Where Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland rank in list of safest cities in U.S. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recent report ranked more than 180 U.S. cities based on how safe they are, and Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati all placed in the bottom half of the list. 

The personal finance company WalletHub compared 182 cities – including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state – across three key dimensions: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety. 

Researchers analyzed 41 metrics across those key dimensions. For example, home and community safety included metrics such as the murder rate, presence of sex offenders and number of traffic deaths. The natural disaster category included the likelihood of hurricanes and tornadoes, and the financial safety category included the unemployment rate and median credit score. 

“The safest cities in America protect residents from these threats of bodily harm and property damage, but on top of that, they also help secure people’s financial safety,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “Financial safety includes things like minimizing the risk of fraud and identity theft, keeping the population employed and insured, and combating homelessness.”

In the list of the safest cities, Cleveland ranked near the bottom at No. 173, making it the 10th-most unsafe city in America. In each specific dimension, the city ranked at No. 171 for home and community safety, No. 107 for natural disaster risk and No. 162 for financial safety. 

Columbus placed at No. 159, making it the 24th-most unsafe city. It ranked at No. 164 for home and community safety, No. 85 for natural disaster risk and No. 122 for financial safety. 

Cincinnati ranked as the safest of Ohio’s major metros, although it still appeared in the bottom half of the list, at No. 135. The city placed at No. 134 for home and community safety, No. 102 for natural disaster risk and No. 121 for financial safety. Toledo, at No. 144, and Akron, at No. 148, were also included in the list.

The study found that New Orleans is the least safe city in America, followed by Memphis, Tennessee; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Detroit; and Baltimore. 

The safest city in the country is Warwick, Rhode Island, followed by Overland Park, Kansas; Burlington, Vermont; Juneau, Alaska; and Yonkers, New York, according to the report. 

WalletHub’s full study can be viewed here.