Wallet Hub Study Says Indiana 12th Safest State In America

safest-states

INDIANA  – Safety is something that may at times be taken for granted sometimes.

That’s why the personal finance website, Wallethub, did a study to determine the safest states in America. They say Indiana is the 12th safest state.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 52 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories: workplace safety, personal and residential safety, emergency preparedness, financial safety, and road safety.

All of the data was also compiled at the state level, so nothing in study was broken down by region or city.

Indiana’s best ranking of all of those categories was in workplace safety (10th).

“Indiana has a low number of fatal occupational injuries. Injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers tends to be lower as well,” said Jill Gonzalez, Wallethub Analyst.

Gonzalez said Indiana also ranked well in personal and residential safety (11th).

“We looked at everything from terrorist attacks, mass shootings, assaults per capita, thefts, drug abuses, and suicide rates. All of those things tended to be a lot lower in Indiana than most other states. When you’re thinking of neighborhood safety in the general sense, that’s where Indiana really shines,” Gonzalez said.

She said Indiana needs work when it comes to emergency preparedness (29th), financial safety (20th), and road safety (25th). Road safety looks at everything from DUI’s per capita, to fatalities per vehicle mile of travel, pedestrian and cyclist fatality rates, as well as uninsured drivers and road safety.

“When it comes to road quality, there are a lot of roads and bridges in Indiana that seem to be in disrepair. About 40% need some type of road work and do not seem to be getting it. That then has a snowball effect to fatalities per vehicle miles driven,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez says Indiana could improve when it comes to underemployment.

“Underemployment shows that people have jobs but they’re not necessarily making it in Indiana. A lot of times, it means they have to take a second job just to keep up with their bills, pay their rent, and provide for their family,” Gonzalez said.

Of all five categories, Indiana struggled with emergency preparedness the most. This category examines natural disasters and the financial loss amount from those natural disasters.

“As long as residents are prepared and know what they’re getting themselves into, that’s half the battle,” Gonzalez said.

Indiana’s overall score was 56.66. The study said Minnesota was the safest state at 64.43. The state named the most unsafe was Mississippi at 33.11.