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 firm Security.org recently determined this in a study. The data is based on an older FBI survey.
Murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery–the U.S. FBI’s violent crime statistics cover topics many travelers would prefer to ignore. The security company Security.org took a closer look at the FBI’s numbers and ranked U.S. cities by their level of danger. Among several individual lists, this one emerged: the top 25 most dangerous cities in the U.S.
Overview
How were the most dangerous cities in the U.S. 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 a population of over 10,000.”
Security.org broke down all four aspects mentioned in the definition per 100,000 residents and compared them to the overall crime rate in the U.S. 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 cites as the latest FBI data.
Note: Given the age of the data, the following information should be considered indicative, as actual current data may differ.
Which is the most dangerous city in the U.S.?
When considering this question, a few names might immediately come to mind: New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, or Baltimore? The last two aren’t far 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 ranking high on a list of cities by the number of violent crimes.
According to Security.org, the most dangerous city in the U.S. is a different one: East St. Louis in Illinois. Never heard of it? East St. Louis was once a bustling industrial city with over 80,000 residents, known as the “All American City,” but it suffered greatly from globalization. Many people lost their jobs and moved away, leaving only about 17,000 residents, with the trend declining. The city has since struggled with poverty and a high crime rate.
This is 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. The FBI report states there were 2,751.88 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, roughly one in 36 people. With these numbers, East St. Louis ranks fourth in the United States. The city holds the same position for aggravated assault cases, 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.
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The top 25 most dangerous cities in the U.S. according to Security.org
(The average rate of violent crimes compared to the nationwide average for the same type of crime is in parentheses)
- East St. Louis, Illinois (926.2 percent)
- Anniston, Alabama (796.2 percent)
- Fairfield, Alabama (671.1 percent)
- Chester, Pennsylvania (667.5 percent)
- St. Louis, Missouri (657.5 percent)
- Baltimore, Maryland (614.0 percent)
- Bessemer, Alabama (590.6 percent)
- Vinita Park, Missouri (585.6 percent)
- McKeesport, Pennsylvania (525.3 percent)
- College Park, Georgia (518.0 percent)
- Helena-West Helena, Arkansas (510.0 percent)
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas (508.7 percent)
- Detroit, Michigan (500.0 percent)
- Wilmington, Delaware (485.0 percent)
- Highland Park, Michigan (476.6 percent)
- Camden, New Jersey (467.6 percent)
- Flint, Michigan (463.5 percent)
- Prichard, Alabama (457.2 percent)
- Cleveland, Ohio (457.2 percent)
- Muskegon Heights, Michigan (456.2 percent)
- Memphis, Tennessee (447.5 percent)
- Monroe, Louisiana (445.9 percent)
- Darby, Pennsylvania (445.8 percent)
- Espanola, New Mexico (446.0 percent)
- West Memphis, Arkansas (440.2 percent)
Looking at the list of the most dangerous cities in the U.S., you’ll find few names of popular travel destinations or well-known large cities. Detroit (ranked 13th here) is the largest city on the list. Baltimore, which also has a notorious reputation, might be familiar to some. According to Security.org, it is by far the most dangerous city with more than 500,000 residents.