DC Has Most Cops, Hate Crimes Of Any City: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — Not surprisingly, D.C. ranks relatively poorly when it comes to crime, according to a new report from personal finance site WalletHub titled, "2018 Safest Cities in America." But it's where it ranks in a couple of specific categories that raises some eyebrows.

The report found that the District was tied for first in the study with the most law-enforcement employees per capita, along with a few other major cities like New York and St. Louis. Not only that, but D.C. also was tied for the lead in hate crimes per capita. Seattle, Boston, Cincinnati, and Charleston were tied with the District in that category.

WalletHub studied 182 cities, including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, across 39 key indicators of safety. Analysts examined home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety. Overall, D.C. ranked 155th out of 182 cities in terms of overall safety.

Nearby Columbia, Md. was ranked the safest city in America.

Safest cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

1. Columbia, Maryland
2. South Burlington, Vermont
3. Plano, Texas
4. Virginia Beach, Virginia
5. Warwick, Rhode Island
6. Gilbert, Arizona
7. Yonkers, New York
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
9. Nashua, New Hampshire
10. Boise, Idaho

The survey was based on crime, road quality and unemployment, among other factors.

The least safe cities in the U.S., according to WalletHub:

1. St. Louis, Missouri
2. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
3. San Bernardino, California
4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
5. Little Rock, Arkansas
6. Detroit, Michigan
7. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
8. Wichita, Kansas
9. Los Angeles, California
10. Jackson, Mississippi

See the full rankings from WalletHub.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Janney/Patch

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)