- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,712
- 599
- 113
- 75
America's most dangerous cities
Based on FBI data, these population centers have the highest rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault and other violent crimes.
Samuel Weigley, Alexander E. M. Hess and Michael B. Sauter, 24/Wall St.
1 of 7
Unsafe havens
After falling for five consecutive years, violent crime was up by 1.2% last year in the United States, as measured by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which classifies murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, some robberies and aggravated assault as violent crimes.
Based on the FBI Uniform Crime Report, the cities in this slide show below can be considered the nation's most dangerous.
Many of these cities have been in bad economic shape for years, in some cases since well before the start of the Great Recession.
Economic woes prompt some residents to flee, and population decline produces a loss of economic diversity that is a contributing factor in violent crime in some cities, according to John Roman, a senior fellow at the Urban institute. Poverty rates in each of the most dangerous cities exceeded the national average of 15.9% in 2011.
"It is very clear that poverty, in particular, is associated with higher crime rates," explained Roman.
However, the precise relationship between crime and poverty is unclear, Roman noted. "(It is) very difficult to say whether crime makes places poorer or poverty causes more crime," he said.
The cities on this list also had smaller percentages of adults with a high school diploma than the national average of 86%.
On its website, the FBI urges readers to be cautious about rankings based on violent-crime statistics. Such data can ignore factors that influence crime, according to the bureau, and may fail to account for different ways such crimes are sometimes measured and reported.
The Urban Institute's Roman cautioned against comparing cities based on their crime rates. However, because the cities with the highest and lowest rates of violence have remained consistent for many years, he believes the rankings are useful.
Click through this slide show, published July 11, for details about the five most dangerous U.S. cities, based on FBI crime statistics. The website 24/7 Wall St. has augmented the crime statistics with population, economic and educational data for each community.
Based on FBI data, these population centers have the highest rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault and other violent crimes.
Samuel Weigley, Alexander E. M. Hess and Michael B. Sauter, 24/Wall St.
1 of 7
Unsafe havens
After falling for five consecutive years, violent crime was up by 1.2% last year in the United States, as measured by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which classifies murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, some robberies and aggravated assault as violent crimes.
Based on the FBI Uniform Crime Report, the cities in this slide show below can be considered the nation's most dangerous.
Many of these cities have been in bad economic shape for years, in some cases since well before the start of the Great Recession.
Economic woes prompt some residents to flee, and population decline produces a loss of economic diversity that is a contributing factor in violent crime in some cities, according to John Roman, a senior fellow at the Urban institute. Poverty rates in each of the most dangerous cities exceeded the national average of 15.9% in 2011.
"It is very clear that poverty, in particular, is associated with higher crime rates," explained Roman.
However, the precise relationship between crime and poverty is unclear, Roman noted. "(It is) very difficult to say whether crime makes places poorer or poverty causes more crime," he said.
The cities on this list also had smaller percentages of adults with a high school diploma than the national average of 86%.
On its website, the FBI urges readers to be cautious about rankings based on violent-crime statistics. Such data can ignore factors that influence crime, according to the bureau, and may fail to account for different ways such crimes are sometimes measured and reported.
The Urban Institute's Roman cautioned against comparing cities based on their crime rates. However, because the cities with the highest and lowest rates of violence have remained consistent for many years, he believes the rankings are useful.
Click through this slide show, published July 11, for details about the five most dangerous U.S. cities, based on FBI crime statistics. The website 24/7 Wall St. has augmented the crime statistics with population, economic and educational data for each community.
