Safest Cities in America Ranking Includes Four from New York

Do you think New York is one of the safest states? A new study certainly thinks so.

When thinking about what makes a city or neighborhood safe, most tend to think about the ability to take a nightly stroll without having to constantly look over one's shoulder.

While that is indeed important, what makes an area truly "safe" requires more than just that.

Experts say a city or town's safety ranking also considers the frequency of natural disasters, potential health hazards, traffic accidents, and mass shootings. Cost of living and unemployment rates are also an indicator, because financial security is a main contributor to a person's peace of mind.

While it is impossible to find a city or town where absolutely nothing bad happens year-round, Americans will prioritize living in spaces that satisfy their safety and security standards.

But which American cities are considered the safest overall?  WalletHub updated its annual ranking of over 180 cities where Americans are the most secure.

Four cities in New York made the cut, with one suburb managing to snag a spot in the top 10.

Aside from being the most secure in the Empire State, Yonkers was ranked the sixth safest city in the entire country. Here's how.

Every city was compared across three categories: Home and community safety, natural disaster risk, and financial safety.

Yonkers was rated the third best city for home and community safety and placed within the top 30 for lowest natural disaster risk, coming in 29th place.

Unfortunately, the city stumbled when comparing its financial safety rank, which was rated 139th best.

Considering New York consistently ranks as one of the most expensive states, that shouldn't be all that surprising.

Read More: New York State Ranks Dead Last for Affordability

Rochester, the state's 2nd safest city, was ranked 95th most secure in the country. The city's best showing was in the lowest natural disaster risk category, coming in 67th place overall.

The Flower City placed 100th best in community safety and 93rd for financial security.

New York City bowed in 123rd place, with its best category being natural disaster risk. The Big Apple was ranked 66th in that respective ranking.  It finished 115th and 127th best in financial security and home safety, respectively.

Finally, coming in as New York's fourth safest city is Buffalo, which finished the national roundup in 140th place. The City of Light performed best in the financial safety category, placing 49th most secure overall.

Buffalo placed 108th and 138th best in respective terms of the natural disaster and home safety categories.

In all, WalletHub compared 182 across 41 key indicators to finalize their updated list. Statistics like traffic fatalities, assaults per capita, unemployment, and percentage of uninsured individuals were included in the report.

America's top 5 safest cities, based on WalletHub's findings, are as below:

1. South Burlington, VT
2. Casper, WY
3. Warwick, RI
4. Burlington, VT
5. Boise, ID

Shout out to Vermont for the new bragging rights!

Meanwhile, for those who have money on the mind and are thinking of moving to save some much-needed cash, here's the 5 most affordable places in New York.

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