2 MD Communities Named To Safest City In The U.S. List

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Columbia has been named the safest city in America by WalletHub, but one other Maryland communities made the list.

To determine where Americans feel most protected against life’s hazards, including nonphysical forms of danger, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 42 key metrics. The data set ranges from the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated and assaults per capita to the unemployment rate and road quality.

With the U.S. experiencing over 500 mass shootings this year and the COVID-19 pandemic persisting, the personal-finance website WalletHub just released its report on 2022's Safest Cities in America.

"People can feel unsafe in other ways, too," the study's authors said. "Aside from the types of hazards that can cause bodily injury or other physical harm, taking out an unaffordable second mortgage, forgoing health insurance or even visiting unsecured websites are also ways people run into danger. One of the biggest worries for many people right now is the cost of inflation, which reached a four-decade high this year and threatens Americans’ financial safety."

Columbia earned a score of 85.99. The community also ranked first for home and community safety and 92nd for financial safety.

Safety in Columbia (1=Safest, 91=Average):

• 1st – Traffic fatalities per capita
• 41st – % of households with emergency savings
• 15th – % of uninsured population
• 63rd – Natural disaster risk level
• 3rd – % of residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Also on the list is Baltimore at No. 161, with a total score of 63.28.

The city scored 177 for home and community safety, 80 for natural-disaster risk and 103 for financial safety.

Here are the safest cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

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

"No one can avoid all danger, however, and we take on a certain level of risk based on where we choose to live," the WalletHub study concluded. "Some cities are simply better at protecting their residents from harm."

The full report with the methodology used and all other U.S. cities that made the list can be found here.

Methodology

In order to determine the safest cities in which to live, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across three key dimensions: 1) Home & Community Safety, 2) Natural-Disaster Risk, and 3) Financial Safety.

We evaluated those dimensions using 42 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of safety.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the city proper in each case, excluding cities in the surrounding metro area.