I think maybe South Dakota although it is close some Nuke silos. Other than that, it seems to be fairly civil and conservative. Thats where I tell my kids, grand kids and to bring the great grandkids if they leave Texas and Georgia. Where would you go if you left your home state?
According to WalletHub, the five safest states are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Utah, and Hawaii. However, U.S. News places Maine, Wyoming, Connecticut, Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Idaho, Vermont, New Jersey, and New Hampshire as the ten safest states, in that order.
A while ago, I read that Vermont only has 10 homicides per year on average. The interesting thing is that they have Constitutional Carry (meaning that you do not need a permit to carry a gun, either on your hop or concealed.) There are only about 2 gun-related homicides per year...state wide. Offsetting the safety is the presence of Bernie Sanders. I think most states are safe, if you avoid the cities. Texas is one likely exception due to the illegals. I don't know where I would go if I left Virginia. I'd find someplace without the summertime humidity, that's for sure.
I suppose a lot of things would need to be taken into consideration, such as population levels. Figures concerning the number of incidents per 100,000 population might be more valuable than the total annual number within the state. More importantly, when ranking states are the criteria. Are they weighing your chances of being killed, of being the victim of a violent crime, or are the looking at all types of crime?
I was thinking along the lines of "per-capita" when I saw Virginia on that list of "safest." Other than Richmond (the state capitol), there are no established inner city enclaves where violent crime rates are high. Over half the population is crammed into 5% of the square miles, and that is nearly all high-dollar suburbs. So the per-capita rate (and maybe even the raw numbers) are currently low. But that is changing. The illegal population is entrenched in some places in the northern part of the state such that there are now places people will not go after dark. That never used to be the case. And drug turf wars are becoming commonplace in the quiet southern city of Charlottesville. I have no idea what's going on in the rest of the state. Virginia's place on that list is not guaranteed.
I wouldn't pick a place to live by state. There are pockets of crime in most of them, so you would have to choose an area within. Here in PA we have Philadelphia which is in the news almost daily for shootings including cops being killed. In this neck of the woods it is fairly quiet. The problem is however that these community leaders are always looking for more, more and more community expansion by enticing businesses to relocate and creating jobs and trying to attract visitors. Less is more if you want a safe and quiet place to live.
Most important is civility of the populace., it is a red state which is a must. Less is more is another plus for states with small populations. Economy is good. Water is also important, but I can't find a good source of S. Dakotas aquafer. I found some information about its water but none with details of volume or purity. Weather would keep many away. I'm sure it would be very boring to most of us.
I thought country living in Iowa might be nice. Thought of putting in an earth home. But I have it pretty good here, for the moment.
Iowa is too 'purple' for me, too many liberals. I'm sure it is ok for some but if I made a drastic move, it would be to get as far away from liberals as possible. I have libs in my family which I love them but don't want to live around them. Seeing what they did to Atlanta in past 50 years is enough for me to never be around it again.
My vote would go to northeast ALASKA. One would have to adopt a particular lifestyle to keep your home warm and food on the table. But isn't that true for everywhere? Those who live there love it. They have a negligible chance of being run over by a train, electrocuted by faulty wiring, or shot in a mistaken FBI raid.
Getting in and out of there, as well as keeping warm and light for most of the year would be the issues. Most of rural Alaska is pretty safe from everything except depression. Lots of suicides and accidental deaths and injuries. There was a guy who got a notice of audit from the IRS while I was living out there. He was ordered to report to the IRS office in Anchorage. He simply replied "NO. If you want to audit me, you come here." Nobody ever came and he was not prosecuted further.