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TheUnited States Peace Index (USPI) is a measurement of American States and cities by their peacefulness. Created by theInstitute for Economics and Peace, the creators of theGlobal Peace Index, it is said to be the first in a series of National sub-divisions by their peacefulness. The USPI was created first due to plentiful data and a large amount of diversity between states for level of peace. TheUnited States ranked 88/158 on the Global Peace index for 2012. The U.S. index was released on 6 April 2011 and the second edition was released on 24 April 2012.
There are five peace indicators that make up the USPI. The scores for number of homicides per 100,000 people, number of violent crimes per 100,000 people, jailed population per 100,000 people, police officers per 100,000 people, and ease of access to small arms are weighted and combined to form a state's score.Maine scored as the most peaceful state both years.
The index also includes a map and list for changes in peacefulness from 1991–2009. States are scored in this section by percent, either positive or negative. As a nation, it says that the United States has improved in peacefulness since 1991.
The index also provides statistical analysis and crime, and the cost of crime, in the 61 most populous metropolitan areas. The Cambridge metro area in Massachusetts ranked as the most peaceful and the Detroit metro area as the least.
| 2012 Rank | 2011 Rank | State | 2012 Score | 2011 Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Maine | 1.31 | 1.33 |
| 2 | 2 |  Vermont | 1.55 | 1.50 |
| 2 | 3 |  New Hampshire | 1.55 | 1.54 |
| 4 | 4 |  Minnesota | 1.61 | 1.62 |
| 5 | 8 |  Utah | 1.72 | 1.83 |
| 6 | 5 |  North Dakota | 1.74 | 1.71 |
| 7 | 6 |  Washington | 1.78 | 1.75 |
| 7 | 12 |  Hawaii | 1.78 | 1.91 |
| 9 | 10 |  Rhode Island | 1.79 | 1.87 |
| 10 | 11 |  Iowa | 1.87 | 1.88 |
| 11 | 13 |  Nebraska | 1.93 | 2.08 |
| 12 | 7 |  Massachusetts | 2.00 | 1.80 |
| 13 | 9 |  Oregon | 2.07 | 1.85 |
| 14 | 15 |  Connecticut | 2.19 | 2.21 |
| 15 | 17 |  West Virginia | 2.20 | 2.28 |
| 16 | 16 |  Idaho | 2.23 | 2.24 |
| 18 | 17 |  Montana | 2.27 | 2.28 |
| 17 | 23 |  Wyoming | 2.26 | 2.49 |
| 19 | 19 |  Wisconsin | 2.30 | 2.30 |
| 20 | 14 |  South Dakota | 2.32 | 2.17 |
| 20 | 20 |  Kentucky | 2.32 | 2.39 |
| 22 | 22 |  Ohio | 2.33 | 2.43 |
| 23 | 25 |  Indiana | 2.35 | 2.52 |
| 24 | 21 |  Pennsylvania | 2.37 | 2.42 |
| 25 | 26 |  Virginia | 2.48 | 2.61 |
| 26 | 24 |  Colorado | 2.53 | 2.50 |
| 27 | 27 |  Kansas | 2.57 | 2.63 |
| 28 | 28 |  New Jersey | 2.63 | 2.66 |
| 29 | 44 |  Michigan | 2.69 | 3.30 |
| 30 | 31 |  North Carolina | 2.71 | 2.79 |
| 31 | 29 |  New York | 2.72 | 2.69 |
| 32 | 31 |  California | 2.74 | 2.79 |
| 33 | 30 |  Alaska | 2.75 | 2.70 |
| 34 | 38 |  New Mexico | 2.85 | 3.16 |
| 35 | 44 |  Illinois | 2.89 | 3.30 |
| 36 | 34 |  Georgia | 3.04 | 2.97 |
| 37 | 39 |  Oklahoma | 3.11 | 3.18 |
| 38 | 36 |  Maryland | 3.14 | 3.14 |
| 39 | 36 |  Delaware | 3.15 | 3.14 |
| 40 | 47 |  Alabama | 3.17 | 3.50 |
| 40 | 35 |  Mississippi | 3.17 | 2.98 |
| 42 | 46 |  South Carolina | 3.18 | 3.42 |
| 43 | 43 |  Arkansas | 3.20 | 3.27 |
| 43 | 47 |  Texas | 3.20 | 3.50 |
| 45 | 40 |  Missouri | 3.21 | 3.21 |
| 46 | 33 |  Arizona | 3.22 | 2.89 |
| 47 | 41 |  Florida | 3.36 | 3.24 |
| 48 | 49 |  Nevada | 3.37 | 3.61 |
| 49 | 42 |  Tennessee | 3.41 | 3.26 |
| 50 | 50 |  Louisiana | 4.05 | 3.97 |
^ All information in table from "United States Peace Index".Vision of HumanityArchived 2012-10-18 at theWayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-04-06 and updated 2012-10-17.
^ Map of state and city peacefulness across indicators[1]Archived 2012-10-18 at theWayback Machine
^ Institute for Economics and Peace[2]
