Safest States: Georgia Ranks Below Average

GEORGIA — Georgia is known for juicy peaches, sweet tea and football, but personal safety might be lacking. The Peach State, in fact, ranks below average in the personal safety department.

That’s according to the number crunchers at WalletHub. The team at the website dedicated to all things personal finance-related recently dove into an analysis of all 50 states across 37 key metrics. Using data pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor and other sources, the analysts sought to rank states based on the level of personal safety families enjoy. Metrics included covered everything from assaults and murders per capita to fatal automobile accidents and share of population lacking health coverage.

Vermont led the nation to earn the title of being America’s safest state, according to WalletHub. Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Hampshire rounded out the top five safest. Mississippi earned the dubious distinction of 50th place in the rankings with Louisiana only faring a little bit better in the 49th position.

Georgia ranked 32nd, WalletHub’s analysts concluded. Georgia ranked as the 12th safest state for "road safety," but ranked lower in the "personal and residential safety" and "workplace safety" categories. The state also ranked as No. 45 in the "financial safety" rank, or the fifth least safe city for financial safety.

To check out the full study report, visit WalletHub online. More information about the methodology used to rank states may also be found on WalletHub.

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