NEW JERSEY — New Jersey ranks as the 17th-safest state in the country, according to a new WalletHub study comparing states on measures ranging from violent crime and road safety to financial security and emergency preparedness.
The personal-finance website released its 2026 Safest States in America report Monday after comparing all 50 states across 52 metrics.
New Jersey received an overall score of 56.42 out of 100, placing it 17th nationwide. The Garden State ranked sixth for personal and residential safety, 36th for financial safety, 14th for road safety, 26th for workplace safety and 24th for emergency preparedness.
WalletHub also found that New Jersey has the most law enforcement employees per 100,000 residents in the country, a rate 2.6 times higher than Washington state, which had the fewest.
The study examined five major areas: personal and residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety and emergency preparedness.
The 52 individual metrics included measures such as assaults per capita, losses from climate disasters per capita and unemployment rates.
Vermont ranked as the safest state in the country with a score of 66.63, followed by Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Rounding out the top 10 were Utah, Minnesota, Indiana, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
WalletHub found Hawaii had the fewest murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 residents, at a rate 7.4 times lower than Louisiana, which had the highest.
Idaho had the fewest thefts per 1,000 residents, 3.7 times fewer than New Mexico, according to the report. Delaware had the lowest share of high school students who reported being bullied online.
At the other end of the rankings, Mississippi was rated the least-safe state, followed by Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas.
WalletHub said the study comes as Americans continue to face safety concerns ranging from gun violence to natural disasters. The company said nearly 10,000 Americans have died from gun violence so far this year and noted that the United States experienced 27 billion-dollar climate disasters in 2024.
The full rankings and methodology are available on WalletHub’s website.
