America's 50 Most Dangerous Cities

The violent crime rate in Richmond, California, is among the highest of any U.S. city. There were 1,034 cases of rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and murder reported in Richmond in 2019, or 932 for every 100,000 people — more than double the violent crime rate nationwide of 367 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Other, nonviolent forms of crime, such as burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft are also more common in Richmond than they are nationwide. There were 4,188 property crimes reported in Richmond in 2019, or 3,773 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate stood at 2,110 per 100,000 the same year.

Click here to see the full crime report for Richmond, California.

There were 936 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Baton Rouge residents in 2019, far more than the national rate of 367 violent crimes per 100,000 Americans and the 34th highest violent crime rate of any large city.

Specifically, homicide is considerably more common in Baton Rouge than it is nationwide. There were 70 homicides committed in Baton Rouge in 2019, or 31.7 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, the national murder rate was just 5 per 100,000 the same year.

Click here to see the full crime report for Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Of the four categories of violent crime — rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide — aggravated assault is the most common. That pattern holds in Chicago, Illinois, where there were 15,296 aggravated assaults in 2019. Due primarily to instances of aggravated assault, the violent crime rate in the city stands at 943 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Crime tends to be more concentrated in areas with limited economic opportunity and widespread financial hardship — and this pattern holds in Chicago. Across the city, 19.5% of the population lives below the poverty line, well above the 14.1% national poverty rate.

Click here to see the full crime report for Chicago, Illinois.

As is the case nationwide, in Toledo, Ohio, aggravated assault drives the overall violent crime rate more than any other offense. Of the 2,604 violent crimes committed in the city in 2019, 1,710 were aggravated assaults. Overall, there were 952 violent crimes reported in Toledo for every 100,000 people in 2019.

Though the relationship between economic conditions and crime is complicated, crime rates are often higher in areas with limited employment opportunities. In Toledo, a relatively dangerous city, the annual unemployment rate stands at 5.2%, well above the comparable national jobless rate of 3.7%.

Click here to see the full crime report for Toledo, Ohio.

There were 962 violent crimes reported in Dayton, Ohio for every 100,000 people in 2019. For context, there were 367 violent crimes for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019. As is the case across the United States, aggravated assault is the most common violent crime in Dayton. Of the 1,351 violent crimes committed in the city in 2019, 756 were aggravated assaults.

Property crime — which includes burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft — is also relatively common in Dayton. There were 4,040 property crimes reported per 100,000 Dayton residents in 2019, far more than the national property crime rate of 2,110 incidents per 100,000 Americans.

Click here to see the full crime report for Dayton, Ohio.