Is Washington a safe state to live in?

Posted in Firm News, Injuries on March 15, 2019

Determining tangibly how safe it is to live in a certain area may seem like an impossible task. For many people, safety is a feeling more than something you can calculate.

But WalletHub, a financial website, took on the task of looking at data across a variety of metrics to determine how each state ranks for safety.

The methodology

To determine each state’s level of safety, WalletHub focused on five key areas, including how each state ranked for emergency preparedness, personal safety, financial safety, driving safety, and work safety.

Some of the individual metrics considered were assaults per capita, unemployment rate, poverty rate, DUIs per capita, occupational injury rates, and number of climate disasters.

How did Washington rank?

WalletHub found Washington to be the 10th safest state.

In one area, total financial loss from climate disasters, Washington was ranked number two. Only one state suffered less financial loss from climate disasters than us – Michigan.

In another area, workplace safety, Washington was tied for fourth for fewest fatal workplace accidents.

In one area of personal safety, Washington was ranked near the bottom. Washington has the second lowest law enforcement employee per capita rate in the U.S. This means only one state (Kentucky), has fewer law enforcement employees than us.

The safest states, according to this study, are Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, Utah, and New Hampshire. The most dangerous states are Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida.

Neighboring state Oregon is ranked #13, and Idaho is ranked #27.

So is Washington a safe state to live in? By this account, yes, it’s quite safe. As a resident of Washington, you can take simple steps to protect your safety by practicing safe driving habits, exercising and eating healthy, and maintaining health and property insurance.