New York State is safe. In the last reporting year, there were only 12 murders for the whole year, which is astoundingly low. The leading state, California, saw nearly 100 times that number.

People in New Hampshire live in small towns and rural areas but are quite educated, and most have great jobs. The schools are highly rated, too. These factors also play a part in making New Hampshire a safe place.

Mostly, you only have to worry about idiots who text and drive in the snow. Seems like the biggest crime here is NOT being an annoying Patriots fan.

If you live in New Hampshire, you’ve certainly got it made.

2. Maine

Maine|Me, ME

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 1,350,141
Violent Crime Per Capita: 108 (First safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,156 (Fourth safest)

Even if you’ve never been to Maine, you’re probably not surprised it’s our second safest state to live in America. Maine is the place to be if you want to avoid murder, rape, and other violent crimes. The colder weather may chill people out.

In Maine, there were less than .001 violent crimes per capita in the last reporting year. To put that crime rate into perspective, there were .008 violent crimes per person in Alaska.

Of great importance to Mainers’ strong sense of community with the motto, “What happens to you, happens to me.” Good and bad. They’re all in it together, which really helps keep crime to a minimum.

3. Vermont

Vermont|Vt, VT

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 623,347
Violent Crime Per Capita: 173 (Third safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,216 (Sixth safest)

Vermont is the third lowest in the country for violent crime over the past 8 years. In fact, there were only 14 murders in the entire state of Vermont for the whole year in the last reporting year.

In some large cities in America, they see that on a bad weekend.

While violence across America has decreased since 2010, Vermont has seen a substantial decrease. It may be the rural nature of Vermont, where people have a much deeper sense of community and watch out for one another. Or the fact that many Vermonters own guns. Or it’s that Vermonters are so chill.

4. New Jersey

New-Jersey|Nj, NJ

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 4.0

Population: 8,882,371
Violent Crime Per Capita: 195 (Fifth safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,158 (Fifth safest)

Coming in as our fourth state state in America is…New Jersey? No way.

Yes, that’s correct. This goes to show that just because people are packed on top of one another doesn’t mean they have to act uncivilized.

You might be shocked to learn that Jersey has the fifth lowest property crime rate in the country. Suburban and countryside areas are very safe along with most Jersey Shore towns.

If you’ve ever been to Jersey, you know, most of the crime is packed into places like Camden and Newark. Here, you might have to really think about who your friends are, and you might find that meth is the leisure activity of choice.

But, you take those two cities out of the equation, and you’ve got an even more really awesome safe place to live.

5. Idaho

Idaho|Id, ID

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 1,826,913
Violent Crime Per Capita: 242 (Ninth safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,111 (Third safest)

Is it a surprise that Idaho is the fifth safest state to live in the US of A?

Probably not.

Idaho might get a knock for being a relatively boring place, but talk to the people that live there — when it’s quiet, it’s safe. Idaho saw only about 3 murders a month, on average, which is far less than the national average. Additionally, there were only 3,731 burglaries in the last reporting year, which might sound like a lot, but only averages to about 125 a week for the entire state.

In lots of parts of Idaho, people don’t even bother to lock their doors at all. Not too long ago, Boise was named as the 9th safest city in the entire world. If your cow shows up missing in Idaho, it’s probably just at the neighbors house.

That sure puts things into perspective.

6. Rhode Island

Rhode-Island|Ri, RI

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 2.0

Population: 1,057,125
Violent Crime Per Capita: 230 (Seventh safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,245 (Seventh safest)

Making our way through the northeast, we come to Rhode Island.

Sure, it’s a small state, and the number of property crimes is higher than the other states on this list, but overall, you could find much more dangerous places to live.

Rhode Island only saw 1,763 robberies over the year, about 1.5 a day. Does that make you jealous of where you live?

Many of Rhode Island’s safest cities report no more than two murders a year, and 80% of Rhode Island’s cities reported no murders. And robberies are limited to just a tiny part of the state for the most part.

7. Virginia

Virginia|Va, VA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY 3.0

Population: 8,590,563
Violent Crime Per Capita: 208 (Sixth safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,456 (11th safest)

Coming in as our seventh safest state in America is Virginia.

Virginia is a really safe place to live. Seeing as the population is high, you might think there would be lots of crime. You’d be wrong.

The Commonwealth is the sixth safest regarding violent crimes in the country. You’d have to drive pretty far north to see a place where there are fewer violent crimes per capita than here.

Outside places like Portsmouth, Danville, and Norfolk, Virginia is a safe haven for most crimes. Virginia has taken the lead and is in the top 5 states in America for addressing school safety. That means many parents can rest easy all day long, knowing their kids don’t have to run home every day after school.

8. Connecticut

Connecticut|Ct, CT

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY 2.0

Population: 3,557,006
Violent Crime Per Capita: 181 (Fourth safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,565 (14th safest)

Right next door to Rhode Island is the safe city of Connecticut.

Most Americans might think of Connecticut as a wealthy place, and for the most part, they’d be right. Does a relatively affluent group of people commit less crime? Apparently so.

There were only 6,656 reported robberies in Connecticut for the entire last reporting year, which is well below the national average. Additionally, Connecticut saw 8,422 reported car thefts that same year, too.

That’s crazy low.

9. Massachusetts

Massachusetts|Ma, MA

Source: Public domain

Population: 6,893,574
Violent Crime Per Capita: 308 (19th safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,053 (First safest)

Massachusetts cracked the top ten for the first time in several years — it just eeked by Kentucky — to rank as the ninth safest state in America for 2024.

Home to Boston, Worcester, and Cambridge, the state boasts the lowest property crime rate of any state in the country. That means no one will take your car after you park it near Fenway Park. What kept The Bay State from finishing higher? A surprisingly high violent crime rate. While still below the national average, 19th most violent cuts it close.

10. Wyoming

Wyoming|Wy, WY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 582,328
Violent Crime Per Capita: 234 (Eighth safest)
Property Crime Per Capita: 1,610 (16th safest)

Our next stop on our safe tour of America brings us to Wyoming.

Sure, there are only about a half million people in the Cowboy State, and people are spaced out much more than in places like Florida and California. But look at New Mexico. There’s some wide open spaces there, too, and that’s the most dangerous place in the nation.

Only 947 people were the victim of an aggravated assault in Wyoming. This means there’s an excellent chance you can walk around at night here without having to watch your back. In fact, you might have a better chance of being trampled by a bison than beaten by a mugger.

In Wyoming, people don’t steal. It’s a Wyoming thing. Unless you want to take some leftovers from a neighborhood trash can. Most Wyomingans would be cool with that.

Methodology: How we used FBI data to determine the safest states

To rank the safest American states, we used Saturday Night Science mixed with data from the FBI. The safest states are those where violent and property crimes happen at rates below the national average.

Using the most recent FBI crime data, we used calculated the follow criteria for each state:

  • Violent Crimes Per Capita
  • Property Crimes Per Capita

We then ranked each state from 1 to 50 for the two criteria, with a #1 ranking being the safest for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Safe Index.”

Finally, we ranked every state on the “Safe Index,” with the lowest index being the safest in America for 2024.

Here’s a visualization of the criteria:
Safest States In America Scatter Graph

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. This is the tenth time we’ve ranked the safest states in America.

Summary: The Safest States In The Country

If you’re looking at American states where murders, rapes and robberies happen at a much lower rate than average, this is an accurate ranking.

The safest states in the US are New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Idaho, Rhode Island, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Wyoming.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the most dangerous states to live in America, according to Saturday Night Science.

Here’s a quick look at the most dangerous states for 2024:

  1. New Mexico
  2. Louisiana
  3. Arkansas

For more reading, check out:

Crime Data By State In The United States For 2024

Rank State Population Property Crime Violent Crime
1 New Hampshire 1,366,275 1,098 146
2 Maine 1,350,141 1,156 108
3 Vermont 623,347 1,216 173
4 New Jersey 8,882,371 1,158 195
5 Idaho 1,826,913 1,111 242
6 Rhode Island 1,057,125 1,245 230
7 Virginia 8,590,563 1,456 208
8 Connecticut 3,557,006 1,565 181
9 Massachusetts 6,893,574 1,053 308
10 Wyoming 582,328 1,610 234
11 Kentucky 4,477,251 1,779 259
12 West Virginia 1,784,787 1,399 355
13 Wisconsin 5,832,655 1,485 323
14 Iowa 3,163,561 1,698 303
15 New York 19,336,776 1,410 363
16 Ohio 11,693,217 1,850 308
17 Mississippi 2,966,786 2,101 291
18 Maryland 6,055,802 1,609 399
19 Pennsylvania 12,783,254 1,644 389
20 Minnesota 5,657,342 2,124 277
21 Florida 21,733,312 1,769 383
22 Indiana 6,754,953 1,783 357
23 Nebraska 1,937,552 1,909 334
24 Illinois 12,587,530 1,559 425
25 Hawaii 1,407,006 2,411 254
26 Michigan 9,966,555 1,360 478
27 North Dakota 765,309 2,124 329
28 Utah 3,249,879 2,464 260
29 Georgia 10,710,017 2,007 400
30 Oregon 4,241,507 2,659 291
31 Delaware 986,809 1,961 431
32 Nevada 3,138,259 1,926 460
33 Washington 7,693,612 2,732 293
34 North Carolina 10,600,823 2,226 419
35 Kansas 2,913,805 2,199 425
36 South Dakota 892,717 1,956 501
37 California 39,368,078 2,138 442
38 Alabama 4,921,532 2,136 453
39 Montana 1,080,577 2,120 469
40 Texas 29,360,759 2,245 446
41 Arizona 7,421,401 2,227 484
42 Colorado 5,807,719 2,833 423
43 Oklahoma 3,980,783 2,705 458
44 Missouri 6,151,548 2,531 542
45 Alaska 731,158 2,260 837
46 Tennessee 6,886,834 2,492 672
47 South Carolina 5,218,040 2,721 530
48 Arkansas 3,030,522 2,613 671
49 Louisiana 4,645,318 2,884 639
50 New Mexico 2,106,319 2,841 778
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.