The study ranked 182 major cities in America.

Residents of Columbia, Maryland, can breathe a little easier. The Baltimore suburb was named the “Safest City in America" in a study by WalletHub. The study focused on how safe Americans feel, using 41 indicators of safety. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, Virginia, also ranked in the top 15. This is the second year in a row Columbia was named the No. 1 safest city in America by the free credit reporting website.

The accolade was acknowledged by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, who took office one year ago. The county executive thanked the residents and those responsible for keeping the city at No. 1:

“It is an incredible honor for Howard County and Columbia to be named 'Safest City in America' by WalletHub for the second consecutive year. I want to thank our police officers, firefighters, and paramedics, social workers, community advocates, and engaged residents for working together to achieve this honor for our community once again.”  

The study used data from national agencies to measure 41 safety metrics and how they related to a city’s natural disaster risk, financial safety, and home and community safety. Each category was rated on a scale from 1 to 100, and those numbers were combined to rank each city. Columbia has the highest average at 85.33 points. Categories included fewest traffic fatalities per capita, lowest unemployment rate, and the lowest natural disaster risk level.

The city that came in No. 1 for home and community safety was Yonkers, New York. Dover, Delaware, has the lowest risk for natural disasters while Boise, Idaho, ranked first in financial safety. The city that came in as the least-safe city in America was St. Louis, Missouri. View all the findings and see how other cities ranked at Wallet Hub.

Do you feel Columbia is a safe city to live in? Tell us in the comments below!