Safest States: Here's Where Illinois Ranks

ILLINOIS — Illinois. It's got a proud history as the Land of Lincoln and the first state to ratify the 13th amendment abolishing slavery. Some less positive notable facts about Illinois: it's the state that's sent the most governors to prison, has the second-highest tax burden in the nation and is among the worst states for quality of life, according to U.S. News.

Another not-so-great achievement of Illinois, according to WalletHub, is that it's among the least-safe states in the country. A new study ranks Illinois at No. 35 on the list.

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Despite having the third-highest number of law enforcement employees per capita, Illinois ranks right near the bottom when it comes to the murder rate.

"In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 48 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories," the study notes. "Our data set ranges from assaults per capita to unemployment rate to total loss amounts from climate disasters per capita."

How did Illinois do? Here's a snapshot, with a rank of 1 being the safest and 25 being average:

• 47th – Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
• 28th – Assaults per Capita
• 22nd – Loss Amounts from Climate Disasters per Capita
• 44th – Job Security
• 11th – Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers
• 15th – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel
• 3rd – Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
• 20th – Bullying Incidence Rate
• 26th – Sex Offenders per Capita
• 20th – Share of Uninsured Population

Vermont ranked No. 1 as the safest state in the U.S., and Mississippi came in dead last. These are the five safest states, according to the study:

1. Vermont
2. Main
3. Minnesota
4. Utah
5. New Hampshire

Here's a look at entire U.S. Hover over a state to see its rank:

You can read the full study and methodology here.

Photo via Shutterstock