Before we ventured into the year 2020, our definition of safety was pretty much limited to how confident we were that we would not be victims of crime.

But after months of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of staying safe has taken on a whole new meaning, with a recent Gallup poll showing that as many as six in ten of us have been 'very' or 'somewhat' concerned about the safety of our families when it comes to staying healthy.

Financial safety has also been pushed to the forefront as we deal with the tremendous economic fallout from coronavirus.

To measure the safest places in America, WalletHub looked at more than 180 cities, rating them on not just the latest crime statistics, but also on the notion of both physical and financial health.

Out of those 180-plus places, Sioux Falls lands squarely in the top third of the safest places in America -51st overall. But two key issues kept that ranking from being ever higher - one we have some control over and one we don't.

While South Dakota's largest city scored in the top five nationally (4th overall) in financial safety, it could only manage a number-82 ranking in-home and community safety and a spot at 103rd in natural disaster risk.

South Dakota's exceedingly high coronavirus numbers helped to drag down the home and community score, while our location in a very active tornado region and severe winter weather area didn't help our natural disaster ranking.

A number of the safest cities in the country are clustered in the Northeast, while some of the most dangerous places are in the South.

SAFEST CITIES IN AMERICA (WalletHub)

  1. Columbia, Maryland
  2. South Burlington, Vermont
  3. Plano, Texas
  4. Nashua, New Hampshire
  5. Lewiston, Maine
  6. Burlington, Vermont
  7. Salem, Oregon
  8. Virginia Beach, Virginia
  9. Raleigh, North Carolina
  10. Gilbert, Arizona

MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN AMERICA (WalletHub)

  1. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  2. St. Louis, Missouri
  3. San Bernadino, California
  4. Birmingham, Alabama
  5. Detroit, Michigan
  6. Jackson, Mississippi
  7. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  8. Memphis, Tennessee
  9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  10. Chattanooga, Tennessee

A handful of cities in South Dakota's neighboring states are among the top 40 safest in America:

  • Bismarck, North Dakota - 16th
  • Cheyenne, Wyoming - 33rd
  • Lincoln, Nebraska - 36th
  • Fargo, North Dakota - 37th
  • Cedar Rapids, Iowa - 38th
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