It's not just in the wild West that danger lurks. Following right behind Nevada are New Mexico, Arizona, Maryland and Tennessee. The safest states are North Dakota, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming. North Dakota has been the nation's safest state for the 10th time in the 14 years of the rankings.
Factors considered for this annual list were rates per 100,000 population for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. States were then ranked based on how they compared to the national average for each crime category. The findings were based on 2005 crime statistics, the most recent final state data available from the FBI.
The 50 states ranked in order from most dangerous to safest.
1. Nevada
2. New Mexico
3. Arizona
4. Maryland
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Alaska
8. Florida
9. California
10. Louisiana
11. Michigan
12. Texas
13. Arkansas
14. Washington
15. Oklahoma
16. North Carolina
17. Alabama
18. Delaware
19. Missouri
20. Georgia
21. Illinois
22. Colorado
23. Ohio
24. Mississippi
25. Indiana
26. Pennsylvania
27. Kansas
28. Hawaii
29. Oregon
30. Massachusetts
31. New York
32. Minnesota
33. New Jersey
34. Kentucky
35. Rhode Island
36. Virginia
37. Nebraska
38. Utah
39. Idaho
40. Connecticut
41. West Virginia --From the Editors at Netscape
42. Wisconsin
43. Iowa
44. Montana
45. South Dakota
46. Wyoming
47. New Hampshire
48. Maine
49. Vermont
50. North Dakota
(Source: Morgan Quitno Press)
