Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A new study has placed Arkansas in the bottom five of all U.S. states, citing high rates of traffic fatalities, violent crime, and workplace injuries.
Personal finance website WalletHub reported that Arkansas placed 46th overall out of 50 states. It struggled across multiple metrics, seeing its lowest scores in personal, residential, and financial safety.
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To determine the rankings, WalletHub analyzed all 50 states across 52 key safety indicators grouped into five primary categories. Here is how Arkansas ranked in those core categories (where 1 is the safest and 50 is the least safe):
- Emergency Preparedness: 33rd
- Workplace Safety: 35th
- Road Safety: 37th
- Financial Safety: 43rd
- Personal & Residential Safety: 44th
Specific Areas of Concern
The underlying data revealed several individual metrics where the state falls into the bottom tier nationally:
- Traffic Fatalities: Arkansas has the fourth-highest rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (ranking 47th).
- Violent Crime: The state reported the fourth-highest rate of assaults per capita (ranking 47th).
- Workplace Incidents: Arkansas reported the fifth-highest rate of fatal occupational injuries per total workers (ranking 46th).
National Comparisons
Regionally, the South dominated the bottom of the list. The only states to rank lower than Arkansas overall were Florida (47th), Texas (48th), Louisiana (49th), and Mississippi, which ranked dead last at 50th.
Conversely, the Northeast proved to be the safest region, sweeping the top five spots. Vermont claimed the number one position with an overall score of 66.63, followed closely by Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Arkansas finished with an overall score of 42.87.
Read the full study here.
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