Utah maintains spot as fifth-safest state to live in America, study says

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — “With its focus on families,” a line from the Utah State Song, residents would hope that the Beehive State is a safe place to live. An annual study says that Utah has maintained its spot among the safest places in the U.S.

According to a recent study from WalletHub, the Beehive State is the fifth-safest place to live in the U.S. This study looked at dimensions like residential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and statewide emergency preparedness.

Below are the ten safest states to live in, based on the study:

1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. New Hampshire
4. Maine
5. Utah
6. Connecticut
7. Hawaii
8. Minnesota
9. Rhode Island
10. Wyoming

Why was Utah ranked fifth?

Utah was also ranked fifth last year, meaning that the Beehive State has maintained its status compared to other states. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts were all above Utah last year, as well.

Across the five key dimensions in the study, Utah consistently ranked high, only landing a below-average spot in one dimension: personal and residential safety rank.

The Beehive State was 28th based on personal and residential safety. That dimension was based on metrics like crimes per capita, suicide rate, law enforcement employees per capita, hate crime incidents per capita, and more. Utah likely landed so low due to the state’s elevated suicide rate.

In the next dimension, financial safety, Utah was put in 18th place. The financial safety rank was developed using metrics such as the unemployment rate, job security, personal bankruptcy filings per capita, foreclosure rate, and other financial statistics. While the Beehive State didn’t rank particularly low, it also wasn’t very high.

When it comes to road safety, Utah was the sixth-safest state in the U.S. While many residents may be wondering how the 100 Deadliest Days factors into this, Utah actually has the fourth-lowest amount of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, according to WalletHub. Other states also have a higher rate of DUI fatalities.

Workplace safety ranks were determined by just four metrics: fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers, injuries and illnesses per 100,000 full-time workers, median days lost to occupational injuries and illnesses, and the presence of occupational safety and health act plans. The Beehive State took home fifth place in this category; however, it was in first place last year.

The final dimension, emergency preparedness, was based on the number of disasters and the amount lost from climate disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damages between 1980 and 2024. According to the study, Utah is the third-safest state based on emergency preparedness. The Beehive State also had the second-lowest loss amount from climate disasters per capita, likely resulting in the high rank.

For more information on the study’s methodology and to see how other states compared, visit WalletHub’s website.