New Study Claims Missouri More Dangerous than Illinois

There's a new study that claims to show the "safest states in America". After seeing the results, my takeaway is that it's claiming that Missouri is more dangerous than Illinois. Let's explore if that's accurate or not.

Don't blame me for this joyous news. It's WalletHub's fault. Well, not really their fault as they're just the messenger as am I.

Before I try to figure out the why's and how's of this study, check out their 2021 Safest States in America map.

Their emphasis is on safety and not danger, but if you look at the numbers that's what I'm seeing. They list Illinois as the 27th safest state while Missouri is near the cellar at #42. Let's look at WalletHub's metrics to see what they measured:

• Personal & Residential Safety
• Financial Safety
• Road Safety
• Workplace Safety
• Emergency Preparedness

I'll give them credit for grabbing numbers from a lot of different areas to draw their conclusions at least. When I first saw the study, I almost immediately thought "St. Louis". It's been listed as one of the most dangerous metros in America for a few years now and I figured this was what brought Missouri down so far on the safety list. As it turns out, it's more complicated than that.

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Missouri scores lowest on the personal and residential safety along with road safety. Illinois gets dinged for financial safety, but scores in the top 12 for personal and residential safety. Go figure.

Read the full WalletHub study to see if you agree with the conclusion that Missouri is the problem child while Illinois plays the role of model citizen.