The most dangerous places in the U.S.
Although the world seems like an increasingly dangerous place abroad, with the rise of ISIS and widespread collapse of regimes, violent crime in the U.S. has continued its decline. While the U.S. is getting safer overall, high rates of crime continue to torment sections of the country, impacting people’s life decisions regarding housing, schooling, and travel.
FindTheHome looked at the 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report (latest complete data), visualizing the data and identifying the counties with the highest violent crime rates. Violent crime is defined as offenses that involve force or threat of force. This list contains the top 30 counties in the U.S. with the highest crime rates per 100,000 people.
The violent crime rate is the total number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies within a county per 100,000 people. The data analysts used population estimates from the 2014 American Community Survey. Only counties with a population greater than 1,000 are considered.
Disclaimer: The data published here is meant solely to illustrate the relative rates of crime, and not to make assertions about the effectiveness of law enforcement. There are many factors that affect the rate and nature of crime — such as the degree of urbanization, composition of age groups, economic climate and modes of transportation within an area — which are not considered here.
#30. Dillon County, SC
Population: 31,529
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 856.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 270
#29. Barnwell County, SC
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Population: 22,287
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 866.0
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 193
#28. Anchorage Municipality, AK
Population: 298,178
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 873.6
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 2,605
#27. Madison County, TN
Population: 98,364
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 885.5
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 871
#26. Dillingham Census Area, AK
Population: 4,956
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 887.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 44
#25. Valencia County, NM
[findthebest id="57zV2pPuifr" title="Violent Crime Rates in New Mexico" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/57zV2pPuifr" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/49/New-Mexico" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in New Mexico | FindTheHome"]
Population: 76,480
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 898.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 687
#24. Rapides Parish, LA
Population: 132,199
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 925.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 1,224
#23. Dallam County, TX
[findthebest id="6uKjo2Efr5X" title="Violent Crime Rates in Texas" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/6uKjo2Efr5X" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/8/Texas" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Texas | FindTheHome"]
Population: 6,957
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 934.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 65
#22. Carter County, OK
Population: 48,288
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 938.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 453
#21. Mississippi County, AR
[findthebest id="104JZxncRHT" title="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/104JZxncRHT" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/14/Arkansas" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas | FindTheHome"]
Population: 45,385
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 945.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 429
#20. Wayne County, MI
Population: 1,790,078
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 945.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 16,924
#19. Jefferson County, FL
[findthebest id="9f565ihLIMZ" title="Violent Crime Rates in Florida" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/9f565ihLIMZ" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/9/Florida" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Florida | FindTheHome"]
Population: 14,335
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 962.7
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 138
#18. Iberville Parish, LA
Population: 33,375
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 970.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 324
#17. Milwaukee County, WI
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Population: 953,401
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 997.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 9,506
#16. Jackson County, MO
Population: 678,167
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,004.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 6,814
#15. Pulaski County, AR
[findthebest id="104JZxncRHT" title="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/104JZxncRHT" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/14/Arkansas" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas | FindTheHome"]
Population: 388,752
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,008.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 3,922
#14. Haywood County, TN
Population: 18,389
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,016.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 187
#13. Orleans Parish, LA
[findthebest id="g6V3Pqnzr1z" title="Violent Crime Rates in Louisiana" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/g6V3Pqnzr1z" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/38/Louisiana" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Louisiana | FindTheHome"]
Population: 368,471
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,023.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 3,770
#12. Philadelphia County, PA
Population: 1,546,920
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,029.5
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 15,925
#11. Crittenden County, AR
[findthebest id="104JZxncRHT" title="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/104JZxncRHT" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/14/Arkansas" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Arkansas | FindTheHome"]
Population: 50,172
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,058.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 531
#10. Rock County, MN
Population: 9,587
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,105.7
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 106
#9. Scott County, MO
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Population: 39,137
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,119.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 438
#8. Davidson County, TN
Population: 648,048
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,122.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 7,277
#7. Potter County, TX
[findthebest id="6uKjo2Efr5X" title="Violent Crime Rates in Texas" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/6uKjo2Efr5X" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/8/Texas" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Texas | FindTheHome"]
Population: 122,053
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,126.6
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 1,375
#6. Marion County, IN
Population: 919,336
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,178.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 10,832
#5. Washington County, D.C.
[findthebest id="1JjWVwGqhIF" title="Violent Crime Rates in the District of Columbia" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/1JjWVwGqhIF" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/315801/Washington-County-D-C" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in the District of Columbia | FindTheHome"]
Population: 633,736
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,232.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 7,810
Note: There is only one county in the District of Columbia.
#4. Shelby County, TN
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Population: 936,130
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,314.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 12,303
#3. Baltimore City, MD
[findthebest id="cIF5IxevquN" title="Violent Crime Rates in Maryland" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/cIF5IxevquN" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/40/Maryland" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Maryland | FindTheHome"]
Population: 622,271
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,341.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 8,346
#2. Alexander County, IL
Population: 7,821
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,355.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 106
#1. St. Louis City, MO
[findthebest id="3KpwGN0J9oV" title="Violent Crime Rates in Missouri" width="600" height="650" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/3KpwGN0J9oV" link="http://places.findthehome.com/l/26/Missouri" link_text="Violent Crime Rates in Missouri | FindTheHome"]
Population: 318,727
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,677.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 5,348
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