10 Safest Cities in America, and the 'Least Safe'

WalletHub, through a ranking of more than 180 cities using 39 key safety indicators, has determined that Columbia, Maryland, was the nation's safest city in 2018.

Columbia, one of the principal cities of the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, achieved a total score of 85.98, based on a data set ranging from assaults per capita, unemployment, and even road quality.

The entire top 10:

1. Columbia, Maryland.
2. South Burlington, Vermont.
3. Plano, Texas.
4. Virginia Beach, Virginia.
5. Warwick, Rhode Island.
6. Gilbert, Arizona.
7. Yonkers, New York.
8. Bismarck, North Dakota.
9. Nashua, New Hampshire.
10. Boise, Idaho.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was determined the least-safe city. The other two determined least-safe were Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and San Bernardino, California.

Columbia is honored in several similar studies for its quality of life, including consistently ranking in the top 10 of CNN Money's Best Places to Live in the United States.

The study also revealed:

Irvine, California, has the fewest aggravated assault incidents (per 100,000 residents), 23.90. That is 63.6 times fewer than in Detroit, the city with the most at 1,519.55.

Yonkers, New York, has the fewest thefts (per 1,000 residents), at 11.38. In comparison, this was eight times fewer than in Springfield, Missouri, the city with the most at 90.80.

Washington has the most law-enforcement employees (per 100,000 residents), 645. This is 5.9 times more than in Irvine, California, the city with the fewest at 109.

Lincoln, Nebraska, has among the fewest pedestrian fatalities (per 100,000 residents), 0.36, or 18.6 times fewer than in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the city with the most at 6.71.

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