INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is the eighth-safest state in the nation, according to a 2026 report released Monday by personal finance website WalletHub. The “Safest States in America” study compared all 50 states across 52 key indicators of safety, grouped into five categories: personal and resid ential safety, financial safety, road safety, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness. Indiana earned an overall score of 60.83, placing it comfortably in the top 10. The state’s strongest performance was in the personal and residential safety category, where it ranked seventh. This metric evaluates factors such as the number of law enforcement employees per capita, mass shootings, and various crime rates including assaults and thefts. Indiana also scored well in workplace safety, ranking 10th, and road safety, where it placed 11th. “The safest states in America protect their residents from harm in a multitude of different ways, from keeping crime rates low and maintaining safe roadways to having strong economies,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement. While Indiana excelled in physical and occupational safety, it saw lower rankings in financial safety (25th) and emergency preparedness (28th). The emergency preparedness category tracks the frequency and financial impact of climate disasters causing more than $1 billion in damages. Indiana’s 2026 Safety Rankings: Overall Rank: 8th Personal Residential Safety: 7th Workplace Safety: 10th Road Safety: 11th Financial Safety: 25th Emergency Preparedness: 28th Vermont was named the safest state in the country for 2026, followed by Massachusetts and Maine. Mississippi was ranked the least safe state. The data used for the rankings was collected through Sept. 7, 2026, from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ...read more read less