5 Most, Least Violent States

The most violent US states tend to be in the South. They also tend to have the least restrictive gun laws in the country. That's according to 24/7 Wall St., which determined the most and least violent of all 50 states based on the rate of murder, other violent crimes, incarceration, and small arms ownership. Like the most violent states, the least violent are mostly concentrated in one region, this time the Northeast. Louisiana and Maine are on opposite ends of the list:

Most violent (the violent crime rate listed below is just one factor in the overall ranking):

1. Louisiana, with a violent crime rate of 566.1 per 100,000
2. Alabama, 532.2 per 100,000
3. Alaska, 804.2 per 100,000
4. Tennessee, 632.9 per 100,000
5. Nevada, 678.1 per 100,000

Least violent (the violent crime rate listed below is just one factor in the overall ranking):

1. Maine, 123.8 per 100,000
2. New Hampshire, 197.6 per 100,000
3. Hawaii, 309.2 per 100,000
4. Massachusetts, 376.9 per 100,000
5. Vermont, 158.3 per 100,000

Click for the full list or see how states rank on quality of life. (More violence stories.)