According to the news, crime seems to be getting worse all the time. Most of the time, big cities like Chicago and San Francisco get all the attention. But new data from NeighborhoodScout shows that some of the most dangerous places in the U.S. are smaller or in the suburbs.
Based on how many violent crimes happen per 1,000 people, the map above shows the riskiest cities in the U.S. It takes the newest crime data from the FBI and population data from the Census Bureau as of 2023.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.
Even though the 10 most violently dangerous towns in the U.S. are spread out across several states, Bessemer (#1) and Birmingham (#7) are both in Alabama.
Get a better look at the whole list here:
| Rank | City | State | Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000 Residents) | Chance of Being a Victim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bessemer | Alabama | 33.1 | 1 in 30 |
| 2 | Monroe | Louisiana | 26.3 | 1 in 38 |
| 3 | Saginaw | Michigan | 25.1 | 1 in 39 |
| 4 | Memphis | Tennessee | 25.1 | 1 in 39 |
| 5 | Detroit | Michigan | 23 | 1 in 43 |
| 6 | Birmingham | Alabama | 20.6 | 1 in 49 |
| 7 | Pine Bluff | Arkansas | 20.5 | 1 in 48 |
| 8 | Little Rock | Arkansas | 20.2 | 1 in 49 |
| 9 | Alexandria | Louisiana | 18.8 | 1 in 53 |
| 10 | Cleveland | Ohio | 17.1 | 1 in 58 |
There are both big and small places on the list. Memphis and Detroit, with populations over 600,000, are the two biggest cities with populations above 600,000. The odds of being a victim of a severe crime in each are 1 in 39 and 1 in 43, respectively.
It’s important to note that the numbers above only include the most violent types of crime. They don’t include things like simple attacks or different types of property crime. These things make the overall crime rate and the chance of being a victim of any crime much higher in these “hotspots.”
Some towns that are known for crime don’t even make it into the top 100, even though some of them are on the list. For example, the rate of serious crime in New York City is 5.2 per 1,000 people, and the chance of becoming a victim in Manhattan is 1 in 192.
Crime Rate in the United States
There are 5.6 dangerous crimes for every 1,000 people in the United States. Compared to other towns in the US, the safest ones have crime rates of 8.6 per 1,000 people or less.
When you talk about violent crime in the U.S., you can’t help but talk about gun murder. The Gun Violence Archive says that as of July 2023, there had been more than 22,000 deaths in the U.S. caused by guns. There have been 371 mass killings and 150 deaths of children. Murders have gone up from 2020 to 2021, even though the FBI’s most recent yearly report shows that violent crime has gone down.
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