Ranking: Criminals more active in warm-weather states

States with colder weather tend to be safer than those in the Sun Belt. The rankings place Minnesota 17th, up two spots from the previous year.

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: March 18, 2008 - 9:41 AM

States with colder weather tend to be safer than those in the Sun Belt.

That's what a national map looks like, according to a crime analysis released this week.

The rankings, published by a division of Congressional Quarterly, place Minnesota 17th, up two spots from the previous year.

Also, New Hampshire has dethroned North Dakota from its 10-year reign at the top of the annual list. It now stands at No. 3.

As for the other Upper Midwest states: South Dakota is fifth, Iowa eighth and Wisconsin 10th.

The rankings are determined using rates for six crime categories -- murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, and motor vehicle theft -- by calculating a state's position relative to the national average for each category. The farther below the national average a state's crime rate is, the safer it ranks; the farther above the national average, the more dangerous.

Others in the top 10 include:

No. 2: Maine

No. 4: Vermont

No. 6: Wyoming

No. 7: Montana

No. 9: Idaho

At the bottom, 40 through 50 is in this order: Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Alaska, Maryland, Tennessee, Arizona, South Carolina, New Mexico, Louisiana and Nevada.

Congressional Quarterly Inc. is a private, independent news gathering and publishing firm based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by the Florida-based Times Publishing Co., publisher of the St. Petersburg Times.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482