Where you live can drastically affect the chances of being in a collision
So many aspects of vehicle safety focus on how a car performs in a collision, with both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducting regular crash tests. However, crash avoidance is also important, which is why technologies like blind-spot monitoring have become so commonplace.
But your chances of avoiding a crash in the first place are much lower in some cities than in others, as Allstate – one of the country’s major insurers – has found in its 2025 America’s Best Driver’s Report. If you live in the Northeast, the results don’t make for pretty reading.
Boston Is The Riskiest City For Drivers
Allstate’s study used auto claims data in the country’s 200 most popular cities to determine how often a driver will experience a collision, on average. Based on the study, which analyzed data of crashes and property damage between January 2022 and December 2023, the average driver in this country will be involved in an accident once every 10.56 years.
Boston emerged as the riskiest city of all, with drivers here expected to be involved in a collision every 3.07 years. Below are the five worst cities, with the average years between collisions indicated in brackets:
- Boston, MA (3.07 years)
- Washington, DC (3.87)
- Baltimore, MD (4.17)
- Worcester, MA (4.26)
- Springfield, MA (4.57)
Of the 10 riskiest cities with the highest collision rates, seven are in the Northeast. The West Coast has three cities in the top 10 riskiest zones, those being Los Angeles, Glendale, and Oakland. Unsurprisingly, there is some correlation between congestion and the number of accidents, with LA previously ranking as the most congested city in the country.
St. Louis dropped 90 spots to 175, with a major increase in the number of crashes since the 2015 study was conducted. In general, Midwestern states saw a decline.
Related: AAA says these are America’s most dangerous roads
What Are The Safest Cities To Drive In?
On the other side of the spectrum, these are the five safest cities in the USA, with the average years between when drivers are expected to experience a collision indicated in brackets:
- Brownsville, TX (14.24)
- Boise, ID (13.9)
- Fort Collins, CO (13.36)
- Cary, NC (12.91)
- Laredo, TX (12.83)
According to the data, Brownsville in Texas is where drivers will experience the longest gap between collisions. Four other cities in Texas rank in the top 20 for least risky. While Dallas was down at 165th, it and many other Texas cities improved their rankings in 2025.
Compared to the 2015 study, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington saw significant reductions in collisions. The biggest improvement came in Bellevue, Washington, which climbed 133 ranking spots since 2015.
It must be noted that Allstate represents around 10% of all auto policies in the United States, so while that’s enough to get an idea of the safest/most dangerous states, another insurer conducting the same study is likely to obtain slightly different outcomes.
Although Allstate calls this report its “Best Drivers” report, we should also consider that factors beyond the driver’s control could also skew data, be it the condition of roads, general weather conditions, and the level of congestion. Still, the difference between the best- and worst-performing cities is enormous, demonstrating that where you live can significantly impact the likelihood of being in a crash.