New Jersey is One of the Safest States to Live In, According to Report

How safe is New Jersey?

Personal finance website WalletHub has released its report on "2021's Safest States in America" and the Garden State fared pretty well.

WalletHub compared all 50 states across 50 different indicators of safety, said analyst Jill Gonzalez. The report did not just look at personal and residential safety, but also safety when it comes to the roads, workplace, finances and emergency preparedness.

New Jersey fell just outside of the top 10, ranking number 11 on the list. Gonzalez said it did well in the personal and residential safety category. Its COVID-19 numbers look really good right now, so that factors in, she added.

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Theft and aggravated assault numbers are also low in New Jersey. The state also does well when it comes to road safety. She said there are fewer DUIs per capita than a lot of other states.

The road quality is better. "I know no one driving anywhere thinks their road quality is good, but in New Jersey it actually is better than most other states," said Gonzalez.

New Jersey also has the most law-enforcement employees per 100,000 residents, 580, which is 2.8 times more than in Washington, the fewest at 208. Gonzalez said New Jersey also has a lot of active firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

But New Jersey could certainly work on a couple of things. Gonzalez said it could do a little bit better when it comes to workplace safety and emergency preparedness. This goes all the way back to 1980 with the number of climate disasters and the loss that comes with them. Of course, New Jersey, on the coast, with hurricanes, that's just one thing that is a risk here, she said.

Vermont is the safest state in America. Maine is the second safest followed by New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah.

Louisiana is the least safe state in the U.S. followed by Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.