The Safest Cities for Children

Some places are just too dangerous for children: crocodile ponds, stores that sell barbed wire, Jacksonville. . . . Okay, the Sunshine State's largest city may not be that unsafe, but it's probably riskier than its residents realize. When we looked at perils posed to children in 100 cities, Jacksonville came in as riskiest.

The data: accidental death rates for kids ages 5 to 14 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), number of car-seat inspection locations per child (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), s*x offenders per capita (state and national registries), percentage of abused children protected from further abuse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), and the strength of child-restraint laws and bike-helmet laws (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).

Overall: 1st = Safest, 100th = Least safe

Other Statistics:
Accidental Deaths: 1st = Lowest mortality
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 1st = More locations
S*x Offenders: 1st = Fewest per capita
Abused-Children Protection: 1st = Least occurrence

Jacksonville, FL

Overall Ranking: 100th

Accidental Deaths: 86th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 100th
S*x Offenders: 53rd
Abused-Children Protection: 68th

Grade: F

New Orleans, LA

Overall Ranking: 99th

Accidental Deaths: 99th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 68th
S*x Offenders: 78th
Abused-Children Protection: 68th

Grade: F

Baltimore, MD

Overall Ranking: 98th

Accidental Deaths: 98th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 72nd
S*x Offenders: 75th
Abused-Children Protection: 73rd

Grade: F

Bakersfield, CA

Overall Ranking: 97th

Accidental Deaths: 97th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 48th
S*x Offenders: 82nd
Abused-Children Protection: 84th

Grade: F

Tulsa, OK

Overall Ranking: 96th

Accidental Deaths: 89th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 74th
S*x Offenders: 14th
Abused-Children Protection: 90th

Grade: F

Modesto, CA

Overall Ranking: 95th

Accidental Deaths: 84th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 61st
S*x Offenders: 60th
Abused-Children Protection: 84th

Grade: F

Grand Rapids, MI

Overall Ranking: 94th

Accidental Deaths: 67th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 63rd
S*x Offenders: 93rd
Abused-Children Protection: 72nd

Grade: F

Fresno, CA

Overall Ranking: 93rd

Accidental Deaths: 81st
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 55th
S*x Offenders: 67th
Abused-Children Protection: 84th

Grade: D-

Oklahoma City, OK

Overall Ranking: 92nd

Accidental Deaths: 74th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 69th
S*x Offenders: 41st
Abused-Children Protection: 90th

Grade: D-

Corpus Christi, TX

Overall Ranking: 91st

Accidental Deaths: 80th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 70th
S*x Offenders: 65th
Abused-Children Protection: 29th

Grade: D-

Burlington, VT

Overall Ranking: 10th

Accidental Deaths: 53rd
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 1st
S*x Offenders: 52nd
Abused-Children Protection: 3rd

Grade: B+

Pittsburgh, PA

Overall Ranking: 9th

Accidental Deaths: 32nd
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 20th
S*x Offenders: 55th
Abused-Children Protection: 11th

Grade: B+

Colorado Springs, CO

Overall Ranking: 8th

Accidental Deaths: 17th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 12th
S*x Offenders: 66th
Abused-Children Protection: 42nd

Grade: B+

Jersey City, NJ

Overall Ranking: 7th

Accidental Deaths: 1st
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 65th
S*x Offenders: 10th
Abused-Children Protection: 36th

Grade: B+

Providence, RI

Overall Ranking: 6th

Accidental Deaths: 6th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 38th
S*x Offenders: 8th
Abused-Children Protection: 92nd

Grade: A-

Spokane, WA

Overall Ranking: 5th

Accidental Deaths: 13th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 27th
S*x Offenders: 24th
Abused-Children Protection: 55th

Grade: A-

Virginia Beach, VA

Overall Ranking: 4th

Accidental Deaths: 7th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 37th
S*x Offenders: 34th
Abused-Children Protection: 9th

Grade: A-

San Francisco, CA

Overall Ranking: 3rd

Accidental Deaths: 8th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 25th
S*x Offenders: 12th
Abused-Children Protection: 84th

Grade: A

Honolulu, HI

Overall Ranking: 2nd

Accidental Deaths: 16th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 23rd
S*x Offenders: 36th
Abused-Children Protection: 19th

Grade: A

Madison, WI

Overall Ranking: 1st

Accidental Deaths: 20th
Car-Seat Inspection Locations: 2nd
S*x Offenders: 2nd
Abused-Children Protection: 46th

Grade: A+