Maine Ranks No. 3 Safest State to Live in the US

A year after the tragic Lewiston shootings, people across Maine are still on the path to healing.

Yet, despite the shock of that event, Maine continues to hold its ground as one of the safest places to call home on WalletHub’s “2024 Safest States in America” list.

WalletHub doesn’t just look at crime rates when ranking states for safety. They consider a ton of different factors, from road safety and emergency preparedness to economic stability—because when people feel secure financially, communities as a whole can stay safer.

Maine’s high rankings in occupational safety and disaster readiness are just a couple of examples of what keeps the state near the top.

According to some of the data that WalletHub used in their study, Maine ranks:

• 18th in murders & non-negligent manslaughters per capita.
• 2nd in assaults per capita.
• 8th for lowest climate disaster losses.
• 4th for job security
• 14th in sex offenders per capita.

A few of those stats may not be super impressive, but they’re still on the lower end, and with all of the data combined, it puts us as the No. 3 safest state in the U.S.

That’s pretty impressive!

Maine’s overall safety doesn’t just happen by accident. Communities invest in neighborhood safety, and so many Mainers serve as firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders.

How does the rest of the top 5 shake out? Well, WalletHub is basically saying that New England is the place to be. They listed Vermont as the No. 1 safest state, followed by New Hampshire at No. 2 and Massachusetts at No. 4.

If you live in New England, there are many things to be thankful for and if you haven't already, now you can add safety to the list!

Below, you can see how the rest of the country ranked.