By james art 
PHOENIX — No major Arizona city made the top 25 in a recent survey of the safest places to live in the United States.
WalletHub’s “Safest Cities in America (2024)” compares 182 cities based on 41 key safety metrics, with a focus on home and community, natural disaster risk and financial safety.
Gilbert earned the top spot (31st), while Phoenix ranked a dismal 149th. Scottsdale ranked second best (39th), with Chandler (46th), Peoria (69th), Mesa (85th) and Tempe (92nd) also recording top 100 appearances.
South Burlington, Virginia, Casper, Wyoming, and Warwick, Rhode Island were ranked as the top three safest cities in the US. South Burlington was the only city to achieve top 10 rankings in all three major categories, specifically as number one for financial security.
How the research was conducted
Each eligible U.S. city received up to 100 points in three main categories. Home and community safety carried the most weight, worth up to 60 points, while natural disaster risk and financial security were worth up to 20 points.
Some subcategories include sex offenders per capita, drug poisoning deaths per capita, wildfire risk index, unemployment rate, and debt-to-income ratio.
Gilbert (65.33 points), which finished nearly six points behind South Burlington (74.15), was seventh in home and community safety. That was in stark contrast to Phoenix (50.83), which came in 136th in the category.
Every Arizona city featured (nine) failed to make the top 140 for natural disaster risk, except for Tucson, which was 27th in that category and 146th overall.
Financial security, on the other hand, was a bright spot for Arizona cities. Six eclipsed the top 50 (Scottsdale leads at No. 21), while the other three took spots in the top 80.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Detroit, Michigan and Memphis, Tennessee were rated as the least safe American cities, with none receiving enough points to make the top 100 in any major category.