Safest States in America by Crime Rate

Maine recorded a violent crime rate of just 109 per 100,000 residents in the most recent FBI data (as of late 2025), the lowest of any state in the country. That number is roughly one-fifth the rate in the most dangerous states, and it holds up across every subcategory: assault, robbery, rape, and homicide.

The 10 Safest States by Violent Crime Rate

These rankings are based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data (as of late 2025), measured in incidents per 100,000 residents.

• Maine — 109 per 100,000
• New Hampshire — 146 per 100,000
• Connecticut — 166 per 100,000
• Vermont — 172 per 100,000
• Idaho — 229 per 100,000
• New Jersey — 237 per 100,000
• Virginia — 241 per 100,000
• Wyoming — 244 per 100,000
• Massachusetts — 248 per 100,000
• Minnesota — 252 per 100,000

New England dominates the top of this list. Four of the ten safest states sit in the Northeast corridor, a region that also benefits from dense social infrastructure and relatively low economic inequality at the county level.

Idaho and Wyoming are the outliers. Both are rural, low-density western states with high gun ownership rates but tight community ties and low poverty rates. Their presence in the top ten pushes back on the assumption that strict gun laws are the primary driver of low violent crime.

Who Has the Highest Violent Crime Rate in 2026?

The most dangerous states by violent crime rate tell a different story entirely.

• New Mexico — 778 per 100,000
• Alaska — 758 per 100,000
• Arkansas — 638 per 100,000
• Louisiana — 612 per 100,000
• Missouri — 568 per 100,000
• Tennessee — 541 per 100,000
• Oklahoma — 530 per 100,000
• South Carolina — 494 per 100,000
• Nevada — 481 per 100,000
• Arizona — 474 per 100,000

New Mexico has held the top spot for violent crime in each of the last five reporting cycles. Albuquerque in particular drives the state's numbers, with property crime rates that rank among the worst of any major American city. Alaska's isolation, high substance abuse rates, and limited law enforcement coverage in rural areas push it into a consistent second place.

Property crime is a separate dataset, and the rankings shift somewhat. Louisiana and New Mexico appear at the top of both lists. Maine, by contrast, also posts the fourth-lowest property crime rate in the country, making it the most comprehensively safe state by either measure.

What Actually Predicts Low Crime?

The safest states share several measurable characteristics. They tend to have lower poverty rates, lower income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient, and lower rates of drug-related arrests relative to population.

Urbanization plays a role but not in the way most people assume. Vermont and Maine are among the least urbanized states in the country, yet they sit at the top of the safety rankings. Nevada and Arizona are far more urban and rank near the bottom. Rural isolation without economic deprivation appears to correlate with low crime. Rural isolation with high poverty, as in parts of New Mexico and Alaska, correlates with the opposite.

State gun laws show no clean relationship in either direction. Idaho and Wyoming have among the least restrictive gun regulations in the country and still crack the top ten. Louisiana and Arkansas have similarly permissive laws and rank near the bottom. The data does not support a simple guns-equal-danger or guns-equal-safety conclusion.

Crime Rates and the Decision to Move

Safety matters when choosing where to live, but it rarely exists in isolation. Maine is the safest state by violent crime rate, but its income tax tops out at 7.15% and winters are genuinely brutal. New Hampshire is the second-safest state and has no income tax and no sales tax, which puts it in an unusual position: exceptional safety and exceptional tax efficiency in the same place.

If you are weighing a move for retirement, the tax picture matters as much as the crime picture. Our guide to best states for retirees to avoid taxes breaks down how states like New Hampshire and Florida compare when you factor in income taxes, Social Security treatment, and estate exposure. For a broader look at what high-tax states actually cost you year over year, see The True Cost of Living in High-Tax States.

Run your own side-by-side comparison using our state comparison calculator to stack crime rates against tax rates and cost of living in any two states.

Key Takeaways

• Maine has the lowest violent crime rate in America at 109 incidents per 100,000 residents, roughly seven times safer than New Mexico's rate of 778.
• Eight of the ten most dangerous states by violent crime are in the South or West. Eight of the ten safest are in New England or the Mountain West.
• New Hampshire is the only state in the top two for safety that also has no income tax and no sales tax, making it the strongest all-around combination of low crime and low tax burden in the country.

Compare any two states head to head on crime, taxes, and cost of living at liveordiehere.com.