DO we feel SAFE in Massachusetts? The survey says we do. That’s a relief. I always need to see a survey to back up how I feel. But it’s hard to watch the news each day.
With scary world events, local events, medical events, cyber events and weather events, sometimes we don’t want to leave our house. Oh wait, that actually happened because we were told to! But while events around us can be a little unsettling, it hasn’t stopped us from spending more on travel, entertainment and stuff. For example, USA Today reports we’ll spend over $12 billion on Halloween. That’s a new record.
According to Yahoo Finance, millennials are living for today, not tomorrow:
The demographic accumulated nearly $4 trillion in debt during the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting a substantial $140 billion rise from the preceding quarter. The surge represents a 27% increase since late 2019, constituting the most significant upswing in debt accumulation since the 2008 financial crisis.
Let me say that again: FOUR TRILLION in a QUARTER. Now that is some extreme behavior. Experts say you can blame higher inflation, making millennials resorting to credit card use, to pay their usual bills. But then, to keep up with friends, they use more credit so they don’t go without the fun stuff, like entertainment, clothes and travel. So despite the challenging world and local events, millennials at least, feel safe enough to rock their credit cards.
Do we feel SAFE in Massachusetts?
Our friends at Wallethub have released another in depth report sharing key metrics on our safety by state:
With over 34,000 Americans having died from gun violence this year and the country having experienced 24 billion-dollar climate disasters, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Safest States in America, as well as expert commentary.
So let’s see the TOP FIVE safest states, thanks to Wallethub!
NUMBER ONE SAFEST-Vermont
(Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
The Green Mountain state boasts a NUMBER ONE for workplace safety, #2 for financial safety, #4 for personal and residential safety.
The overall score is 68.27 making Vermont #1.
2-Maine
(Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Maine is close second at #2 overall, winning a big score on Emergency Preparedness at #2, actually beating Vermont. Maine is #3 in personal and residential safety, beating Vermont as well.
3-New Hampshire
(Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The White Mountain state boasts a strong #3 overall, with wins in the Road Safety category with a big NUMBER 1!
4-Utah
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
When it comes to anything safe, Utah always shows up in the top 5. For financial safety they came in NUMBER 1! That would make sense. Look who their Senator is. Not sure if Mitt deserves the credit, but he does know something about that topic.
5-Massachusetts!
(Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
It’s great to see our neck of the woods in the top 5. Wallethub approved us sharing these stats:
Safety in Massachusetts (1=Safest; 25=Avg.)
- Overall rank for Massachusetts: 5th
- 6th – Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
- 28th – Assaults per Capita
- 6th – Loss Amounts from Climate Disasters per Capita
- 11th – Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers
- 1st – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel
- 29th – Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita
- 5th – Bullying Incidence Rate
- 4th – Sex Offenders per Capita
- 1st – Share of Uninsured Population (That’s in interesting stat seeing that the Prudential Tower is the symbolic backdrop of our state capitol!)
