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The Most Violent US Cities

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As much as some of us would like to run away and live off the land, it’s just not feasible for the
vast majority of the population. The most recent data from the US Census Bureau indicates that
about 83% of the US population lives in urban areas. For those of us living in these urban
centers, what does life look like? Is it relaxing time at the park, or a rush home to avoid being
the victim of a violent crime? For this list, we limited our cities to those with populations over
100,000. In today’s video from The Most, we’ll look at the Top 5 most violent cities in the US
and some will surprise you.

5. South Bend, Indiana

● Leading off our list is South Bend, Indiana, home to the University of Notre Dame.
● This midwest town just breaks our minimum size requirement of 100 thousand, coming
in with a population of 103 thousand.
● A typical college town, South Bend is centered around the University. They have
several museums in the area and are often seen as “down home” to those unfamiliar
with the area.
● However, when you look at the data, this college town is like much of the Upper Midwest
in that the job market is stagnant and there are high poverty rates. You’ll see this trend
in many of our entries.
● Aggregated for size, South Bend has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation
at 17 per thousand residents. The primary drivers for this are the murder and rape
statistics. Property crimes of burglary and vehicle theft drive the overall crime rate to
almost 54 per 1000.
● When looking at this idyllic college town, the statistics show it is anything but.

4. Little Rock, Arkansas

● Outside of “The Natural State”, Arkansas’ capital may not be too well known. Home to
the Bill Clinton Presidential Library and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock is an
oddity on our list. Usually on the “Best Places to Live” list, it’s interesting to see Little
Rock as one of our “Most Violent” cities. However, that’s what the data show.
● At right at 200 thousand residents, Little Rock is on the smaller end of the “urban” scale.
Little Rock has an overall good job market and a low cost of living.
● These factors usually will indicate a lower crime rate, even in larger metropolitan areas.
However, Little Rock is an exception to this rule, with an overall crime rate of 66 per
thousand residents and a violent crime rate of 18 per thousand.
● When looking at the data, the violent crimes in Little Rock are driven mainly by
aggravated assault. The main contributor to the overall crime rate in Little Rock is
“property crime”, meaning burglary and vehicle theft.
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3. St. Louis, Missouri

● Next up, we have St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis frequently ranks highest on many
metrics of “The Worst” cities in the US.
● Much of St. Louis’ problem comes from economic issues. Not unlike many of the cities
on this list, when there is a lack of opportunities and slow economic growth, thus there’s
a corresponding high crime rate.
● St. Louis has seen a drop in both total population and a GDP growth much slower than
the US average for the last 20 years. Add to this, the scope of crime in St Louis, where
it has the highest cost per crime in the US per capita, and you have the recipe for
disaster.
● In 2021, St. Louis came number 3 in the highest violent crime rates among US Cities
with populations greater than 100,000.

2. Detroit, Michigan
● Motor City. Detroit is rightly famous for many things, but more recently, they’re famous
for being down economically and up in crime statistics.
● Not unlike St. Louis, Motown’s issues stem directly from economic problems.
● Detroit’s problems are so bad that since 1950, they have lost over 60% of their
population, falling from 1.8 million to around 600 thousand in 2020.
● This loss is seen mostly in middle and upper class families. Detroit has seen a decline
in average per capita family income to just over $18,000 in 2020. This decline in
population and subsequent decline in tax base is the leading cause of Detroit’s crime
problem.
● Coming in at number 2 on 2021’s list of most violent cities, Detroit has a violent crime
rate of almost 23 violent crimes per 1000 population. This data is primarily driven by
assault, robbery, and rape statistics.

1. Memphis, TN
● At the top of our list of Most Violent US Cities, we have Memphis, Tennessee. While not
officially holding the title of “Music City”, Memphis is widely known as an influential city in
the US music scene. Home to the legendary Sun Studio, BB King, Elvis Presley, and
Johnny Cash have all been influenced by Memphis.
● However, that’s not to say modern Memphis is a great place to live. Quite the contrary,
Memphis comes in at the top of our list with over 24 violent crimes per 1000 residents.
Violent crime isn’t the only crime in Memphis either. Memphis had an overall crime rate
of 82 cases per 1000 citizens who call this city home.
● In 2021, violent crime in Memphis was dominated by Assault and Robbery. For 2021
data, Memphis also had one of the highest murder rates for any US city.
Closing
● Any city can have enclaves of good areas, but the ones on this list have fewer than
most.
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● Until next time!