America's Safest States: See Where NJ Ranks In New Analysis

NEW JERSEY — A new analysis of safety across the United States ranks New Jersey as the 17th safest state in the nation.

Personal finance company WalletHub evaluated statistics on crime rates, serious vehicle crashes, the number of active firefighters and police officers, and more for their 2024 "Safest States in America" study. The analysis also includes data on health and safety infrastructure, the poverty rate by state, and climate disasters.

All told, the analysis included 52 safety indicators, grouped into five categories: Personal and Residential Safety, Financial Safety, Road Safety, Workplace Safety, and Emergency Preparedness. Each state was given a score out of 100.

New Jersey was one of the states with the most law enforcement officers per capita and also had the fifth-fewest road fatalities per 100 million miles of travel, which helped boost its ranking. And, the state had the fourth-lowest rate of fatal work injuries.

However, New Jersey was tied for the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation and ranked in the bottom 10 of the nation in terms of financial safety, according to the study.

Here's how WalletHub ranked the Garden State on those five key categories: (1=Safest; 25=Avg.):

• Overall rank for New Jersey: 17
• Overall score: 53.28
• Personal and Residential Safety: 8
• Financial Safety: 41
• Road Safety: 14
• Workplace Safety: 29
• Emergency Preparedness: 24

WalletHub analyst Chris Lupo said that while state agencies and organizations are responsible for keeping communities and roadways safe, individual residents also make a difference by stepping up in their local neighborhoods.

"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," Lupo said. "They have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too. 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.”

These are the 10 safest states in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

1. Vermont
2. New Hampshire
3. Maine
4. Massachusetts
5. Utah
6. Hawaii
7. Connecticut
8. Minnesota
9. Rhode Island
10. Wyoming

Check out the entire study here.