Is Georgia a Safe Place to Live?

Georgia landed near the bottom of a new safety ranking, placing 42nd out of 50 states in a study that measured everything from violent crime to climate disasters to how many people lack health insurance.

🎯 Why It Matters: The ranking suggests residents face higher risks across multiple areas of daily life compared to most other Americans, from personal safety to financial security.

📊 What’s Happening: Personal finance company WalletHub compared all 50 states using 52 different safety measures, including crime rates, natural disaster losses, job security, and road safety.

Georgia’s specific rankings paint a mixed picture. The state placed 39th for murders and non-negligent manslaughter per capita. It landed in the middle of the pack for assaults per capita (27th) and climate disaster losses (27th). Georgia showed relative strength in job security, ranking 22nd.

But the state’s worst mark came in healthcare access. Georgia ranked 48th for its share of uninsured residents.

🔍 Between the Lines: The study comes as more than 11,000 Americans have died from gun violence this year, and the country experienced 27 billion-dollar climate disasters in 2024.

Vermont topped the list as America’s safest state. Nearly 75% of parents there believe they live in safe neighborhoods. The state combines low crime rates with strong financial safety measures and well-maintained roads.

🏥 The Bigger Context: Labor shortages in police departments and healthcare are affecting safety nationwide, according to experts who contributed to the report.

Douglas Babcock, a public safety consultant, pointed to declining birth rates since 2007 as a looming crisis. “Public safety is not built quickly, although it can be lost very quickly,” he said.

The consequences ripple through communities. Reduced police staffing lengthens 911 response times. Hospital shortages diminish trauma care capacity, particularly during mass casualty events, according to Kheir Al-Kodmany, a professor at the University of Illinois.

But there is a paradox here. Jake Wegmann, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, noted that research shows more police officers correlate with less crime. He said American police-per-capita rates are lower than in the European Union, but incarceration rates run several times higher than peer nations.

💰 Financial Safety: Experts offered advice for residents looking to protect themselves financially in uncertain times.

Mark Ciampa, a cybersecurity professor at Western Kentucky University, recommended using unique passwords for each account and storing them in a password manager. He warned against opening unexpected email attachments, even from known senders, without verification through a separate channel like text or phone call.

Al-Kodmany suggested automating savings toward a three to six-month emergency fund, noting Federal Reserve surveys show many Americans cannot cover a $400 emergency without borrowing. He also recommended freezing credit at all three bureaus and enabling multi-factor authentication on financial accounts.

📍 The Sources:

• WalletHub 2025 Safest States in America report
• Douglas Babcock, Counterparts Coaching and Consulting
• Jake Wegmann, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
• Kheir Al-Kodmany, Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Mark Ciampa, Professor, Western Kentucky University