Safest States: Here's Where Maryland Ranks

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland has a proud history as the U.S. capital at the end of the Revolutionary War, as the inspiration for the National Anthem following the British attack on Baltimore, and is ranked among the best states for quality of life, according to U.S. News. Some less positive notable facts about Maryland: Traffic can be a nightmare and drivers rank among some of the worst, plus it has one of the highest tax rates in the nation and is among the worst states for quality of life, according to U.S. News.

Despite those criticisms Maryland ranks high by the personal finance website WalletHub among the most-safe states in the country. A new study ranks Maryland at No. 16 on the list.

• SEE ALSO: Maryland's 20 Safest Towns: 2018 Rankings

"In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 48 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories," the study notes. "Our data set ranges from assaults per capita to unemployment rate to total loss amounts from climate disasters per capita."

How did Maryland do? Here's a snapshot, with a rank of 1 being the safest and 25 being average:

• 25th — Presence of Terrorist Attacks
• 33rd — Number of Mass Shootings
• 46th — Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
• 5th — Forcible Rapes per Capita
• 30th — Assaults per Capita
• 23rd — Thefts per Capita
• 1st — Sex Offenders per Capita
• 37th — Drug Abuses per Capita
• 7th — Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
• 17th — Active Firefighters per Capita
• 28th — Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics per Capita

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Vermont ranked No. 1 as the safest state in the U.S., and Mississippi came in dead last. These are the five safest states, according to the study:

1. Vermont
2. Maine
3. Minnesota
4. Utah
5. New Hampshire

Here's a look at entire U.S. Hover over a state to see its rank:

You can read the full study and methodology here.

Photo via Shutterstock