The results of CQ Press's annual State Crime Rankings are in and, for some states, the results are reassuring. For nearly two decades, these rankings have shown how the 50 states compare against the national average for six crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. According to CQ Press, these six categories are compared to the national reported crime rates and then indexed (with each of the crimes carrying equal weight) to create a summary score and ranking across six areas of reported violent and property crime. It is also important to note that larceny-theft, which accounts for 59% of all reported crimes in America, is not included as part of this report because the FBI and other criminologists concluded in 2004 this was no longer a true indicator of crime.
In this year's ranking, New Hampshire came out on top for the third time in a row. The Granite State reported only 13 murders out of a population of 1.3 million. In addition, the state had the second lowest rate for aggravated assault. The states that saw the biggest improvements over the past year include Michigan and Alaska. Each rose seven spots, but still remain in the bottom half of the ranking (number 34 and 37, respectively).
Did your state make the list? Join us as we reveal which 15 states were ranked as the safest for 2010.
State Crime Rankings (out of 50 states)
(50 = Best, 1 = Worst)
No. 1: New Hampshire
Assault: 49
Burglary: 49
Murder: 49
Motor Vehicle Theft: 47
Rape: 29
Robbery: 43
No. 2: Vermont
Assault: 48
Burglary: 29
Murder: 39
Motor Vehicle Theft: 49
Rape: 44
Robbery: 49
No. 3: North Dakota
Assault: 47
Burglary: 48
Murder: 50
Motor Vehicle Theft: 43
Rape: 14
Robbery: 50
No. 4: Maine
Assault: 50
Burglary: 36
Murder: 41
Motor Vehicle Theft: 50
Rape: 31
Robbery: 44
No. 5: Idaho
Assault: 33
Burglary: 42
Murder: 47
Motor Vehicle Theft: 46
Rape: 14
Robbery: 47
No. 6: Wyoming
Assault: 32
Burglary: 45
Murder: 45
Motor Vehicle Theft: 44
Rape: 18
Robbery: 46
No. 7: Montana
Assault: 27
Burglary: 46
Murder: 41
Motor Vehicle Theft: 41
Rape: 27
Robbery: 45
No. 8: Wisconsin
Assault: 37
Burglary: 38
Murder: 38
Motor Vehicle Theft: 34
Rape: 47
Robbery: 32
No. 9: South Dakota
Assault: 46
Burglary: 50
Murder: 33
Motor Vehicle Theft: 48
Rape: 3
Robbery: 48
No. 10: Iowa
Assault: 26
Burglary: 32
Murder: 40
Motor Vehicle Theft: 42
Rape: 30
Robbery: 42
No. 11: West Virginia
Assault: 28
Burglary: 27
Murder: 32
Motor Vehicle Theft: 39
Rape: 45
Robbery: 41
No. 12: Utah
Assault: 44
Burglary: 34
Murder: 48
Motor Vehicle Theft: 25
Rape: 23
Robbery: 40
No. 13: Virginia
Assault: 45
Burglary: 44
Murder: 23
Motor Vehicle Theft: 40
Rape: 43
Robbery: 29
No. 14: Minnesota
Assault: 40
Burglary: 35
Murder: 44
Motor Vehicle Theft: 36
Rape: 17
Robbery: 35
No. 15: New York
Assault: 25
Burglary: 47
Murder: 26
Motor Vehicle Theft: 45
Rape: 49
Robbery: 9
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