Study found no Arizona cities ranked among top 25 safest in America

PHOENIX — No major Arizona city cracked the top 25 in a recent study on the safest places to live in the United States.

WalletHub’s “Safest Cities in America (2024)” compared 182 cities based on 41 key safety metrics, with focus on home and community, natural disaster risk and financial safety.

Gilbert earned the highest position (31st) while Phoenix placed a dismal 149th. Scottsdale fared the second-best (39th), with Chandler (46th), Peoria (69th), Mesa (85th) and Tempe (92nd) also making top-100 appearances.

South Burlington, Virginia, Casper, Wyoming and Warwick, Rhode Island, were deemed the top-three safest U.S. cities. South Burlington was the only city to achieve top-10 ratings in all three major categories, notably being number one in financial safety.

How the study was conducted

Each eligible U.S. city was awarded up to 100 points across three major categories. Home and community safety carried the most weight, worth up to 60 points, while natural disaster risk and financial safety were each worth up to 20 points.

Some subcategories included sex offenders per capita, drug poisoning deaths per capita, wildfire risk index score, unemployment rate and debt-to-income ratio.

Gilbert (65.33 points), which finished nearly six points behind South Burlington (74.15), was seventh in home and community safety. This was in stark contrast to Phoenix (50.83), which came in 136th in the category.

Every represented Arizona city (nine) failed to make the top 140 in natural disaster risk except Tucson, which was 27th in this category and 146th overall.

Financial safety, on the other hand, was a bright spot for Arizona cities. Six eclipsed the top 50 (Scottsdale leading the way at 21st), while the other three occupied spots in the top 80.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Detroit, Michigan and Memphis, Tennessee, were rated the least safe American cities, none receiving enough points to make the top 100 in any major category.

Follow @pwmoses11