LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
Troubling new rankings put Nevada near the bottom of the list in the United States Peace Index.
The states are pretty much divided between those in the north and south, with the safest being Maine and the most dangerous Louisiana.
The study was released by the nonprofit group Institute for Economics and Peace. They ranked cities and states using five criteria: homicides, other violent crimes, incarcerations, the number of police and citizens with small arms.
The most dangerous states were Louisiana, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida and Arizona. According to the IEP data, Nevada ranked among the worst because of the high rate of violent crimes and incarcerations.
The safest states were Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Utah.
The worst cities on the list were Detroit, New Orleans, Nashville, Miami and Baltimore rounding out the worst five. Las Vegas ranked seventh most violent on the rankings, mainly because of high rates of reported violent crimes.
The study pointed to education as a key factor when it comes to safety. The states with higher high school graduation rates ranked as safer cities overall.
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