Idaho? Not such a safe place, study says. But we do have America’s safest small town

If you’re like most Idahoans, the recent killings at Boise Towne Square left you shocked and horrified.

And, if your brain works like mine, you immediately began rationalizing.

Unthinkable mall shooting or not, this is Idaho. If we look at the big picture, last week’s tragic aberration must be counterbalanced by the fact that Idaho still is one of the safest places on Earth. Right?

Two new studies offer differing views about the security of life in the Gem State.

One, from WalletHub, says Idaho isn’t even close to the safest place to live in the United States. Idaho ranks in the bottom half — a surprising 32nd place — among “2021’s safest states in America.” Ugh. Has our beloved fast-growing home finally jumped the safety shark?

Another study, from SafeWise, unveils the “100 safest small towns in America 2021.” Sleep well, Weiser! You’re No. 1 in the entire nation.

(For you newcomers: Weiser — population roughly 5,000 — is about 75 minutes northwest of Boise.)

So what do we make of these two studies? Of the seemingly disparate pictures they paint?

First of all, yes: Weiser is super sleepy. Er, safe. Ask any elk grazing in the middle of town. We don’t need SafeWise — “the leading online resource for all things safety and security” — to enlighten us.

Actually, Weiser has competition. “Five cities tied for first place,” SafeWise says, “with zero crimes reported: Lewisboro Town, New York; Luzerne Township, Pennsylvania; Sleepy Hollow Village, New York; Thetford Township, Michigan; and Weiser, Idaho.”

We’ll take that tie. Sure, you might get accosted by a gang of fiddle players if you walk into the wrong Weiser alley in late June. But Weiser’s overall safety is well-documented. When SafeWise published a ranking of the “10 safest cities in Idaho” six months ago, Weiser also topped that list.

Idaho doesn’t have any other small towns ranked among the nation’s top 100 safest. Nevertheless, it’s an honor. As SafeWise points out, “this is an elite ranking — 32 states had no cities on the list.”

WalletHub, however, does not seem overly impressed.

When it comes to everywhere in Idaho that isn’t Weiser — watch your back, apparently.

A personal finance website that cranks out data-driven rankings of everything under the sun, WalletHub views safety through a wide-angle lens. It doesn’t just involve a lack of crime.

WalletHub used 55 variables grouped in five categories to compare all 50 states. “Our data set ranges from the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated,” WalletHub says, “to assaults per capita and the unemployment rate.”

Oof, vaccinations? No wonder Idaho slipped on this list.

In WalletHub’s rankings, Vermont is the safest state. Louisiana is the least safe. (Adding insult to injury, our prudish neighbor Utah is the fifth-safest state.)

Here are the five main categories, and where Idaho finished: personal and residential safety (38th), financial safety (30th), road safety (19th), workplace safety (46th) and emergency preparedness (16th).

Um, 46th in workplace safety? With so many people working from home, are we tripping on the way to the fridge?

On the other hand, a strong 16th in emergency preparedness seems accurate, if not perhaps a little low. Thank you, North Idaho preppers!

Idaho’s not-so-hot ranking in WalletHub’s study probably shouldn’t worry us much. When it comes to safety, Idahoans don’t normally consider criteria such as “Share of Uninsured Drivers” or “Number of Climate Disasters Causing $1 Billion+ in Damages in Past Decades.”

But we shouldn’t leave our doors unlocked, either.

Idaho is changing fast — often faster than we can control it. And nothing ever feels safe about an unknown future.

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 4:00 AM.