The most dangerous cities in America might be places you have visited before, travel to regularly, or even live. Insider Monkey will take you through a list of the twelve most malignant clusters of civilization on the map.
What makes a city dangerous to live in? Probably the most objective way in which we can determine how safe or lack thereof a city is, is represented by the rate of violent crimes. Unfortunately, violent crimes still occur at alarmingly high rates throughout the world, even in developed countries.
The USA is no exception.
We have compiled a list of the 12 most dangerous cities in the country. The cities were ranked according to crime data released by the FBI and the three indicators taken into account were: murders per 100,000 people, forcible rapes per 100,000 people, and robberies per 100,000 people, as these are considered the most violent types of offenses.
For the third year in a row, Flint, Michigan emerged as the most dangerous city in the US. Violent crime rates in Flint have been largely associated with General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) closing several plants in the area, which left numerous residents without jobs. In 2011, the New York Times dubbed this city “Murdertown, USA.”
Philadelphia, the “least” dangerous city in our countdown has seen an increase in violent crimes, murders in particular, for 3 years in a row, according to the 2012 data released by the FBI. The drug trade in the city is also somewhat prolific, further fueling the violent crimes.
Apart from Philadelphia and Flint, our top 12 also includes Jackson, Cleveland, and New Orleans. Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 12: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 22
robberies per 100,000 people: 519
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 57
Continue reading the following pages to discover the rest of America’s most dangerous cities:
No. 11: Birmingham, Alabama
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 31
robberies per 100,000 people: 461
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 71
No. 10: Newark, New Jersey
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 34
robberies per 100,000 people: 708
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 20
No. 9: Baltimore, Maryland
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 35
robberies per 100,000 people: 576
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 51
No. 8: Jackson, Mississippi
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 36
robberies per 100,000 people: 454
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 77
No. 7: St. Louis, Missouri
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 35
robberies per 100,000 people: 558
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 62
No. 6: Cleveland, Ohio
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 21
robberies per 100,000 people: 826
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 92
No. 5: New Orleans, Louisiana
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 53
robberies per 100,000 people: 293
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 37
No. 4: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 15
robberies per 100,000 people: 415
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 266*
*Bridgeport’s rape count is this high because of two individuals who arrested in 2013 for 250 counts of sexual assaults, spanning over several years.
No. 3: Oakland, California
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 32
robberies per 100,000 people: 1086
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 68
No. 2: Detroit, Michigan
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 55
robberies per 100,000 people: 685
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 62
No. 1: Flint, Michigan
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
murders per 100,000 people: 62
robberies per 100,000 people: 662
forcible rapes per 100,000 people: 102
