Is North Dakota The Safest State To Live In?

Safety is a top priority for homeowners across the United States, and choosing a safe state to reside in can significantly impact one's peace of mind and well-being. In recent studies, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota have emerged as some of the safest states in the nation. In another recent study, the FBI's Crime Data Explorer 2020 data was used by the ConsumerAffairs Research Team to identify the safest states in the union.

Based on the number of standard deviations from the national mean, they came up with a score for each element, with a lower score indicating higher safety. Then, they multiplied each score by the following weights: rape (20%), robbery (10%), aggravated assault (10%), burglary (10%), larceny-theft (10%), theft of a motor vehicle (10%), and law enforcement (10%). For the final score, the weighted scores were combined.

Before we dive into the 10 safest states to live in, our region faired fairly well.

#18 Minnesota
#23 North Dakota
#32 Montana
#38 South Dakota

Now, let's give you the top 5.

#5 Vermont
#4 Massachusetts
#3 Maine
#2 New Hampshire
#1 New Jersey

Crime happens everywhere, from the best state, New Jersey, to the least safe, Alaska, and everywhere in between. You can take steps like installing a home security system to make it less likely that you will be a target of a violent crime or theft.

If you're thinking of moving to a new state and want to know more about crime rates and trends in a state or town, you can look at online records from the FBI, your state, and your town.