Living in the midst of a global pandemic for the past two years has certainly tested the bounds of our physical safety. In 2022, economic challenges like the cost of inflation and the threat of a recession have further broadened our understanding what it means to feel “safe.”

You could be forgiven for wanting to hide under the covers and wait for this precarious time to pass. But as elusive as safety seems right now, there are a number of places in the U.S. that are considered safer than others.

For the fifth year running, Columbia, MD, was the Safest City in America, according to a recent study from WalletHub that measured how safe Americans feel from all of life’s hazards—including physical dangers and nonphysical ones, like the economy.

To determine its list of safest and least safe cities in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 42 key metrics, including the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated, assaults per capita, unemployment rates, and even the quality of the roads.

WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez believes that several factors make Columbia feel ultrasafe right now.

“Columbia is the safest city in the U.S. as its residents benefit from a high level of home and community security,” Gonzalez says. “People say they feel safe walking alone in the streets. Columbia also has the smallest number of traffic fatalities per capita.”

The median price for homes in Columbia is $450,000, according to the most recent Realtor.com® data.

The second-safest city is Nashua, NH. The bedroom community of Boston also ranked second in financial safety.

There were other standouts, too: Irvine, CA, ranked No. 26 overall, had the fewest aggravated assault incidents per resident (22.2 per 100,000 residents). Memphis, TN, had the most (1,917.08 per 100,000 residents).

Port St. Lucie, FL, No. 101 on the list, managed to snag the fewest thefts (8.26 per 1,000 residents), 9.2 fewer than Salt Lake City, which had the most (75.93 per 1,000 residents).

Gilbert, AZ, No. 7 overall, had the fewest pedestrian fatalities (0.4 per 100,000 residents). Little Rock, AK, ranked No. 163, had the most (10.10 per 100,000 residents).

Interestingly, 7 out of the 10 safest cities in the country are in the Northeast.

“The Northeastern cities at the top of the ranking all have low crime rates, as well as very few traffic and pedestrian fatalities per capita,” Gonzalez says. “They also rank high in terms of financial safety. They have low unemployment and a low share of unbanked households—as low as 1.1% in Nashua. Plus, the Northeast tends to be safer in terms of climate disasters.”

The 10 safest cities

1. Columbia, MD
2. Nashua, NH
3. Laredo, TX
4. Portland, ME
5. Warwick, RI
6. Yonkers, NY
7. Gilbert, AZ
8. Burlington, VT
9. Raleigh, NC
10. Lewiston, ME

On the flip side are the most dangerous cities. St. Louis snagged the dubious crown—and also tied with Memphis in having the most assaults per capita.

“St. Louis, which ranked last, has some of the most bankruptcies and underwater mortgages, as well as some of the most murders, assaults, thefts, sex offenders, and drug overdose deaths per capita,” Gonzalez says. “There is a clear tie between poverty and crime, unfortunately.”

The median list price for a home in St. Louis is $188,300, according to the most recent data from Realtor.com.

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Watch: The 10 Very Best U.S. Cities for Homebuyers

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Other cities that ranked poorly for various reasons include Oklahoma City, OK, No. 176 overall and the riskiest in terms of natural disasters; Brownsville, TX, No. 20 overall and the riskiest in terms of the number of uninsured people; and Detroit, No. 179 overall and the riskiest in terms of its high unemployment rate.

“The least safe cities have high crime rates, with a large number of murders, traffic, and pedestrian fatalities per capita,” she notes. “They also rank low in terms of financial safety, with a lot of registered identity theft complaints—almost 1,200 per capita in Baton Rouge, for example.”

The 10 least safe cities

1. St. Louis, MO
2. Fort Lauderdale, FL
3. San Bernardino, CA
4. Detroit, MI
5. Baton Rouge, LA
6. Memphis, TN
7. Oklahoma City, OK
8. Oakland, CA
9. Jackson, MS
10. Chattanooga, TN

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