St. Louis ranked last in a new study of the nation’s safest cities based on various factors, including crime levels, auto accidents, and natural disasters.
The WalletHub report rated St. Louis last based on its low rankings in home and community safety and financial safety.
In traffic fatalities per capita, St. Louis ranked 173 out of 182 cities in the study, tied for last place. The city also tied for last in assaults per capita, along with Birmingham, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; Detroit, Michigan; and Memphis, Tennessee.
In top rankings, St. Louis tied for first in law enforcement employees per capita. The city also ranked third in the fewest hate crimes per capita.
After St. Louis, the next two overall lowest safety ratings fell to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and San Bernadino, California. Detroit, Michigan, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, rounded out the five most dangerous cities.
At the other end of the rankings, Columbia, Maryland, ranked first among the safest cities in the study, followed by Nashua, New Hampshire; Laredo, Texas; Portland, Maine; and Warwick, Rhode Island.
Another area rated in the safety ranking included the percentage of the uninsured population. All five of the highest uninsured cities were from Texas, with Dallas ranking highest.
The highest natural disaster risk level ranked three California cities as the worst, along with Wichita, Kansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The lowest natural disaster area was Dover, Delaware.
Another finding in the study examined the percentage of households with emergency savings. Four of the five lowest cities were all in Florida, with Memphis, Tennessee ranking last. Wichita, Kansas, ranked the highest in the area.
St. Louis has experienced other recent reports related to crime concerns in the city. Until the midpoint of 2022, it was ranked first as the murder capital of the nation. The city also earned that designation last year, with 65 murders per 100,000 residents, according to a Rochester Insitute of Technology study.
New Orleans passed St. Louis earlier in the year in the rankings with a murder rate almost four times the level of Chicago and nearly 14 times the rate in New York City.