N.H. Receives Lowest Crime Ranking; Nevada Ranks as Worst State

Three northeast states have the lowest crime rate, while Nevada, Louisiana and South Carolina have the highest crime rate, according to a new study.

New Hampshire (1) received the lowest crime rate ranking again this year, followed by Vermont (2) and Maine (3).

New Hampshire reported only 15 murders out of a population of 1.3 million — the lowest rate in the country. New Hampshire was also below the national average for rape, and had the second lowest rate for aggravated assault with only 78 cases per 100,000 citizens in 2007.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the lowest crime rate include: North Dakota (4), South Dakota (5), Montana (6), Wyoming (7), Iowa (8), Rhode Island (9), Connecticut (10).

Ranked least favorably among the states was Nevada (50), followed by Louisiana (49) and South Carolina (48).

Nevada’s murder rate was nearly seven times higher than New Hampshire’s, and the Silver State reported a rape rate of 43 cases per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 30. Nevada also tops the list for robbery rate, with an average 270 reported cases per 100,000 citizens versus the national average of 148, and New Hampshire’s rate of 33.

Rounding out the 10 states ranked least favorably include: New Mexico (47), Florida (46), Tennessee (45), Alaska (44), Arizona (43), Maryland (42), Michigan (41).

To view all 50 state rankings visit: http://os.cqpress.com/rankings/CrimeStateRankings_2009.pdf.

The state crime rankings were released by CQ Press in its “Crime State Rankings 2009,” the newest edition of the annual volume comparing the 50 states in more than 500 crime-related categories.

Source: CQ Press