Get ready to explore some less safe spaces with the most dangerous neighborhoods in America. What does it mean to be “dangerous?” This is certainly a loaded term. It is often used by racists as a placeholder for minority neighborhoods, whether an actual danger exists there or not. There are neighborhoods of all types across the country that are dangerous, often those that have layering and complicating issues like poverty, drug addiction, and lack of access to cheap or easy transportation, good schools or other community-enhancing amenities: supermarkets, parks, etc.
I remember my dad telling me he could evaluate a street just by looking at it–the buildings, the windows, if it was desolate–to see if he should walk down it or not. Being raised in a crime-ridden and impoverished area of the South Bronx, he felt he had a good gut instinct. I’m not sure that I ever fully comprehended or believed in this idea, but it worked for him. Regardless we will not be judging the most dangerous neighborhoods in America by visuals.
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Since 1989, some studies show that the majority of Americans, when asked about their perceptions of crime, have said crime had worsened compared with the previous year. According to Gallup ‘s 2015 statistics, seven in 10 Americans say there is more crime in the U.S. now than there was a year ago. A more recent report from the FBI compilation of crimes reported in September 2016, Crime in the United States, 2015 reveals a 3.9 percent increase in the estimated number of violent crimes in the country.
So to come up with a list of most dangerous neighborhoods in America, we could have taken into consideration several factors such as ethnicity, the rate of unemployment to better understand the reasons why those neighborhoods are so dangerous. But since safety is one of the main concerns around those places, we rated the most dangerous neighborhoods in America by its crime rate using USA.gov and FBI as sources and by averaging the results of their findings.
Most of these neighborhoods are located in big cities you would not think are dangerous–or at least they are no portrayed that way in many movies and television shows. Although there certainly are incidents of crime, even in New York City which has seen a drop in crime–violent crime dropped by 56% during the 1990s and more recently overall crime is down 4%. According to the police commissioner James O’Neill, “2016 was the safest year in New York City history.” Speaking of, take a look at the 10 Worst, Poorest, and Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in New York City.
Some of the neighborhoods included in this list have always had the reputation of being “dangerous,” despite also continuing to serve as homes for many people. Some cities have made an effort to make these neighborhoods safer which might cause these rankings to fluctuate. So here is our list of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America.
30. W Mulberry St./N Fremont Ave, Baltimore, MD
Crime rate: 56.96 per 1,000 people
Baltimore has always been among the cities in America with an alarming crime rate. It is in fact, part of the 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America.
29. Winchester Ave./60th St., Chicago, IL
Crime rate: 66.21 per 1,000 people
Chicago has 4 neighborhoods in this list, clearly making it one of the most dangerous cities in America. According to DNAInfo, its most dangerous block has long been suspected to have drug problems and other violent crimes.
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28. Caseyville Ave/N Park Dr, East Street, St Louis, IL
Crime rate: 66.27 per 1,000 people
In forums like Reddit and Topix, people usually say East St Louis is the most dangerous neighborhoods in America. In fact, according to The Active Times, ” In 2014 the murder rate alone was higher than that of Honduras, which has the highest in the world, at 90.4 per 100,000 people.”
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27. Kinsman Rd/Minnie Ave, Cleveland, OH
Crime rate: 70.30 per 1,000 people
Cleveland is also part of the 10 most dangerous cities in the US. They say it is because of the struggling economy and being part of the large drug route.
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26. Kishwaukee St/Grove St, Rockford, IL
Crime rate: 75.80 per 1,000 people
CBS News has Rockford in its list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities. In their article, they also said that this is according to the FBI’s statistics of the city having 14.5 violent crimes per 1,000 people back in 2010.
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25. Lagrange St/Water St, Toledo, OH
Crime rate: 77.33 per 1,000 people
Forbes has Toledo in their list of Most Miserable Cities, mainly because of its poor economy and lack of jobs. Statistics also showed how its residents have started moving to other cities, which could also be caused by its crime rate.
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24. E 34th St/Sutherland Ave, Indianapolis, IN
Crime rate: 83.50 per 1,000 people
A financial website, 247 Wall St., has ranked Indianapolis as the 13th most dangerous city in America. This should be no surprise, since it is not just this Indianapolis neighborhood that made it to this list, but many others.
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23. Prospect St/S Keystone Ave, Indianapolis, IN
Crime rate: 84.03 per 1,000 people
Just a few notches above Sutherland Ave, S Keystone Ave is also as dangerous. With this kind of crime rate, you have a rate of 1 out of 12 as victims.
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22. McCulloh St/ W Preston St, Baltimore, MD
Crime rate: 91.03 per 1,000 people
Even CBS News ranked Baltimore as the 8th most dangerous American city. With your chances of 1 out of 11 of being a victim, you should be careful.
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21. Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, IL
Crime rate: 99.02 per 1,000 people
Altgeld Gardens is also among the most mentioned in forums when they are asked about America’s dangerous neighborhoods. Your chances of being a victim are at 1 out of 10.
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20. Independence Ave/Prospect Ave, Kansas City, MO
Crime rate: 104.81 per 1,000 people
Also included in ABC News’ list of Dangerous Neighborhoods, this neighborhood has made it to the news because of its high violent crime rate, which is at 81.97 per 1,000 people. Violent crimes include murder and rape.
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19. N Danny Thomas Blvd, Memphis, TN
Crime rate: 106.27 per 1,000 people
Most lists of America’s Most Dangerous Cities include neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee. Forbes, for one, has it in their list, citing reporting problems and stubborn crime culture as the contributing factors.
Larry Donald, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
18. Orleans St/Front St., Baltimore, MD
Crime rate: 113.75 per 1,000 people
NYPD data once said that “even the most dangerous NYC neighborhoods are still safer than Baltimore.” That alone, is enough to justify the inclusion of this neighborhood among the most dangerous neighborhoods in America.
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17. 66th St./Yale Ave., Chicago, IL
Crime rate: 115.32 per 1,000 people
DNA Info, a website mostly attributing their research from FBI statistics, published an article about the most dangerous Chicago neighborhoods where kids are seen shooting at the streets. They even described the city as “wracked by gun violence.”
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16. Amelia Ave./Tampa St., Tampa, FL
Crime rate: 116.99 per 1,000 people
According to AOL, while Tampa has dangerous neighborhoods where tourists should not go to, it would also make the cut as one of the safest cities in the US. Even so, one must be careful when on Amelia Ave.
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15. Broad St./Dauphin St., Philadelphia, PA
Crime rate: 117.13 per 1,000 people
To say that all of Philly is dangerous would be quite unfair, as it is only West Philadelphia that has higher crime, as mentioned in The Philly Mag. In this particular neighborhood, your chance of being a victim yourself is at 1 out of 9.
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14. Roosevelt Rd./Bond St., Little Rock, AR
Crime rate: 119.92 per 1,000 people
Little Rock has always had the reputation of being a dangerous city, as it is almost always part of that list. According to Cities Journal, the city has even been named as among the cleanest ones. Even without garbage in the streets, a city could still be dangerous, which shows that dirty neighborhoods do not equate automatically to dangerous ones.
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13. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr/N Garrison Ave, St Louis, MO
Crime rate: 123.29 per 1,000 people
This neighborhood is part of what is said to be the state’s most violent city, so it is not surprising. Topping the violent crimes happening in the entire city are rape, robbery, and murder.
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12. Cook St./11th St., Springfield, IL
Crime rate: 125.96 per 1,000 people
Forbes has Springfield in its list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities, because of its city crime rate that is at 855 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. This neighborhood, in particular, is one you should be careful with.
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11. 2nd Ave./Hatcher St., Dallas, TX
Crime rate: 131.03 per 1,000 people
Safety, a website that focuses on family safety information, has Dallas in its list of the big cities in America that are surprisingly dangerous. Violent crimes that happen the most in this city include rape–alarming, indeed.
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10. Bellevue Blvd./Lamar Ave., Memphis, TN
Crime rate: 132.02 per 1,000 people
AOL has reported how “Memphis’ homicide rate nearly doubles Chicago’s.” Memphis, like Chicago, is also a consistent city in various Most Dangerous lists.
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9. Church Hill, Richmond, VA
Crime rate: 132.45 per 1,000 people
With a 1 out of 8 chances of being a victim in this neighborhood, you really have to think twice before going there, even more so if you are a tourist. The city is also said to be among the 30 Murder Capitals of America.
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8. Route 352/Scyene Rd., Dallas, TX
Crime rate: 132.87 per 1,000 people
Dallas has long been known to be among the most dangerous cities in America. It is included in Safety‘s list, together with Fort Worth. When in this neighborhood, you also get a 1 out of 8 chances of being a victim.
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7. Forest Ave./41st St., Kansas City, MO
Crime rate: 133.11 per 1,000 people
Kansas City metro makes up 1/3 of Missouri’s most dangerous intersections, according to KansasCity. This particular street is of course among that percentage.
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6. Warford St./Mount Olive Rd., Memphis, TN
Crime rate: 135.93 per 1,000 people
Ranking #8 on Google’s Streetview of the most dangerous neighborhoods, and 6th on our list of most dangerous neighborhoods in America this one clearly is among the country’s neighborhoods where you should be very careful. With a 1 out of 7 chances of being a victim, you might want to steer clear of this area.
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5. Bales Ave./30th St., Kansas City, MO
Crime rate: 144.93 per 1,000 people
Wallet Pop, an insurance company website, also has this neighborhood in their list of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America. With a chance of 1 out of 7 of becoming a victim, you know you have to be careful when you are in the area.
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4. North Ave./Belair Rd., Baltimore, MD
Crime rate: 149.98 per 1,000 people
With a population that is that of an urban area, the crime rate is still alarming. Residents might not be alarmed by the crime rates, but if you are a tourist, it might be wise to never get into this area when it is late at night.
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3. 7th Ave./North River Dr., Miami, FL
Crime rate: 207.28 per 1,000 people
According to Neighborhood Scout, this neighborhood has a lot of empty houses and apartments. While we could say that it has something to do with their real estate market, it is also undeniable that their crime rate could also be to blame.
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2. State St./Garfield Blvd., Chicago, IL
Crime rate: 264.17 per 1,000 people
This neighborhood is not only among the most dangerous neighborhoods in America, but is also one of the poorest. Like the neighborhood above, there are also plenty of empty homes and apartments in this area.
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1. Central Pky./Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH
Crime rate: 266.94 per 1,000 people
This area, like the previous one, is also one of the poorest neighborhoods in America. Most people know of Cincinnati to be a dangerous city. While only this particular Cincinnati neighborhood made it here, the fact that it topped them all is still alarming.
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There are other dangerous neighborhoods in the country, and as Americans migrate to different cities these rankings will change from time to time. But for now, if you can choose where to go in America, try to avoid the most dangerous neighborhoods in America.
