Travel Risk Atlas

United States

North America · Capital Washington D.C.

FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 1 Canada Take normal security precautions AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for United States — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page. The US State Department does not publish travel advice about its own country, so four governments are shown here rather than the usual five.

22.0 Low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 80th safest of 220
Golden Gate Bridge during daytime
Photo: Maarten van den Heuvel / Unsplash

The United States is a low-risk destination on most measures with two clear exceptions: firearm violence, which gives it a homicide rate several times that of Western Europe, and healthcare costs, which can be genuinely catastrophic without insurance.

Risk varies enormously by neighbourhood rather than by state, and the national number tells you almost nothing about a specific trip.

Where the risk actually is

Checked by hand against all five government advisories in July 2026: no part of United States currently carries a warning against travel. The colour shows the general caution level only.

Alabama — No specific warningAlabama — No specific warningAlabama — No specific warningArizona — No specific warningArkansas — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningCalifornia — No specific warningColorado — No specific warningConnecticut — No specific warningDelaware — No specific warningDistrict of Columbia — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningFlorida — No specific warningGeorgia — No specific warningGeorgia — No specific warningGeorgia — No specific warningGeorgia — No specific warningIdaho — No specific warningIllinois — No specific warningIndiana — No specific warningIowa — No specific warningKansas — No specific warningKentucky — No specific warningKentucky — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningLouisiana — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaine — No specific warningMaryland — No specific warningMaryland — No specific warningMaryland — No specific warningMaryland — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMassachusetts — No specific warningMichigan — No specific warningMinnesota — No specific warningMississippi — No specific warningMississippi — No specific warningMississippi — No specific warningMississippi — No specific warningMissouri — No specific warningMontana — No specific warningNebraska — No specific warningNevada — No specific warningNew Hampshire — No specific warningNew Jersey — No specific warningNew Jersey — No specific warningNew Jersey — No specific warningNew Mexico — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNew York — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Carolina — No specific warningNorth Dakota — No specific warningOhio — No specific warningOklahoma — No specific warningOregon — No specific warningPennsylvania — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningRhode Island — No specific warningSouth Carolina — No specific warningSouth Dakota — No specific warningTennessee — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningTexas — No specific warningUtah — No specific warningVermont — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningVirginia — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWashington — No specific warningWest Virginia — No specific warningWisconsin — No specific warningWyoming — No specific warningLake ErieLake OntarioLake Saint ClairLake OkeechobeeLake of the WoodsLake NipigonLake ChamplainSeneca LakeCayuga LakeLake NipissingRainy LakeLower Red LakeUpper Red LakeLake SimcoeLong LakeLake KipawaLake SuperiorLake MichiganLake HuronWhitefish BaySaginaw BayNorth ChannelGeorgian BayCabonga ReservoirLake AbitibiLac Saint-JeanLake MeadLake PowellFort Peck LakeLake SakakaweaLake OaheRéservoir GouinLake ChelanRéservoir PipmuacanLake Francis CaseFalcon LakeKentucky LakeWheeler LakeJohn H. Kerr ReservoirLake TexomaLake BarkleyToledo Bend ReservoirLake GastonGreat Salt LakeLaguna MadreSalton Sea
What governments advise No specific warning

This map reads milder than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades United States by its Atlas Risk Score — 22, Low — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in United States is no specific warning.

Overseas territories, shown separately so the main map stays readable

Alaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warning
Alaska · Alaska · Alaska
Hawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warningHawaii — No specific warning
Hawaii · Hawaii · Hawaii
Alaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warningAlaska — No specific warning
Alaska · Alaska · Alaska

What this means in practice

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No part of the United States carries an advise-against-travel warning. Risk here is neighbourhood-level rather than regional, and the financial risk — uninsured medical costs — is the one that actually catches visitors out.

Advisories change without warning. Check the official one for your own nationality — linked at the top of this page — before you book.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly earthquakes, cyclones, flooding, tsunami, drought
70/100
211th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
31/100
102nd of 220
Political stability
10% of score
29/100
57th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
24/100
117th of 220
Crime
15% of score
23/100
44th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
14/100
56th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
0/100
62nd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
53/100

Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
911
Police, fire and ambulance
Currency
USD $
€1 ≈ 1.15 USD
Languages
English
Visa (EU passport)
eTA required
US: No visa needed · UK: eTA required
Population
341.8m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Washington D.C.
Driving
On the right
12.7 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type A, B
110-127V
Safely managed water
98%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+1
GDP per capita
$90k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
165.5m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Washington, D.C., over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around April to October.

Daytime high cold mild warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain. United States is big. These numbers describe Washington, D.C. only — elsewhere in the country can be nothing like it.

Common scams in United States

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Times Square costumed characters and CD sellers

New York CityVery common

A costumed character poses with you or a 'rapper' hands you a CD, then demands $20 or more, sometimes surrounded by associates.

How to avoid it: Do not accept anything handed to you and do not pose unless you have agreed a price. Handing it straight back ends it.

Sources NYC official visitor information

Unlicensed airport 'taxis'

JFK, LAX, MiamiCommon

Drivers approach inside the terminal offering rides at several times the standard fare. Licensed cabs never solicit inside.

How to avoid it: Use the marked taxi queue outside — JFK to Manhattan has a fixed flat fare — or a ride-hailing app from the designated pickup area.

Sources NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission fares

Car break-ins targeting tourists

San Francisco, Los Angeles, SeattleVery common

Windows are smashed in seconds at scenic viewpoints and trailhead car parks, particularly where a rental sticker or luggage is visible.

How to avoid it: Leave nothing visible — not a bag, not a charging cable. Many San Francisco locals leave the glovebox open to show it is empty.

Sources SFPD auto burglary prevention r/sanfrancisco car break-in threads

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in United States is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Specific urban neighbourhoods Violent crime

US violence is street-by-street. Parts of Baltimore, St Louis, Memphis and New Orleans have homicide rates many times the national average, often a short distance from tourist districts.

West Coast car parks and viewpoints Vehicle break-ins

San Francisco records tens of thousands of car burglaries a year, heavily concentrated at tourist stops.

Gulf and Atlantic coasts, June–November Hurricanes

Evacuation orders are mandatory when issued and flights fill days before landfall.

Medical costs

There is no reciprocal healthcare agreement for most visitors. An ambulance ride can cost over $1,000 and a short hospital stay tens of thousands. Comprehensive travel insurance with a high medical limit is not optional here — it is the single most important thing to arrange.

Natural hazards by season

Hurricanes affect the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from June to November; wildfires affect the West from roughly June to October; tornadoes peak in spring across the central states. Each has a mature public warning system — enable Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for United States:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.