Violence in America not only takes a toll on families and communities, but it also takes an economic drain on the state’s economy.
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According to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s second annual United States Peace Index, they found that violence costs the U.S. economy some $460 billion last year.
Medical care for victims, the prison system and indirect factors like lost productivity are the factors that play into cost of the state’s economy when it comes to violence.
A state’s level of peacefulness is not the only factor that determines the economic toll of violence; according to the IEP, its population and level of overall economic activity also has a strong influence.
Let’s look at the cost of violence to the ten most violent U.S. states in 2012.
