WalletHub has released a ranking of the safest states in the US based on five factors including personal & residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness. According to the report, California ranks 39th overall, plummeting to 48th place for personal and residential safety. The study highlights that California is also the worst state for the financial security of unemployed residents. In contrast, New England states dominate the top spots with Vermont ranking first followed by Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
WalletHub released a ranking of the safest US states based on five factors: personal & residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness. California ranked 39th overall, making it one of the least safe states in the country. Specifically, California placed last among all states for personal and residential safety, ahead of only Oregon, Nevada, and Alaska. The ranking also found that California is the worst state for financial security for the unemployed. According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, the safest states provide residents with multiple protections, including low crime rates, safe roadways, strong economies, job markets, occupational safety, and disaster preparedness.
Written for “Safest States Rankings” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score withheld for article 58043: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-05
In a new ranking of US states rated from safest to most dangerous, the Golden State ranked well below average at No. 39.
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State → rat → .
Compiled by the data wizards at WalletHub, the list took five factors into consideration — personal & residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness.
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list → compile → consideration
Singling out personal and residential safety, California plummets straight to the bottom, occuping the No. 48 slot — ahead of only three other west coast states: Oregon, Nevada, Alaska.
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California → single → states
The list also ranked California as the worst state for the financial security of the unemployed.
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list → rank → unemployed
“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, said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
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Lupo → protect → situations
“They have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too.
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They → have → safety
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,” he explained.
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he → make → rates
Other west coast states faired better than California on the overall ranking — with Washington coming in at No. 13 and Oregon ranking No. 24.
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Oregon → fair → .
Arizona ranked No. 14 on the list, while Arizona came in at No. 31.
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Arizona → rank → .
The best performing state west of the Rockies was Utah, at No. 6.
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state → perform → No
That report revealed that Oakland has the country’s second-highest crime rate at at 19.3 incidents per 1,000 residents.
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Oakland → reveal → residents
San Francisco and Stockton tied for the highest traffic fatality rate in the study at 18.5 deaths per 100,000 residents.
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Francisco → tie → residents
Way across the country, New England dominated WalletHub’s list of safest states — making up the top five.
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England → dominate → five
Vermont came in at number one, followed by Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
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Vermont → come → Massachusetts
According to the survey, 76% of Vermont parents believe they live in safe neighborhoods.
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they → accord → neighborhoods
The state also has the 15th-fewest by number one aggravated assaults, sixth-fewest murders and non-negligent manslaughters, and 21st-fewest thefts per capita in the country.
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state → have → country
Massachusetts, the country’s second safest state, boasts the eighth-fewest thefts, and fourth-fewest murders and manslaughters per capita.
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Massachusetts → boast → capita
The study used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, TransUnion, U.S. Fire Administration, Administration for Community Living – AGing Integrated Database and more.
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study → use → Living
The Aporia
