10. Arkansas
> Violent crime rate per 100,000: 480.9
> Pct. below poverty line: 19.5% (4th highest)
> Pct. less than high school education: 16.2% (8th highest)
> Property crime rate per 100,000: 3,754.1 (2nd highest)

In 2011, Arkansas had the nation’s 10th-highest violent crime rate, driven by some of the nation’s highest incidences of forcible rape and aggravated assault. Violent crime was especially problematic in Little Rock, which recorded the sixth-highest violent crime rate in the country for cities with populations of 100,000 or more. The state also suffered from a high rate of nonviolent crimes. In fact, it had the second-highest property crime rate in the country at 3754.1 incidents per 100,000 people. Arkansas also had some of the nation’s highest poverty and high-school dropout rates.

9. Maryland
> Violent crime rate per 100,000: 494.1
> Pct. below poverty line: 10.1% (2nd lowest)
> Pct. less than high school education: 11.2% (22nd lowest)
> Property crime rate per 100,000: 2,860.2 (23rd highest)

Although Maryland’s violent crime rate remained ninth highest in 2011, the same rank as in 2010, the number of incidences declined from 589.9 per 100,000 that year. The state also had the fourth-highest rate of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, with 6.8 incidences for every 100,000 residents. However, that was down as well from 7.7 incidences in 2010, when it was the third highest. The state’s largest city, Baltimore, is still one of the most dangerous cities in the country. However, there were fewer than 200 homicides in the city in 2011, the first time that has happened since 1977. This is despite the fact that the population also dropped in that time, by about 180,000. Baltimore still had the sixth-highest murder rate in the country for cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

Also Read: States with the Widest Gap Between the Rich and Poor

8. Florida
> Violent crime rate per 100,000: 515.3
> Pct. below poverty line: 17.0% (17th highest)
> Pct. less than high school education: 14.0% (18th highest)
> Property crime rate per 100,000: 3,522.0 (11th highest)

The rate of violent crime in the state of Florida fell by nearly 100 incidents per 100,000 people, from 612.5 per 100,000 residents in 2010 to 515.3 in 2011. This rate, however, remains the eighth highest in the country. Property crime in the state was also quite high last year. There were more than 2,400 cases of larceny and theft per 100,000 people, the third-highest rate in the country. To combat crime in the state, Florida employed nearly 400 police officers per 100,000 people in 2010, according to data from the FBI, the sixth-highest rate in the country. The city of Miami reported a violent crime rate of nearly 1,200 per 100,000 people in 2011, the 17th highest in the country for cities with more than 100,000 people.

7. Louisiana
> Violent crime rate per 100,000: 555.3
> Pct. below poverty line: 20.4% (3rd highest)
> Pct. less than high school education: 17.5% (4th highest)
> Property crime rate per 100,000: 3,688.5 (3rd highest)

Louisiana ranked high among all states for a host of crimes. The state had the highest murder and voluntary manslaughter rate in 2011, with 11.2 incidences per 100,000 residents. The state also had the fifth-highest rate of aggravated assault, with 401.9 incidences per 100,000 residents. Although generally not considered violent, the state also ranked third highest in property crime, including sixth highest in burglary and second highest in larceny. For every 100,000 residents, there were 867 people incarcerated in Louisiana, more than in any other state in the U.S. As of July 2012, the state’s largest city, New Orleans, had the highest murder rate per capita of all large U.S. cities.

6. Delaware
> Violent crime rate per 100,000: 559.5
> Pct. below poverty line: 11.9% (11th lowest)
> Pct. less than high school education: 13.0% (20th highest)
> Property crime rate per 100,000: 3,410.6 (13th highest)

Delaware’s violent crime rate last year of nearly 560 incidents per 100,000 people was a significant improvement from 2010, when there were 636.6 incidents for every 100,000 people. Cases of violent robbery fell between 2010 and 2011, although last year’s 169.5 robbery incidents per 100,000 people was still the second-highest rate in the nation. Additionally, the rate of several nonviolent crimes related to theft rose last year, with burglary and larceny each rising from their 2010 rates.