The 15 Most Dangerous Cities in America

St. Louis is located across a major route for drug traffickers and it has seen more than its fair share of violent crimes, especially murders. Last year, crime fell by 4% and crime has fallen by half from the 1990s when the crack epidemic took hold of the city. Nonetheless, St. Louis’s murder rate is still the fourth-highest nationwide. In a city with a population of just 320,000, St. Louis’s violent crime rate sits at 18.57 per 1,000 people.

As with Cleveland, the drug trade has hit Atlanta hard. As a perfect transit point for drugs, Atlanta suffers from the high rates of violent crime so often associated with the drug trade. Last year, violent crimes in the city, mostly robbery and assault, increased by 6%. If you travel there (or just transit through Atlanta), make sure you are careful with your belongings and yourself.

For the last four years in a row, bankrupted Detroit has been named the most dangerous city in the US. Previously the hub of America’s motor industry, Detroit now suffers from high levels of gang violence. The good news is that last year, violent crime (e.g. murder, robbery, assault and rape) rates dropped by 10%. The bad news is that the national average for these crimes is still 500% lower than it is in Detroit. On the other hand, we’ll mention that Detroit can be a place to make some interesting investments, as there are lots of empty properties or fields; some see Detroit as a lab to design the city of the future.

The city of Cleveland has experienced a steep drop in its economic fortunes of late and it is also a key location for the interstate drug trade. This combination of factors sadly makes it a place on this list. Murders in Cleveland have dropped by over a quarter in recent years but the rates of other violent crimes remain consistently high.

Poverty is widespread in the city of Oakland and it is located close to well-known corridors for the drug trade making it a magnet for violent crime. Affluent San Francisco is just over the Bay but cross the water to Oakland and you will be in the US’s highest-ranking city for violent robbery. This claim is definitely a sad one.

Nationwide in the US, crime has been falling at a consistent rate for the past thirty years. The same is true of Buffalo but with a shocking 30% of Buffalo’s population living in poverty, crime rates in the city are refusing to fall any further. Nonetheless, last year saw the lowest murder rates in a Buffalo thanks to police raids on gangs active in the area.

You may have heard the Memphis Police Department joke that there is a ‘reporting issue’ in the city. That is, more crimes are reported in Memphis than in many other US cities. Criminality in the city remains stubbornly high, dropping by just a few dozen incidences last year. Memphis still has a long way to go to recover from its bad reputation, because police do spend a lot of energy, time and money fighting crime there.

From the tiniest US towns to its biggest cities, Oakwood’s crime rate (49:1,000) is among the highest nationwide. Here, there is one crime victim for every 21 inhabitants.

Last year, violent crime dropped by around 5% in Baltimore yet it continues to struggle with poverty, drugs, and crime. Excluding rape, it is among the 15 highest-ranking cities in America for all violent crimes.

In 2016, Wellston recorded a crime rate that was almost 4 times higher than the national average. However, the city is moving in the right direction with both property and violent crime rates dropping over the previous five years. Nonetheless, if you decide to visit, keep your valuables nearby. Theft is still rife in Wellston.

In Indianapolis, the rate of violent crime sits at 13.34 per 1,000 people. A total of 156 people were murdered in the city in 2017 and, according to FBI data, no other city in Indiana is more dangerous.

Louisiana’s most dangerous city may experience fewer crimes than Detroit (6,000 compared with 45,000), but it is home to far fewer people. In Monroe, one in eight people will be the victim of a crime. Needless to say, travel or life insurance is a must if you still decide to plan a visit.

Right up there with Anniston, violent crime rates in Bessemer are 600% above the US average. The most recent year relevant data is available is 2017 when Bessemer saw 787 violent crimes. Breaking this figure down, this means that 1 in 33 people in the city was murdered, attacked or raped. Property crimes are even more rampant. Last year, almost a tenth of the population was the victim of a robbery. Residents of Bessemer definitely have to insure everything if they can, from car insurance to life insurance, not forgetting home insurance…

New Mexico’s most dangerous city, Espanola’s violent crime rate is the worst in the state and its property crime rate is the ninth-worst. Even if this destination does not ensure that you will experience violence, it is certainly a place to avoid during a leisure or business trip.

There are 34.34 violent crimes for every 1,000 people in Anniston, making it the most dangerous city in Alabama and one of the most dangerous in the country. This rate is not just the highest in Alabama but the highest in any large US city. As with so many cities on this list, financial insecurity is widespread in Anniston, with 20% of the residents of Anniston living in poverty.