The US is remarkably dangerous compared to the rest of the Western world. The murder rate is four to five times higher than most countries in Europe, with more violent crime per capita to boot too. Sure, you’ve got a lot of safe towns/cities within the country, but there are a lot of places where crime has skyrocketed, partly due to poverty and lack of employment opportunities.
We will look at the 25 most dangerous cities in the US. We’ll talk about the rate of crime there. Now, don’t get us wrong. While the crime in these places is higher than normal, they are not especially terrible places to live. You just need to have your wits about you.
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Bessemer, Alabama used to be a thriving manufacturing city. However, many of the jobs have now moved away from the city. This has caused poverty to shoot up and, of course, when poverty goes up, crime goes up too. The latest stats indicate that you have a 1 in 55 chance of being the victim of violent crime in Bessemer. This is 5x higher than the Alabama average!
The murder rate is astonishingly high too. The rate per 1,000 is 0.40, compared to the US average of 0.06. In fact, if you can think of a crime outside of financial fraud, chances are that it is more likely to happen to you in Bessemer than in most places in the US.
In 2023, Monroe in Louisiana celebrated a little bit. They were no longer the top place in the country to become a victim of violent crime. They were now second. We suppose all improvements are good improvements, right? Although, some studies still place Monroe at the top of the pile.
If you live in Monroe your whole life, your chances of becoming the victim of a violent crime are a whopping 1 in 36. Thankfully, the murder rate is a little bit lower than Bessemer. Just 0.38 in 1,000! Small benefits, right? The violent crime is higher, but at least they’re not murdering people as frequently here. The high rise in violent crime here has been attributed to a drug epidemic, poverty, and a spate of illegal firearm sales.
So, there you have it. A list of the most dangerous cities in the US. While the crime rate in these places is high, do bear in mind that the average person isn’t really going to be ‘unsafe’ if they take precautions i.e. not associating with gangs, and not walking alone at night. As we said at the start - the US may be more dangerous than other places in the Western world, but it isn’t massively dangerous if you’re careful. Most people will never be the victim of a major crime anywhere in the US.