Property Crime Rate: Our Ranking Of The Most Dangerous vs Safest States To Live In The US! [RESEARCH From 2005 to 2014]

In 2014 there were 1,729,806 burglaries reported. 202, 670 of those happened in California, 169, 234 in Texas and 143, 220 in Florida.

That’s just the top 3 of the worst states in terms of burglary…

And.

Burglary is just one type of property crimes (there’s 8 more).

What’s worse is that for the last 10 years (2005 to 2014) the average rate of arrest related to property violence is at 7.09%.

[TL;DR] South Dakota, New York and North Dakota are three of the safest and the best states to live in. While South Carolina and District of Colombia are the worst states to live in America (at least from 2005 to 2014).

We put together data from State Law Enforcement Agencies, the FBI and other resources, and analyzed each state’s crime statistics based on this formula:

100,000 inhabitants X [Property Crime Numbers/Total Population (each year)]

We’ve also gathered data on other crimes such as robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and etc. For this post we shall focus on property crime rate.

To help you see how we chose the best states to live in, we focused our study on two key factors:

Property crime per 100,000 inhabitants. We focused our analysis on the years from 2005-2014.

The latter is because data from 2015-2016 is scarce and incomplete. That is why using this information, we are able to provide you with a list of the safest states in the U.S.

To give you a quick overview here’s a map of…

The Worst And The Safest States To Live In The US Based On Property Crime Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants

But you might be thinking – ‘My neighborhood is safe. Why should I be concerned?’

Here is what you may not yet know…

Twenty-six percent of U.S. households were victimized by crime

Two in three victims reported the crimes to police

Theft, vandalism are the most common forms of traditional crime

Since 2000 the percentage of household victimization has ranged between 22 and 27 percent annually.

For the same 10 years, 14 to 19 percent of American have personally been a victim of crime.

These numbers should make any homeowner think twice about their safety and the safety of their home!

Jeffery M. Jones, at Gallup Research said:

“Traditional crimes against property or physical assaults typically affect one in four U.S. households and just under one in five Americans each year. The reported crime rates are generally stable, suggesting a fairly constant level of crime that only varies at the margins.” – more here.

Why is this important?

We’ve researched existing blogs on the topic – the safest state to live in the us- and, while they have presented a thorough data on what’s the safest states in 2015 or 2016 (like this, this and/or this one),

We feel that taking it to the next level would help us help you determine which states have been safe for the last 10 years (Not the previous year and not the current year – It’s the last 10 years ago!) and which one is highly likely to stay that way.

We want to address questions like:

what is the safest state in the United States?

what state has the lowest crime rate?

Which one has the highest number of solve cases?

The best state when it comes to recovering stolen property!

We want to be able to present to you a definitive guide, an all-in-one solution, to where would you want to live in if you’re to pack your bags today.

#1 We first determine the population growth for each state between 2005 to 2014…

(In Alphabetical Order)

Population Growth (2005 to 2009)

State 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Alabama 4,548,327 4,599,030 4,627,851 4,661,900 4,708,708 Alaska 663,253 670,053 683,478 686,293 698,473 Arizona 5,953,007 6,166,318 6,338,755 6,500,180 6,595,778 Arkansas 2,775,708 2,810,872 2,834,797 2,855,390 2,889,450 California 36,154,147 36,457,549 36,553,215 36,756,666 36,961,664 Colorado 4,663,295 4,753,377 4,861,515 4,939,456 5,024,748 Connecticut 3,500,701 3,504,809 3,502,309 3,501,252 3,518,288 Delaware 841,741 853,476 864,764 873,092 885,122 District of Colombia 582,049 581,530 588,292 591,833 599,657 Florida 17,768,191 18,089,888 18,251,243 18,328,340 18,537,969 Georgia 9,132,553 9,363,941 9,544,750 9,685,744 9,829,211 Hawaii 1,273,278 1,285,498 1,283,388 1,288,198 1,295,178 Idaho 1,429,367 1,466,465 1,499,402 1,523,816 1,545,801 Illinois 12,765,427 12,831,970 12,852,548 12,901,563 12,910,409 Indiana 6,266,019 6,313,520 6,345,289 6,376,792 6,423,113 Iowa 2,965,524 2,982,085 2,988,046 3,002,555 3,007,856 Kansas 2,748,172 2,764,075 2,775,997 2,802,134 2,818,747 Kentucky 4,172,608 4,206,074 4,241,474 4,269,245 4,314,113 Louisiana 4,507,331 4,287,768 4,293,204 4,410,796 4,492,076 Maine 1,318,220 1,321,574 1,317,207 1,316,456 1,318,301 Maryland 5,589,599 5,615,727 5,618,344 5,633,597 5,699,478 Massachusetts 6,433,367 6,437,193 6,449,755 6,497,967 6,593,587 Michigan 10,100,833 10,095,643 10,071,822 10,003,422 9,969,727 Minnesota 5,126,739 5,167,101 5,197,621 5,220,393 5,266,214 Mississippi 2,908,496 2,910,540 2,918,785 2,938,618 2,951,996 Missouri 5,797,703 5,842,713 5,878,415 5,911,605 5,987,580 Montana 934,737 944,632 957,861 967,440 974,989 Nebraska 1,758,163 1,768,331 1,774,571 1,783,432 1,796,619 Nevada 2,412,301 2,495,529 2,565,382 2,600,167 2,643,085 New Hampshire 1,306,819 1,314,895 1,315,828 1,315,809 1,324,575 New Jersey 8,703,150 8,724,560 8,685,920 8,682,661 8,707,739 New Mexico 1,925,985 1,954,599 1,969,915 1,984,356 2,009,671 New York 19,315,721 19,306,183 19,297,729 19,490,297 19,541,453 North Carolina 8,672,459 8,856,505 9,061,032 9,222,414 9,380,884 North Dakota 634,605 635,867 639,715 641,481 646,844 Ohio 11,470,685 11,478,006 11,466,917 11,485,910 11,542,645 Oklahoma 3,543,442 3,579,212 3,617,316 3,642,361 3,687,050 Oregon 3,638,871 3,700,758 3,747,455 3,790,060 3,825,657 Pennsylvania 12,405,348 12,440,621 12,432,792 12,448,279 12,604,767 Rhode Island 1,073,579 1,067,610 1,057,832 1,050,788 1,053,209 South Carolina 4,246,933 4,321,249 4,407,709 4,479,800 4,561,242 South Dakota 774,883 781,919 796,214 804,194 812,383 Tennessee 5,955,745 6,038,803 6,156,719 6,214,888 6,296,254 Texas 22,928,508 23,507,783 23,904,380 24,326,974 24,782,302 Utah 2,490,334 2,550,063 2,645,330 2,736,424 2,784,572 Vermont 622,387 623,908 621,254 621,270 621,760 Virginia 7,564,327 7,642,884 7,712,091 7,769,089 7,882,590 Washington 6,291,899 6,395,798 6,468,424 6,549,224 6,664,195 West Virginia 1,814,083 1,818,470 1,812,035 1,814,468 1,819,777 Wisconsin 5,527,644 5,556,506 5,601,640 5,627,967 5,654,774 Wyoming 508,798 515,004 522,830 532,668 544,270

Population Growth (2010 to 2014)

State 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Alabama 4,779,736 4,803,689 4,822,023 4,833,996 4,849,377 Alaska 710,231 723,860 731,449 737,259 736,732 Arizona 6,392,017 6,467,315 6,553,255 6,634,997 6,731,484 Arkansas 2,915,918 2,938,582 2,949,131 2,958,765 2,966,369 California 37,253,956 37,683,933 38,041,430 38,431,393 38,802,500 Colorado 5,029,196 5,116,302 5,187,582 5,272,086 5,355,866 Connecticut 3,574,097 3,586,717 3,590,347 3,599,341 3,596,677 Delaware 897,934 908,137 917,092 925,240 935,614 District of Colombia 601,723 619,020 632,323 649,111 658,893 Florida 18,801,310 19,082,262 19,317,568 19,600,311 19,893,297 Georgia 9,687,653 9,812,460 9,919,945 9,994,759 10,097,343 Hawaii 1,360,301 1,378,129 1,392,313 1,408,987 1,419,561 Idaho 1,567,582 1,583,744 1,595,728 1,612,843 1,634,464 Illinois 12,830,632 12,859,752 12,875,255 12,890,552 12,880,580 Indiana 6,483,802 6,516,353 6,537,334 6,570,713 6,596,855 Iowa 3,046,355 3,064,097 3,074,186 3,092,341 3,107,126 Kansas 2,853,118 2,870,386 2,885,905 2,895,801 2,904,021 Kentucky 4,339,367 4,366,814 4,380,415 4,399,583 4,413,457 Louisiana 4,533,372 4,574,766 4,601,893 4,629,284 4,649,676 Maine 1,328,361 1,328,544 1,329,192 1,328,702 1,330,089 Maryland 5,773,552 5,839,572 5,884,563 5,938,737 5,976,407 Massachusetts 6,547,629 6,607,003 6,646,144 6,708,874 6,745,408 Michigan 9,883,640 9,876,801 9,883,360 9,898,193 9,909,877 Minnesota 5,303,925 5,347,299 5,379,139 5,422,060 5,457,173 Mississippi 2,967,297 2,977,457 2,984,926 2,992,206 2,994,079 Missouri 5,988,927 6,008,984 6,021,988 6,044,917 6,063,589 Montana 989,415 997,667 1,005,141 1,014,864 1,023,579 Nebraska 1,826,341 1,842,234 1,855,525 1,868,969 1,881,503 Nevada 2,700,551 2,720,028 2,758,931 2,791,494 2,839,099 New Hampshire 1,316,470 1,317,807 1,320,718 1,322,616 1,326,813 New Jersey 8,791,894 8,834,773 8,864,590 8,911,502 8,938,175 New Mexico 2,059,179 2,078,674 2,085,538 2,086,895 2,085,572 New York 19,378,102 19,501,616 19,570,261 19,695,680 19,746,227 North Carolina 9,535,483 9,651,103 9,752,073 9,848,917 9,943,964 North Dakota 672,591 684,740 699,628 723,857 739,482 Ohio 11,536,504 11,541,007 11,544,225 11,572,005 11,594,163 Oklahoma 3,751,351 3,784,163 3,814,820 3,853,118 3,878,051 Oregon 3,831,074 3,868,229 3,899,353 3,928,068 3,970,239 Pennsylvania 12,702,379 12,743,948 12,763,536 12,781,296 12,787,209 Rhode Island 1,052,567 1,050,646 1,050,292 1,053,354 1,055,173 South Carolina 4,625,364 4,673,348 4,723,723 4,771,929 4,832,482 South Dakota 814,180 823,593 833,354 845,510 853,175 Tennessee 6,346,105 6,399,787 6,456,243 6,497,269 6,549,352 Texas 25,145,561 25,631,778 26,059,203 26,505,637 26,956,958 Utah 2,763,885 2,814,347 2,855,287 2,902,787 2,942,902 Vermont 625,741 626,592 626,011 626,855 626,562 Virginia 8,001,024 8,104,384 8,185,867 8,270,345 8,326,289 Washington 6,724,540 6,823,267 6,897,012 6,973,742 7,061,530 West Virginia 1,852,994 1,854,908 1,855,413 1,853,595 1,850,326 Wisconsin 5,686,986 5,709,843 5,726,398 5,742,953 5,757,564 Wyoming 563,626 567,356 576,412 583,223 584,153

Population Growth Percentage (From 2005-2014)

State 2005 2014 Population Growth Growth % Alabama 4,548,327 4,849,377 301,050 16.11% Alaska 663,253 736,732 73,479 10.03% Arizona 5,953,007 6,731,484 778,477 8.65% Arkansas 2,775,708 2,966,369 190,661 15.56% California 36,154,147 38,802,500 2,648,353 14.65% Colorado 4,663,295 5,355,866 692,571 7.73% Connecticut 3,500,701 3,596,677 95,976 37.47% Delaware 841,741 935,614 93,873 9.97% District of Colombia 582,049 658,893 76,844 8.57% Florida 17,768,191 19,893,297 2,125,106 9.36% Georgia 9,132,553 10,097,343 964,790 10.47% Hawaii 1,273,278 1,419,561 146,283 9.70% Idaho 1,429,367 1,634,464 205,097 7.97% Illinois 12,765,427 12,880,580 115,153 111.86% Indiana 6,266,019 6,596,855 330,836 19.94% Iowa 2,965,524 3,107,126 141,602 21.94% Kansas 2,748,172 2,904,021 155,849 18.63% Kentucky 4,172,608 4,413,457 240,849 18.32% Louisiana 4,507,331 4,649,676 142,345 32.66% Maine 1,318,220 1,330,089 11,869 112.06% Maryland 5,589,599 5,976,407 386,808 15.45% Massachusetts 6,433,367 6,745,408 312,041 21.62% Michigan 10,100,833 9,909,877 -190,956 -51.90% Minnesota 5,126,739 5,457,173 330,434 16.52% Mississippi 2,908,496 2,994,079 85,583 34.98% Missouri 5,797,703 6,063,589 265,886 22.81% Montana 934,737 1,023,579 88,842 11.52% Nebraska 1,758,163 1,881,503 123,340 15.25% Nevada 2,412,301 2,839,099 426,798 6.65% New Hampshire 1,306,819 1,326,813 19,994 66.36% New Jersey 8,703,150 8,938,175 235,025 38.03% New Mexico 1,925,985 2,085,572 159,587 13.07% New York 19,315,721 19,746,227 430,506 45.87% North Carolina 8,672,459 9,943,964 1,271,505 7.82% North Dakota 634,605 739,482 104,877 7.05% Ohio 11,470,685 11,594,163 123,478 93.90% Oklahoma 3,543,442 3,878,051 334,609 11.59% Oregon 3,638,871 3,970,239 331,368 11.98% Pennsylvania 12,405,348 12,787,209 381,861 33.49% Rhode Island 1,073,579 1,055,173 -18,406 -57.33% South Carolina 4,246,933 4,832,482 585,549 8.25% South Dakota 774,883 853,175 78,292 10.90% Tennessee 5,955,745 6,549,352 593,607 11.03% Texas 22,928,508 26,956,958 4,028,450 6.69% Utah 2,490,334 2,942,902 452,568 6.50% Vermont 622,387 626,562 4,175 150.07% Virginia 7,564,327 8,326,289 761,962 10.93% Washington 6,291,899 7,061,530 769,631 9.18% West Virginia 1,814,083 1,850,326 36,243 51.05% Wisconsin 5,527,644 5,757,564 229,920 25.04% Wyoming 508,798 584,153 75,355 7.75%

#2 We’ve also gathered property crime data in the state level:

Property Crime (Actual Number - 2005 to 2009)

State 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Alabama 177,393 181,021 183,798 190,343 178,007 Alaska 23,975 24,155 23,098 20,124 20,538 Arizona 287,345 285,370 279,794 278,920 236,721 Arkansas 112,914 111,521 112,061 109,508 109,078 California 1,200,531 1,156,017 1,108,660 1,080,747 1,009,433 Colorado 188,449 164,054 146,141 140,725 134,196 Connecticut 90,270 87,764 84,052 86,087 82,625 Delaware 26,245 29,171 29,143 31,303 29,685 District of Colombia 26,133 27,063 28,908 30,211 28,495 Florida 712,998 721,084 746,347 758,934 712,010 Georgia 378,534 364,183 372,342 388,935 360,985 Hawaii 61,115 54,382 54,228 46,004 47,516 Idaho 38,556 35,471 33,685 32,019 31,220 Illinois 394,670 387,478 377,322 378,355 353,347 Indiana 216,778 221,127 215,526 212,715 199,907 Iowa 84,370 83,579 78,154 72,689 70,080 Kansas 104,588 103,658 102,120 94,635 90,930 Kentucky 105,608 107,023 106,813 110,314 108,914 Louisiana 166,611 171,239 174,991 168,630 172,619 Maine 31,889 33,286 31,992 32,285 31,706 Maryland 198,483 195,476 192,796 198,165 182,295 Massachusetts 151,727 153,913 154,246 155,959 153,178 Michigan 312,892 324,351 308,775 293,585 284,019 Minnesota 158,301 159,119 157,829 148,810 139,286 Mississippi 95,231 93,393 93,424 86,408 87,327 Missouri 227,809 223,570 219,759 216,585 201,783 Montana 29,407 25,387 26,489 25,182 24,826 Nebraska 60,348 59,075 56,102 51,338 49,731 Nevada 102,424 102,036 96,916 89,640 80,976 New Hampshire 24,031 24,642 24,896 27,526 28,790 New Jersey 203,391 199,958 192,226 199,126 180,752 New Mexico 79,575 76,956 73,394 77,572 74,639 New York 405,990 396,304 381,816 388,533 377,537 North Carolina 353,855 364,960 370,354 372,961 343,707 North Dakota 12,848 12,719 12,088 12,152 12,813 Ohio 420,705 422,235 396,209 391,862 376,446 Oklahoma 143,406 129,002 127,562 125,384 132,350 Oregon 160,199 135,895 132,143 124,397 114,780 Pennsylvania 300,444 303,988 293,577 300,032 277,182 Rhode Island 29,287 27,618 27,743 29,849 27,558 South Carolina 185,606 183,322 188,282 189,683 178,310 South Dakota 13,694 12,664 13,156 13,234 14,378 Tennessee 256,093 249,297 251,724 251,245 237,157 Texas 990,293 959,460 985,142 969,570 995,082 Utah 95,546 89,671 92,594 91,873 91,751 Vermont 14,749 14,379 14,430 15,771 15,010 Virginia 200,404 189,406 190,209 195,634 194,020 Washington 307,661 286,533 260,729 246,148 245,215 West Virginia 47,757 47,672 45,753 46,607 46,215 Wisconsin 147,556 156,571 158,959 155,127 147,692 Wyoming 16,070 15,350 14,984 14,474 14,243

Property Crime (Actual Number - 2010 to 2014)

State 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Alabama 168,092 173,192 168,878 161,835 154,094 Alaska 20,259 19,094 20,037 21,211 20,334 Arizona 225,893 229,896 231,930 223,294 215,240 Arkansas 103,775 110,430 107,941 106,477 99,018 California 981,939 973,822 1,049,465 1,018,907 947,192 Colorado 134,992 132,781 139,270 139,974 135,510 Connecticut 78,386 77,205 76,834 71,274 69,070 Delaware 30,963 31,163 30,639 29,001 27,900 District of Colombia 28,756 29,654 30,736 31,097 34,147 Florida 669,035 671,200 632,988 607,170 679,446 Georgia 352,679 357,235 338,329 339,808 331,316 Hawaii 45,083 43,874 42,817 45,266 43,297 Idaho 31,286 32,875 31,651 30,230 30,316 Illinois 343,989 344,468 332,013 296,048 267,385 Indiana 197,260 206,016 198,032 187,472 174,776 Iowa 68,315 72,043 69,839 67,976 65,056 Kansas 89,015 88,655 90,710 85,704 79,431 Kentucky 110,709 119,037 111,826 104,448 99,166 Louisiana 165,357 168,529 162,936 165,679 160,824 Maine 32,934 33,829 33,361 30,454 26,421 Maryland 173,051 166,846 162,031 157,918 149,859 Massachusetts 153,905 148,829 143,089 137,274 125,267 Michigan 268,201 251,329 250,101 230,135 202,547 Minnesota 136,431 136,183 138,152 131,193 125,377 Mississippi 88,574 89,809 83,906 81,548 87,462 Missouri 200,414 199,085 199,590 189,655 176,237 Montana 25,169 23,885 25,970 26,195 25,312 Nebraska 48,821 50,894 51,118 49,197 47,479 Nevada 74,932 70,075 77,510 79,177 74,538 New Hampshire 28,782 32,756 30,693 29,278 26,041 New Jersey 183,042 189,719 181,481 167,634 154,993 New Mexico 70,742 73,549 75,094 78,958 73,877 New York 376,161 371,837 376,140 358,603 339,282 North Carolina 328,719 337,806 328,594 305,631 285,697 North Dakota 11,895 13,334 14,063 15,356 15,605 Ohio 374,381 380,572 359,883 338,414 324,528 Oklahoma 128,126 127,618 129,743 126,418 115,982 Oregon 115,428 121,869 125,723 125,083 114,305 Pennsylvania 276,023 283,442 276,496 263,176 247,016 Rhode Island 26,910 27,976 27,017 25,741 22,935 South Carolina 180,407 183,243 180,550 173,261 167,217 South Dakota 15,082 15,299 17,168 16,274 15,902 Tennessee 232,132 230,900 217,664 207,683 200,447 Texas 951,246 892,810 876,059 862,289 813,934 Utah 87,880 84,084 85,424 88,334 84,711 Vermont 14,281 15,086 15,016 13,882 9,551 Virginia 186,196 182,902 176,985 171,558 160,720 Washington 249,253 244,209 252,333 259,139 261,706 West Virginia 41,500 39,009 43,878 39,929 37,648 Wisconsin 142,612 139,912 140,513 125,694 120,238 Wyoming 13,874 12,878 13,222 12,809 11,477

#3 Using the formula above… we determine property crime rate per state per year:

Property Crime - Rate/100,000 Inhabitants (2005-2009)

State 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Alabama 3,900.20 3,936.10 3,971.60 4,082.90 3,780.40 Alaska 3,614.80 3,604.90 3,379.50 2,932.30 2,940.40 Alaska 3,614.80 3,604.90 3,379.50 2,932.30 2,940.40 Arkansas 4,067.90 3,967.50 3,953.10 3,835.10 3,775.00 California 3,320.60 3,170.90 3,033.00 2,940.30 2,731.00 Colorado 4,041.10 3,451.30 3,006.10 2,849.00 2,670.70 Connecticut 2,578.60 2,504.10 2,399.90 2,458.70 2,348.40 Delaware 3,117.90 3,417.90 3,370.10 3,585.30 3,353.80 District of Colombia 4,489.80 4,653.80 4,913.90 5,104.60 4,751.90 Florida 4,012.80 3,986.10 4,089.30 4,140.80 3,840.80 Georgia 4,144.90 3,889.20 3,901.00 4,015.50 3,672.60 Hawaii 4,799.80 4,230.40 4,225.40 3,571.20 3,668.70 Idaho 2,697.40 2,418.80 2,246.60 2,101.20 2,019.70 Illinois 3,091.70 3,019.60 2,935.80 2,932.60 2,736.90 Indiana 3,459.60 3,502.40 3,396.60 3,335.80 3,112.30 Iowa 2,845.00 2,802.70 2,615.60 2,420.90 2,329.90 Kansas 3,805.70 3,750.20 3,678.70 3,377.20 3,225.90 Kentucky 2,531.00 2,544.50 2,518.30 2,583.90 2,524.60 Louisiana 3,696.40 3,993.70 4,076.00 3,823.10 3,842.70 Maine 2,419.10 2,518.70 2,428.80 2,452.40 2,405.10 Maryland 3,550.90 3,480.90 3,431.50 3,517.60 3,198.50 Massachusetts 2,358.40 2,391.00 2,391.50 2,400.10 2,323.10 Michigan 3,097.70 3,212.80 3,065.70 2,934.80 2,848.80 Minnesota 3,087.80 3,079.50 3,036.60 2,850.60 2,644.90 Mississippi 3,274.20 3,208.80 3,200.80 2,940.40 2,958.20 Missouri 3,929.30 3,826.50 3,738.40 3,663.70 3,370.00 Montana 3,146.00 2,687.50 2,765.40 2,603.00 2,546.30 Nebraska 3,432.40 3,340.70 3,161.40 2,878.60 2,768.00 Nevada 4,245.90 4,088.80 3,777.80 3,447.50 3,063.70 New Hampshire 1,838.90 1,874.10 1,892.00 2,091.90 2,173.50 New Jersey 2,337.00 2,291.90 2,213.10 2,293.40 2,075.80 New Mexico 4,131.70 3,937.20 3,725.70 3,909.20 3,714.00 New York 2,101.90 2,052.70 1,978.60 1,993.50 1,932.00 North Carolina 4,080.20 4,120.80 4,087.30 4,044.10 3,663.90 North Dakota 2,024.60 2,000.30 1,889.60 1,894.40 1,980.80 Ohio 3,667.70 3,678.60 3,455.20 3,411.70 3,261.30 Oklahoma 4,047.10 3,604.20 3,526.40 3,442.40 3,589.60 Oregon 4,402.40 3,672.10 3,526.20 3,282.20 3,000.30 Pennsylvania 2,421.90 2,443.50 2,361.30 2,410.20 2,199.00 Rhode Island 2,728.00 2,586.90 2,622.60 2,840.60 2,616.60 South Carolina 4,370.40 4,242.30 4,271.70 4,234.20 3,909.20 South Dakota 1,767.20 1,619.60 1,652.30 1,645.60 1,769.90 Tennessee 4,299.90 4,128.30 4,088.60 4,042.60 3,766.60 Texas 4,319.00 4,081.50 4,121.20 3,985.60 4,015.30 Utah 3,836.70 3,516.40 3,500.30 3,357.40 3,295.00 Vermont 2,369.70 2,304.70 2,322.70 2,538.50 2,414.10 Virginia 2,649.30 2,478.20 2,466.40 2,518.10 2,461.40 Washington 4,889.80 4,480.00 4,030.80 3,758.40 3,679.60 West Virginia 2,632.60 2,621.50 2,525.00 2,568.60 2,539.60 Wisconsin 2,669.40 2,817.80 2,837.70 2,756.40 2,611.80 Wyoming 3,158.40 2,980.60 2,865.90 2,717.30 2,616.90

Property Crime - Rate/100,000 Inhabitants (2010-2014)

State 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Average

Per State

(2005-2014) Alabama 3,516.80 3,605.40 3,502.20 3,347.90 3,177.60 3,682.11 Alaska 2,852.50 2,637.80 2,739.40 2,877.00 2,760.00 3,033.86 Alaska 2,852.50 2,637.80 2,739.40 2,877.00 2,760.00 3,033.86 Arkansas 3,558.90 3,757.90 3,660.10 3,598.70 3,338.00 3,751.22 California 2,635.80 2,584.20 2,758.70 2,651.20 2,441.10 2,826.68 Colorado 2,684.20 2,595.30 2,684.70 2,655.00 2,530.10 2,916.75 Connecticut 2,193.20 2,152.50 2,140.00 1,980.20 1,920.40 2,267.60 Delaware 3,448.20 3,431.50 3,340.90 3,134.40 2,982.00 3,318.20 District of Colombia 4,778.90 4,790.50 4,860.80 4,790.70 5,182.50 4,831.74 Florida 3,558.40 3,517.40 3,276.70 3,097.80 3,415.50 3,693.56 Georgia 3,640.50 3,640.60 3,410.60 3,399.90 3,281.20 3,699.60 Hawaii 3,314.20 3,183.60 3,075.20 3,212.70 3,050.00 3,633.12 Idaho 1,995.80 2,075.80 1,983.50 1,874.30 1,854.80 2,126.79 Illinois 2,681.00 2,678.70 2,578.70 2,296.60 2,075.90 2,702.75 Indiana 3,042.40 3,161.50 3,029.20 2,853.10 2,649.40 3,154.23 Iowa 2,242.50 2,351.20 2,271.80 2,198.20 2,093.80 2,417.16 Kansas 3,119.90 3,088.60 3,143.20 2,959.60 2,735.20 3,288.42 Kentucky 2,551.30 2,725.90 2,552.90 2,374.00 2,246.90 2,515.33 Louisiana 3,647.50 3,683.90 3,540.60 3,578.90 3,458.80 3,734.16 Maine 2,479.30 2,546.30 2,509.90 2,292.00 1,986.40 2,403.80 Maryland 2,997.30 2,857.20 2,753.50 2,659.10 2,507.50 3,095.40 Massachusetts 2,350.50 2,252.60 2,153.00 2,046.20 1,857.10 2,252.35 Michigan 2,713.60 2,544.60 2,530.50 2,325.00 2,043.90 2,731.74 Minnesota 2,572.30 2,546.80 2,568.30 2,419.60 2,297.50 2,710.39 Mississippi 2,985.00 3,016.30 2,811.00 2,725.30 2,921.20 3,004.12 Missouri 3,346.40 3,313.10 3,314.40 3,137.40 2,906.50 3,454.57 Montana 2,543.80 2,394.10 2,583.70 2,581.10 2,472.90 2,632.38 Nebraska 2,673.20 2,762.60 2,754.90 2,632.30 2,523.50 2,892.76 Nevada 2,774.70 2,576.30 2,809.40 2,836.40 2,625.40 3,224.59 New Hampshire 2,186.30 2,485.60 2,324.00 2,213.60 1,962.70 2,104.26 New Jersey 2,081.90 2,147.40 2,047.30 1,881.10 1,734.10 2,110.30 New Mexico 3,435.40 3,538.30 3,600.70 3,783.50 3,542.30 3,731.80 New York 1,941.20 1,906.70 1,922.00 1,820.70 1,718.20 1,936.75 North Carolina 3,447.30 3,500.20 3,369.50 3,103.20 2,873.10 3,628.96 North Dakota 1,768.50 1,947.30 2,010.10 2,121.40 2,110.30 1,974.73 Ohio 3,245.20 3,297.60 3,117.40 2,924.40 2,799.10 3,285.82 Oklahoma 3,415.50 3,372.40 3,401.00 3,280.90 2,990.70 3,467.02 Oregon 3,012.90 3,150.50 3,224.20 3,184.30 2,879.00 3,333.41 Pennsylvania 2,173.00 2,224.10 2,166.30 2,059.10 1,931.70 2,239.01 Rhode Island 2,556.60 2,662.70 2,572.30 2,443.70 2,173.60 2,580.36 South Carolina 3,900.40 3,921.00 3,822.20 3,630.80 3,460.30 3,976.25 South Dakota 1,852.40 1,857.60 2,060.10 1,924.80 1,863.90 1,801.34 Tennessee 3,657.90 3,607.90 3,371.40 3,196.50 3,060.60 3,722.03 Texas 3,783.00 3,483.20 3,361.80 3,253.20 3,019.40 3,742.32 Utah 3,179.60 2,987.70 2,991.80 3,043.10 2,878.50 3,258.65 Vermont 2,282.30 2,407.60 2,398.70 2,214.50 1,524.40 2,277.72 Virginia 2,327.20 2,256.80 2,162.10 2,074.40 1,930.30 2,332.42 Washington 3,706.60 3,579.10 3,658.60 3,715.90 3,706.10 3,920.49 West Virginia 2,239.60 2,103.00 2,364.90 2,154.10 2,034.70 2,378.36 Wisconsin 2,507.70 2,450.40 2,453.80 2,188.70 2,088.30 2,538.20 Wyoming 2,461.60 2,269.80 2,293.80 2,196.20 1,964.70 2,552.52

#4 Then we ranked all 51 states based on their Average Property Crime Rate for the last 10 years (from 2005 to 2014. Now we have our top 10 safest states to live in…

Safest States Ranking

Population growth – did it have significant effect on the data?

Theoretically speaking the greater the population growth the higher the crime rate is.

But we want to differ. Let’s look at some facts…

New York state has a total population of 19,315,721 (2005) and 19,746,227 (2014) that’s a total population growth of 430,506. Based on our data, New York state is the second safest state.

Now let’s take a look at the 2nd most dangerous state…

Wisconsin; total population 5,527,644 (2005) and 5,757,564 (2014), and total population growth of 229,920.

Therefore: population growth has zero significance when we determine the average property crime rate per state.

But what about total population- Does it hold any significance?

Here is a live sample.

The top 3 best states to live in…

South Dakota

Population (2014): 853,175

Property Crime (2014): 15,902

Property Crime Rate (2014): 1,801.34

New York

Population (2014): 19,746,227

Property Crime (2014): 339,282

Property Crime Rate (2014): 1,936.75

North Dakota

Population (2014): 739,482

Property Crime (2014): 15,605

Property Crime Rate (2014): 1,974.73

Comparing with the top 3 worst states to live in…

Washington

Population (2014): 7,061,530

Property Crime (2014): 261,706

Property Crime Rate (2014): 3,920.49

South Carolina

Population (2014): 4,832,482

Property Crime (2014): 167,217

Property Crime Rate (2014): 3,976.25

District of Colombia

Population (2014): 658,893

Property Crime (2014): 34,147

Property Crime Rate (2014): 4,831.74

South Dakota and District of Colombia, both states have almost identical numbers of inhabitants but the later has property crime twice as much as the earlier.

On the other hand, New York state (19,746,227) has 4.5 times inhabitants to that of South Carolina (4,832,482) yet the later has property crime half of the earlier.

Therefore: The number of inhabitants is directly proportional to the number of property crime rates by state.

Therefore: One should consider population + the property crime rates by state. (Check out our future post on the top cities to live in each state)

But there are other factors to consider: crimes solved, violent crimes and spending habits when it comes to security systems.

What about Violent Crime?

Violent crime dropped by 4.4% in 2013 compared to 2012.

John Roman, senior fellow at The Urban Institute, told 24/7 Wall St.:

“(a) 4.4% reduction is astounding. If you saw a similar decrease in unemployment or increase in the GDP, it would be huge national news.” – more here.

Nationwide the number of violent crimes has decreased by nearly 15% in the last decade.

If you check on the property crime rates by state datum, the numbers significantly dropped starting in 2009. Coincidentally, this was the year wireless home security systems like Frontpoint, Xfinity Home and Link Interactive. began to surface in the market. We’ve conducted a separate study on the spending habits of Americans when it comes to buying home security system.

What About Home Security Systems?

The US security market is estimated to have driven revenue of more than $10 billion in 2014 and that is expected to jump to $13 billion by 2017 (The highest growth seems to be in the middle market homes.) – And that is only residential security systems.

The bottom line:

Home security usage increases along with age and income with married people being more interested in protecting their homes. And these indicators gain even more importance when considering most burglars tend to avoid homes with a security system.

In Connecticut state, for example, (base on the Property Crime (Actual Number – 2010 to 2014) table above)…

The number of offense reported from 2005 to 2011 ranged from 15,628 to 15,468 respectively – steady but no significant decrease.

It was only in 2012 (14,738) to 2014 (12,005) that there was a noticeable decrease in the number of offense.

Question:

Did the emergence of DIY home security systems lead to the significant decrease in the number of burglaries?

Good question. But we’ll answer that on a later blog post.

For now…

Let’s Sum It Up!

If you’ve gotten this far, we want you to know that you’re awesome!

Don’t forget to share this information with your family and friends to keep them up-to-date too!

PS: If you are representing any website associated with any of the states that made our top 10 list, and you want to link to this post with a badge, or you want to use the infographics above. Or you want to use our data and graphics as source – contact Rienzi ([email protected]) for details.

So there you have it, the top 10 safest states to live in the US for the last 10 years!

Whether you’re planning on moving out next week or preparing the whole family for migration, you have this guide at your disposal so you are able to make informed decisions on (which state has been the safest through the years and) where to live based on the crime rates by state data and how to best protect yourself, your family, and your home.

We want to hear your thoughts on this. It would surely make a difference if you share your 2 cents in the comments below.

We’ll be happy to reply to every comment!

Resources:

Uniform Crime Reports. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2015. Web. 14 Apr 2016 <https://www.fbi.gov>

Crime in Alabama Reports. Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.alea.gov/>

Uniform Crime Report. State of Alaska. Department of Public Safety Statewide Services. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.dps.alaska.gov/>

Crime in Arizona Reports. Arizona Department of Public Safety. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.azdps.gov/>

Crime in South Dakota Publications. South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <www.dci.sd.gov/>

Crime in North Dakota 1999-2013. North Dakota Attorney General. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <https://www.ag.nd.gov>

Crime Reports. New Jersey State Police. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.njsp.org>

Domestic Violence Reports. New Jersey State Police. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.njsp.org>

Crime in Idaho 2014. Idaho State Police. 2014. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <https://www.isp.idaho.gov>

Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System. Pennsylvania State Police. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.paucrs.pa.gov>

Uniform Crime Reports: Publications & Queriable Statistics. State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.dpsdata.ct.gov>

Vermont Crime Online. Department of Public Safety Vermont Crime Information Center. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://vcic.vermont.gov>

Crime Report Overview. Crime Statistics. New Hampshire Department of Safety. N.p.. Web 14 Apr 2016. <https://crimestats.dos.nh.gov>

Criminal Justice Statistics. State of New York Division of Criminal Justice Services. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov>

State of New York Division of Criminal Justice Services ‘New York State Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative Crime, Arrest, and Firearm Activity Report’. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov>

Providing Unprecedented Access to Data. State of New York. 2016 Web. 14 Apr 2016. <https://data.ny.gov>

Bureau of Justice Statistics. Office of Justice Programs. 2016. Web. 14 2016. <http://www.bjs.gov>

Crime in Virginia 1999-2014. Virginia State Police. N.p. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <http://www.vsp.state.va.us>

Publications Annual Reports. West Virginia State Police. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://www.wvsp.gov>

Crime in Maine. Department of Public Safety Maine State Police. 2016. Web. 14 Apr 2016. <https://www1.maine.gov>