Report: WA falls in ranking of safest states due to high crime and police shortage

(The middle square) – Washington state ranks 18th in WalletHub’s Safest States in America report, down six spots from last year’s report.

The company’s personal finance rankings are based on multiple categories, from property crime to financial security to emergency preparedness and unemployment.

The Evergreen State ranks high in workplace safety and emergency preparedness, ranking 11th and 7th, respectively.

Poor ratings in the areas of personal and housing safety, traffic safety and unemployment weighed on Washington’s overall rating.

WalletHub examined public safety data that includes, but is not limited to, mass shootings, rapes, assaults, thefts, sex crimes, overdose deaths, law enforcement numbers, suicide rates and hate crimes.

“Washington is 50 [last] in deaths per capita and 50th in law enforcement personnel per capita,” WalletHub writer and analyst Chip Lupa told The Center Square. “Washington also ranks 44th in emergency responders and paramedics per capita.”

The state’s shortage of police officers and high crime rates have become issues in this year’s gubernatorial contest between Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert.

“Washington ranked 40th in the percentage of uninsured drivers,” Lupo noted. “They rank 47th in road quality, 24th in traffic fatalities and 33rd in the number of alcohol drivers per capita, making them 30th overall in road safety.”

According to AutoInsurance.com, Washington has the second highest rate of car theft in the country, behind Colorado.

While Washington does well when it comes to emergency preparedness, it doesn’t do well when it comes to workplace illnesses.

“The risk of things like hurricanes is low and the financial losses from that are not as great,” Lupo said, noting that Washington is considered an earthquake zone.

The Nisqually earthquake of February 28, 2001 measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and caused at least $2 billion in damages. But experts believe the region is overdue for a much larger quake that would be exponentially more destructive.

“Washington ranked 41st in injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time employees, so a lot of people are taking time off,” Lupa said, pointing out that states with higher percentages of unionized workers tend to have higher rates of reported illnesses and injuries on the job.

According to 2023 statistics, Washington’s workforce is 16.5% unionized. This is the third highest union workforce ratio in the country.

The unemployment rate was also taken into account in the WalletHub survey and Washington did not fare well compared to the rest of the country. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington ranked 45th in the nation in August with an unemployment rate of 4.8%.

According to the WalletHub study, the five safest states in the country are Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Utah.

The five less safe states in the country are Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Florida.