The 10 Most Dangerous American Cities No One Should Call Home

One might choose a city based on the cleanliness, crime rate, proximity to employers, or the presence of high-quality public schools. If the crime rate is the primary influencing factor for the next place you live, this list might be for you!

We've compiled data on the safest cities in the United States to determine where people's property and selves are the least likely to be subject to some kind of violation. To compile this list, we looked at several sources of information regarding the safety, cleanliness, and other factors that might influence someone's decision to live there. Once we had a list of cities ranked by crime rate, we looked at the crime rate per capita and the cost of the crimes committed in the area per capita. Let's take a closer look now.

This post was updated June 24th, 2025, to reflect additional information.

Perhaps one of the more surprising entries on the list, the tenth most dangerous place to live in the Untied States is Denver, Colorado. Warm weather, just enough rain, and good rent prices might lead many people to think of moving to Denver to escape some of the pressures of modern life. Howeve,r the crime rate in the area might have you thinking your decision over again. Denver has a violent crime rate of 1,072.5 crimes per 100,000 people and a property crime rate of 6,433.2 crimes per 100,000 people, according to US News' data for 2024–2025, making it one of the most dangerous places to live in the United States right now. Its school district fares in the roughly average category, scoring similarly to other metro areas of the same size.

Coming in ninth on this list is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The area is hot spot for those looking to kick back and relax on the beach for a little bit, best known for its gorgeous beaches and seaside escapism. However, what it's less known for is a startlingly high crime rate, putting it in the top ten most dangerous places in America. Myrtle Beach has a violent crime rate of 1,020.5 crimes per 100,000 people and a property crime rate of 6,713.5 per 100,000 people. Myrtle Beach only has one school for each grade cluster, as well, and its score for schools is significantly lower than the averages for similarly-sized metro areas. Overall, Myrtle Beach doesn't seem to be a great place to stay for long periods, especially if you have kids who need to get a proper education.

Kansas City, Missouri sits halfway over the border to the neighboring state of Kansas, with half of the city limits being in Kansas proper. Unfortunately, while Kansas City, Missouri is a lovely area with beautiful scenery, certainly not a flyover town filled with cows and corn, it's also home to one of the highest crime rates in the United States of America. The city of Kansas City, Missouri has a violent crime rate of 1,485.1 crimes per 100,000 people and the property crime rate is around 4,728.8 per 100,000 people. In a city with a diverse population of over 2 million people, that's a lot of crimes being committed against other citizens! When it comes to schools, Kansas City, Missouri doesn't fare much better. The teacher to student ratio is fairly good, but the quality of education received in this district is worse than other metro areas of the same size.

The city of Cleveland, Ohio used to be a safe place for immigrants and a burgeoning powerhouse of American industrialization. However, in the modern day, it's a vibrant melting pot of people from all kinds of demographics, including young families, entrepreneurs, college students, and many other demographics. Cleveland is also, unfortunately, one of the most dangerous places to live In the United States of America. According to U.S. News' 2024–2025 data on crime, the violent crime rate in Cleveland was 1,621.1 crimes per 100,000 people and the property crime rate was 4,341.3 crimes per 100,000 people, making it the 7th most dangerous place to live in America. One of the other major indicators of an area's safety is the school district quality. Cleveland scored below average in school quality when compared to other metro areas of the same size.

The beautiful city of New Orleans, Louisiana captures the hearts of visitors and residents alike with a vibrant music scene, diverse cultural perspectives, and fantastic food. The city's staunch adherence to its traditional cultural roots are one of the many reasons so many people love to call this area home. However, crime conscious movers might want to be aware of the high crime rate in New Orleans. Within the United States, New Orleans landed in the sixth spot for the most dangerous place to live in the country. Around 1,444.1 violent crimes occur per 100,000 residents in New Orleans, and 4,640.8 property crimes occur per 100,000 people. The school district in New Orleans, another indicator of an area's relative safety, isn't strong either, scoring below average for metro areas of that size.

Right in the middle of the list of the most dangerous places in the United States of America is Little Rock, Arkansas, which comes in at a hefty fifth for the most perilous locations to live in the country. Little Rock has a much higher crime rate than similarly sized metro areas, more than 3 times that of Raleigh, North Carolina and more than 8 times that of Miami, Florida. Around 1,833.1 violent crimes occur per 100,000 people in Little Rock and 5,350.5 property crimes occur per 100,000 people. However, compared to similarly sized metro areas, Little Rock has a better school system, scoring slightly above average in comparison to other metro areas like it.

Coming in 4th is Birmingham, Alabama. The town was born from the burgeoning iron and steel industries in the area. So, it comes as no surprise that the residents of this area are tough as nails. Birmingham's crime rate is quite bad, though, for those who are conscious of that. It score much worse in crime compared to other metro areas of the same size, with around 1,685.2 violent crimes occurring per 100,000 people and 4,188.7 property crimes in the same metric. When compared to metro areas of the same size, such as Miami, Florida, and Virginia Beach, Virginia the crime rate is much higher per capita in Birmingham.

What will surprise people the most is that Detroit is no longer the most dangerous city in the entirety of the United States. It used to be. However, in recent years that spot has been taken by other cities. Detroit was originally founded by French settlers in Canada, a heritage still shown through mispronounced French street names. It also in Detroit that Henry Ford first debuted his Model T car for mass production. Unfortunately, while Detroit's crime rate is no longer the highest in the country, it's still quite high, earning it the third spot. Around 2,027.6 violent crimes are committed per 100,000 people and 4,487.7 property crimes are committed per capita in the area.

Sporting a stunning central American location with a family­-friendly atmosphere, St. Louis, Missouri is the destination for many people and businesses in the United States. The low cost of living makes it easy for people to adapt to the area and those working on lower salaries can make a good life here, if they can put up with all the crime. St. Louis has a violent crime rate of 1484.3 incidents per capita. So, 1484.3 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In terms of property crimes, the figure sits at 7,280.1 per 100,000 people, the second highest in the nation. The risk of violent crime isn't as high as some of the other high-crime areas on this list, but the amount of property damage and theft is notable even to the most lenient of people.

The most crime-ridden are in the entire United States of America is Memphis, Tennessee. The area scores high for both violent and property crimes, meaning the risk to person or property is significantly elevated among those who live there. The violent crime rate in Memphis, Tennessee is 2409.2 incidents per 100,000 people, and the property crime rate is 7,191 incidents per 100,000 people. The violent crime rate in Memphis is almost five times higher than Austin, Texas, which is an area of similar scale and population size.