June 26, 2025, 9:41 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Which city in the United States is particularly dangerous, perhaps even the most dangerous? The security company Security.org recently determined this in a study. The data is based on an older survey by the FBI.
Murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery–the U.S. FBI’s violent crime statistics deal with topics many travelers would prefer to avoid. The security company Security.org took a closer look at the FBI’s numbers and ranked U.S. cities by their level of danger. In addition to several individual lists, this one was created: the top 25 most dangerous cities in the USA.
Overview
How were the most dangerous cities in the USA determined?
First, let’s define what makes a city dangerous according to Security.org: “It must have a high rate of violent crime–murder, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery (as opposed to property crimes)–and have over 10,000 residents.”
Security.org broke down all four aspects mentioned in the definition per 100,000 residents and compared them to the general crime rate in the USA. The company explains: “We calculated each city’s crime rate as a percentage of the corresponding U.S. rate and then averaged these four percentages.”
The data used is based on the FBI study “Crime in the United States 2017,” published in 2018, which Security.org states is the latest FBI data.
Note: Given the age of the data, the following information should be understood as indicative, as the actual current data may differ.
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Which is the most dangerous city in the USA?
When considering this question, a few names might immediately come to mind: New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, or Baltimore? With the last two, you’re not entirely off, as they appear on the list of the top 25 most dangerous cities in the United States, though not at number one. However, New York and Los Angeles are absent, despite being high on a list for the number of violent crimes.
According to Security.org, the most dangerous city in the USA is a different one: East St. Louis in the state of Illinois. Never heard of it? East St. Louis was once a bustling industrial city with more than 80,000 residents, known as the “All American City,” but it eventually suffered greatly from globalization. Many people lost their jobs and moved away, leaving only about 17,000 people, with the trend declining. The city has since suffered from poverty and a high crime rate.
This is also reflected in the statistics. According to Security.org, the violent crime rate in East St. Louis is 926.2 percent compared to the U.S. average. According to the FBI report, there were 2,751.88 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, or roughly one in 36 people. With these numbers, East St. Louis ranks fourth in the United States. The city received the same ranking for cases of aggravated assault, with 2,120.55 cases per 100,000 residents. Additionally, the city leads Illinois with 111.41 murders per 100,000 residents, topping the U.S. murder statistics.
Also interesting: How safe is travel to the USA currently?
The top 25 most dangerous cities in the USA according to Security.org
(In parentheses is the average rate of violent crimes compared to the nationwide average for the same type of crime)
- East St. Louis, Illinois (926.2 percent)
- Anniston, Alabama (796.2 percent)
- Fairfield, Alabama (671.1 percent)
- Chester, Pennsylvania (667.5 percent)
- Chester, Pennsylvania (667.5 percent)
- Baltimore, Maryland (614.0 percent)
- Vinita Park, Missouri (585.6 percent)
- McKeesport, Pennsylvania (525.3 percent)
- College Park, Georgia (457.2 percent)
- Helena-West Helena, Arkansas (510.0 percent)
- Detroit, Michigan (500.0 percent)
- Wilmington, Delaware (467.6 percent)
- Highland Park, Michigan (476.6 percent)
- Camden, New Jersey (467.6 percent)
- Prichard, Alabama (457.2 percent)
- Cleveland, Ohio (457.2 percent)
- Muskegon Heights, Michigan (447.5 percent)
- Memphis, Tennessee (447.5 percent)
- Darby, Pennsylvania (445.8 percent)
- Espanola, New Mexico (446.0 percent)
- Darby, Pennsylvania (445.8 percent)
Looking at the list of the most dangerous cities in the United States, Detroit is the largest city on the list. Baltimore, which also has a notorious reputation, is likely familiar to some. According to Security.org, the latter is by far the most well-known city on the list.