Driving comes with its share of risk and danger, and some cities are more dangerous than others. NerdWallet looked at data in the 200 most populous cities in the U.S. to rank the safest and most dangerous for drivers.

To come up with their numbers, NerdWallet analyzed five factors: the rate of fatal crashes, the likelihood of an accident compared to other cities, the number of years between accidents, the risk of break-ins, and the risk of a stolen vehicle.


They also looked at insurance rates in each city. They explain:

We compared the total scores based on those metrics with the auto insurance rates in each city, analyzing the average annual cost of insurance given the legal requirements for that state and the most affordable insurers among the largest companies in that market...Auto insurance rates are 47% more expensive in our most dangerous cities. The average annual insurance rate in our 20 most dangerous cities is $1,721, compared with $1,169 in our 20 safest cities.


Detroit was their most dangerous city for drivers, and they found a difference of 642% for the price of car insurance when compared with their safest city, Cary, North Carolina.

While Detroit was the most dangerous city overall, it had the second-highest fatal accident rate, at 16.2 accidents for every 100,000 residents. Baton Rouge, Baltimore, Springfield (MA), and San Bernardino (CA) were in the top five.

You can see a quick breakdown of the cities in the infographic, but be sure to head to their full post at the link below for detailed statistics on each city.

The Safest and Most Dangerous Cities for Drivers | NerdWallet