Safety risks vary widely across U.S. cities. Some face greater exposure to hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding, while others contend more heavily with crime, traffic deaths, unemployment, poverty or identity theft. WalletHub’s 2026 ranking compares 182 cities across these risks, identifying the highest- and lowest-ranked locations.
Three categories shape the ranking
The ranking covers the 150 largest U.S. cities, along with at least two of the most populous cities in each state. WalletHub assessed 41 measures across three categories: home and community safety, natural-disaster risk, and financial safety.
Home and community safety includes crime rates, traffic and pedestrian fatality rates, and the number of emergency-response personnel per capita. Natural-disaster risk draws on exposure indexes for earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires and other hazards. Financial safety focuses mainly on poverty, unemployment and identity-theft complaints per capita.
The underlying data comes from agencies including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The overall ranking is a composite measure; a city’s position does not mean it performs equally across all three categories.
The 10 highest-ranked cities
1. Juneau, Alaska
Juneau ranked first among all 182 cities. It placed 46th for home and community safety, fourth for financial safety and first for natural-disaster risk. The city recorded among the lowest murder and pedestrian fatality rates, and no terrorist attacks or terrorism-related incidents were recorded there over the past decade. Juneau also had among the lowest risks of flooding and tornadoes, with its flood-risk ranking second-lowest. Its share of residents living below the poverty line ranked 21st-lowest.
2. Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick ranked ninth for home and community safety, fifth for natural-disaster risk and 46th for financial safety. It had the fourth-lowest number of aggravated-assault cases per capita and the sixth-lowest number of theft cases.
3. Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park ranked fourth for home and community safety and seventh for financial safety, but 138th for natural-disaster risk. By June 2026, the greater Kansas City area had received 88 tornado warnings. Despite its lower natural-disaster ranking, Overland Park had the 19th-lowest pedestrian fatality rate and the 15th-lowest traffic fatality rate. Its unemployment rate ranked 14th-lowest, while its share of residents below the poverty line ranked third-lowest.
4. Burlington, Vermont
Burlington ranked third for natural-disaster risk, 24th for financial safety and 43rd for home and community safety.
5. South Burlington, Vermont
Located near Burlington, South Burlington tied its neighboring city for third place on natural-disaster risk. It ranked sixth for financial safety but 51st for home and community safety, below Burlington in that category.
6. Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach ranked 22nd for home and community safety, 10th for natural-disaster risk and 55th for financial safety.
7. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids ranked 10th for home and community safety, 23rd for natural-disaster risk and 42nd for financial safety.
8. Casper, Wyoming
Casper placed ninth for financial safety, putting it in the top 10 for that category. It ranked 19th for natural-disaster risk and 32nd for home and community safety.
9. Boise, Idaho
Boise ranked fifth for financial safety, 33rd for home and community safety and 41st for natural-disaster risk.
10. Yonkers, New York
Yonkers’ strongest category was home and community safety, where it ranked third. It placed 59th for natural-disaster risk and 108th for financial safety.
The 10 lowest-ranked cities
173. St. Louis, Missouri: 177th for home and community safety, 146th for financial safety and 34th for natural-disaster risk.
174. Cleveland, Ohio: 74th for natural-disaster risk, 153rd for financial safety and 175th for home and community safety.
175. Houston, Texas: 163rd for financial safety, 170th for natural-disaster risk and 171st for home and community safety.
176. Jacksonville, Florida: 170th for home and community safety, 177th for natural-disaster risk and 166th for financial safety.
177. Detroit, Michigan: 173rd for home and community safety and 67th for natural-disaster risk. It ranked 182nd for financial safety, the lowest position in that category.
178. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 176th for home and community safety, 137th for natural-disaster risk and 159th for financial safety.
179. Memphis, Tennessee: 181st for financial safety, ahead of only Detroit; 179th for home and community safety and 60th for natural-disaster risk.
180. Baltimore, Maryland: 180th for home and community safety, 174th for financial safety and 106th for natural-disaster risk.
181. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 181st for home and community safety, 130th for natural-disaster risk and 144th for financial safety.
182. New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ranked last among the 182 cities, weighed down mainly by its home and community safety score of 182nd. It ranked 172nd for financial safety. Although the city is exposed to hurricanes, it ranked 104th for natural-disaster risk, making that its strongest of the three categories.
The results show that a city’s overall safety ranking is not determined solely by its exposure to natural hazards. Community conditions and residents’ financial circumstances also have a substantial effect on the composite score.