Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.

When it comes to public safety within the U.S., a comprehensive understanding of the cost and prevalence of crime can shed light on the cities most impacted by violence and criminality. While violent crime rates have decreased significantly in the last 30 years, the threat remains far from eradicated, with certain areas bearing the brunt of this social issue. 

• Birmingham, AL tops the list with a crime cost per capita of $11.3K, closely followed by New Orleans, LA, and St. Louis, MO, which present crime costs of $11.1K and $11K, respectively.
• The state of Louisiana is prominently featured with five of its cities (New Orleans, Monroe, Alexandria, Houma, Baton Rouge) listed among the regions with the highest cost of local crimes per capita — implying a pressing issue of criminal activities within the state.
• Another pattern to note is that none of the traditional major hubs, like New York City or Los Angeles, appear on the list.
• Detroit, MI, Memphis, TN, and Baltimore, MD, cities often correlated with high crime rates in the public consciousness, do feature within the top ten but, notably, they're succeeded by lesser-known urban environments such as Monroe, LA and Petersburg, VA.
• Despite being ranked 20th, 'Oakland, CA' is the first representative from California, a state frequently stereotyped as crime-ridden.