Special Report

Anchorage, AK Is Among the Most Dangerous US Metro Areas

Samuel Stebbins

Published: November 8, 2021 12:01 pm

Last Updated: November 9, 2021 8:43 am

The U.S. violent crime rate — an annual, population-adjusted measure of cases of rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide — climbed by 5% in 2020. The increase was driven by a rise in aggravated assault and, most notably, a historic 29% surge in homicides that made 2020 the deadliest year in the United States since the mid-1990s.

Despite the largest single-year increase in homicides on record, the overall violent crime rate in 2020 remains relatively low by historical standards. There were 1.3 million violent crimes reported in the U.S. in 2020, or 399 for every 100,000 people. For context, the violent crime rate ranged between 523 and 758 incidents per 100,000 throughout the 1990s.

Of course, crime is a local phenomenon influenced by a wide range of factors. As a result, violent crime rates in the U.S. can vary considerably from place to place — and in some metro areas, rates of violence far exceed the nation-level highs recorded in decades past.

Despite a 1.9% annual decline in the violent crime rate, Anchorage, Alaska, is the most dangerous metro area in the Western United States and the third most dangerous metro nationwide. There were 3,576 violent crimes reported in Anchorage in 2020, or 1,171 for every 100,000 people, nearly three times the national violent crime rate.

In a break from the national trend, homicide cases declined precipitously in Anchorage, from 34 in 2019 to 18 in 2020. According to a police spokesperson, homicides in the metro area typically involve domestic disputes and, increasingly, drugs.

Metro areas are ranked on their violent crime rate using data from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report. Additional data on specific crimes are also from the 2020 FBI UCR. Poverty rates are one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.