When I was growing up in the 1970's it was very common to leave our house unlocked when we were away and the car windows down all night if that is how we happen to have left them. I can't tell you if we felt safe because of the town we lived in or because things were safer in the 70's and 80's but unlocked was normal to us.

Are we safe in and away from our homes today? Consumer Affairs researched the 'Safest States in America" and New York did really well!

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Without even looking at the results I would guess that states such as North Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska would be among the safest. I only have my impression of those states to offer as my reason why. Sitting here in the Capital Region my thought is, nothing happens in those states so they must be safe. Turns out none of my guesses made the top 10 but Massachusetts starts the countdown at #10 followed by Virginia at #9!

I admit I feel very safe in my Niskayuna home but even I was surprised to see that our great state of New York sits at #8! According to Consumer Affairs, New York has a great ratio of law enforcement employees to residents. These 3 towns are among the safest in New York:

  • East Hampton Village
  • Town of Mamaroneck
  • Yonkers

Here is the rest of the Top 10 Safest States in America:

#7 - Ohio
#6 - Connecticut
#5 - Vermont
#4 - Maine
#3 - Rhode Island
#2 - New Hampshire
#1 - New Jersey

It is good to see the northeast represented so well in this Top 10 but personally I think New Jersey should be lower on the list.

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