Portland, Maine, Named One of America’s Safest Cities in New Study

Mainers, you should be feeling pretty good right now. Or perhaps I should say, you should be feeling pretty safe. Why is that? Because the state's two largest cities scored very well in the latest safety report.

WalletHub.com, a personal finance website, recently published its annual report on the safest cities in America. Both Portland and Lewiston were included in the report.

Portland finished just outside the top 10, coming in at 11th place, putting the city just behind Yonkers, NY, and just ahead of Madison, WI. These are fairly impressive rankings for Maine’s major metropolitan areas. It's reassuring to see them scoring so well.

Side view of Lewiston Falls with the Lewiston, Maine skyline in the background

The study included each state's two largest cities, plus the 150 most populous cities in the nation. It evaluated safety using three major categories: Home & Community Safety, Natural Disaster Risk, and Financial Safety. These categories were further broken down into 41 subcategories, making the analysis incredibly detailed. You can read more about the methodology in the report.

How Safe is Portland, Maine?

Portland excelled in all three categories compared to its counterparts. Maine's largest city finished 41st in Home & Community Safety, which is pretty good considering the world seems to be attempting to go to hell.

Portland ranked 15th in Natural Disaster Risk, which is rather funny, considering, well, we hardly ever have them. What was the last significant natural disaster here, the ice storm of 1998? Sure, we have had some flooding here and there, but nothing crazy.

And then there's the Financial Safety category, where Portland finished numero uno. That's pretty great, considering this category covers a wealth of important subcategories, including unemployment rates, the percentage of uninsured individuals, and median credit scores, just to name a few. Good on Portlanders for doing their part.

How Safe is Lewiston, Maine?

Maine's second-largest city also did quite well for itself, as Lewiston finished a respectable 39th overall, just one spot behind Boston. It performed especially well in two categories, ranking 10th in Financial Safety and an impressive 6th in Natural Disaster Risk.

However, Lewiston slid dramatically in the rankings when it came to Home & Community Safety, finishing 110th. Here's hoping the city can address some of the issues that contributed to this lower ranking so it can continue to grow and prosper the way it should.

So, where is the safest city in America? Well, that would be very far from here. Alaska's capital, Juneau, came in as the safest city in the nation, with the New England city of Warwick, RI, finishing just behind it.

READ MORE: Maine’s Acadia National Park Ranks 7th in the Nation with Over 4 Million Visits

As for the least safe city in America, congratulations(?) to New Orleans, LA!

Welp, that still wouldn't deter me from living there. Jazz, booze, and a massive caloric intake are worth the risk.