Ranked US States by Combined Danger Metrics (2023)

Based on our AI danger metrics—drug overdose deaths, suicides, and homicides per 100,000 population—here’s the ranking of all 50 states from highest to lowest combined rate. Data is sourced from CDC for overdoses,  Wisevoter for suicides, and a combination of Wikipedia and CDC reports for homicides (with adjustments for missing values).  These are age-adjusted where applicable, and the combined rate is a simple sum (naive, without overlap adjustments, as overlaps are minimal).

1. West Virginia: 108.2
2. New Mexico: 88.4
3. Louisiana: 85.6
4. Alaska: 83.3
5. Tennessee: 81.7
6. Delaware: 76.6
7. Kentucky: 75.3
8. South Carolina: 71.0
9. Alabama: 65.8
10. Nevada: 64.8
11. Ohio: 64.7
12. Missouri: 64.1
13. Oregon: 64.0
14. Oklahoma: 63.2
15. Maine: 63.0
16. Mississippi: 62.9
17. Vermont: 62.9
18. Washington: 62.1
19. Arizona: 61.8
20. Maryland: 60.7
21. Pennsylvania: 58.9
22. Indiana: 58.8
23. Colorado: 58.4
24. Wyoming: 57.3
25. North Carolina: 56.6
26. Florida: 52.3
27. Michigan: 51.6
28. Wisconsin: 51.5
29. New Hampshire: 51.0
30. Illinois: 50.1
31. Rhode Island: 49.6
32. Connecticut: 49.3
33. Virginia: 49.2
34. Georgia: 48.7
35. Arkansas: 48.4
36. Kansas: 47.6
37. Montana: 47.6
38. Idaho: 45.9
39. Utah: 44.9
40. California: 44.3
41. Massachusetts: 44.3
42. New York: 43.9
43. Minnesota: 41.0
44. New Jersey: 40.2
45. Texas: 40.0
46. North Dakota: 38.0
47. South Dakota: 37.5
48. Hawaii: 37.0
49. Iowa: 36.1
50. Nebraska: 27.5

Combined Danger Metrics for Selected Countries (Latest Available Data, Primarily 2023)

Based on the danger metrics from our discussion—drug overdose deaths, suicides, and homicides per 100,000 population—here’s the ranking of the requested countries from highest to lowest combined rate. Data is drawn from sources like WHO for suicides, UNODC and national reports for homicides, and regional agencies (e.g., EUDA for Scandinavia, national health stats for Latin America) for overdoses. Rates are age-adjusted where available, and the combined rate is a simple sum (naive, without overlap adjustments, as overlaps are minimal). Years are 2023-2024 for most estimates; note that overdose data for Latin America uses 2019-2023 figures due to limited reporting, and may be underestimates.

1. Mexico: 32.4
2. Colombia: 31.8
3. Brazil: 29.5
4. Costa Rica: 26.4
5. Norway: 21.92
6. Finland: 21.58
7. Sweden: 21.45
8. Iceland: 19.4
9. Denmark: 16.2

Based on our danger metric (combined drug overdose deaths, suicides, and homicides per 100,000 population), I’ve compiled historical estimates for Minnesota in 1970 and 1980 using available data. Note that state-specific overdose data from those years is scarce (tracking was limited before the 1990s), so I used national rates as a proxy, which were low overall. Suicide and homicide data are more reliable and state-specific where possible. Overlaps between categories (e.g., some overdoses classified as suicides) are minimal and not adjusted here due to limited historical detail.

Minnesota in 1980

• Drug Overdoses: ~1.1 per 100,000 (national proxy, as state data unavailable).
• Suicides: 10.8 per 100,000.
• Homicides: 2.6 per 100,000.
• Combined Score: ~14.5 per 100,000.

Minnesota in 1970

• Drug Overdoses: ~3.8 per 100,000 (national proxy, as state data unavailable).
• Suicides: ~10.5 per 100,000 (estimated based on 1980 state rate adjusted by national trends, as direct 1970 state data is unavailable; Olmsted County proxy from 1951–1985 was 12.5, but state rates were typically lower).
• Homicides: 2.0 per 100,000.
• Combined Score: ~16.3 per 100,000.

These are much lower than Minnesota’s modern score of 41.0 (from 2023 data), reflecting less severe drug issues and stable/low violence rates back then. If you need adjustments or more context, let me know!