How Safe Were Texas Cities in 2019 Compared to the Rest of the Country?

Did you feel pretty safe living in Texas this year? How about compared to last year?

Like last year, WalletHub compiled their list of the safest cities in the country, taking into account the factors:

• Presence of Terrorist Attacks
• Number of Mass Shootings
• Murders & Non-Negligent Man-slaughters per Capita
• Forcible Rapes per Capita
• Assaults per Capita
• Thefts per Capita
• Sex Offenders per Capita
• Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
• Active Firefighters per Capita
• EMTs & Paramedics per Capita
• Hate Crimes per Capita
• Share of Sheltered Homeless
• Perception of Safety (Safety walking alone during daylight/night)
• Drug Poisoning Deaths per Capita
• Traffic Fatalities per Capita
• Pedestrian Fatalities per Capita
• Road Quality
• Earthquake Risk Level
• Flood Risk Level
• Hail Risk Level
• Hurricane Storm-Surge Risk Level
• Tornado Risk Level
• Wildfire Risk Level
• Unemployment Rate
• Underemployment Rate
• Share of Uninsured Population
• Foreclosure Rate
• Median Credit Score
• Debt-to-Income Ratio
• Poverty Rate
• Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita
• Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita
• Share of Unbanked Households
• Job Security
• Employment Growth
• Share of Households with Emergency Savings
• Retirement Plan Access & Participation Rate
• Personal Bankruptcy Filings per Capita
• Share of Underwater Homes

The biggest safety concern for Americans in 2019 was the availability of affordable healthcare, with 80% of Americans cited they worry about a “great deal” or a “fair amount". Unfortunately, this is also the category where Texas did the worst, taking 4 of the 5 top spots for Highest Uninsured Population.

Compared to 2018, all 16 cities from that list showed up on the 2019 list. Of those, one maintained its 2018 ranking, with 10 moving up in the rankings and 5 dropping.

For individual categories,

• San Antonio was #4 in the Top 5 for Fewest Hate Crimes per Capita
• Brownsville was 5th for Highest Unemployment Rate
• Houston, Dallas, Laredo, and Brownsville took 4 of the Top 5 spots for Highest % of Uninsured Population
• Brownsville and Corpus Christi came in 2nd and 3rd for Lowest Natural Disaster Risk Level