Although the world seems like an increasingly dangerous place abroad, with the rise of ISIS and widespread collapse of regimes, violent crime in the U.S. has continued its decline. While the U.S. is getting safer overall, high rates of crime continue to torment sections of the country, impacting people’s life decisions regarding housing, schooling, and travel.
FindTheHome looked at the2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report (latest complete data), visualizing the data and identifying the counties with the highest violent crime rates. Violent crime is defined as offenses that involve force or threat of force. This list contains the top 30 counties in the U.S. with the highest crime rates per 100,000 people.
The violent crime rate is the total number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies within a county per 100,000 people. The data analysts used population estimates from the 2014 American Community Survey. Only counties with a population greater than 1,000 are considered.
Disclaimer: The data published here is meant solely to illustrate the relative rates of crime, and not to make assertions about the effectiveness of law enforcement. There are many factors that affect the rate and nature of crime — such as the degree of urbanization, composition of age groups, economic climate and modes of transportation within an area — which are not considered here.
#30. Dillon County, SC
Population: 31,529
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 856.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 270
#29. Barnwell County, SC
Population: 22,287
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 866.0
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 193
#28. Anchorage Municipality, AK
Population: 298,178
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 873.6
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 2,605
#27. Madison County, TN
Population: 98,364
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 885.5
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 871
#26. Dillingham Census Area, AK
Population: 4,956
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 887.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 44
#25. Valencia County, NM
Population: 76,480
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 898.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 687
#24. Rapides Parish, LA
Population: 132,199
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 925.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 1,224
#23. Dallam County, TX
Population: 6,957
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 934.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 65
#22. Carter County, OK
Population: 48,288
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 938.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 453
#21. Mississippi County, AR
Population: 45,385
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 945.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 429
#20. Wayne County, MI
Population: 1,790,078
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 945.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 16,924
#19. Jefferson County, FL
Population: 14,335
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 962.7
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 138
#18. Iberville Parish, LA
Population: 33,375
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 970.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 324
#17. Milwaukee County, WI
Population: 953,401
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 997.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 9,506
#16. Jackson County, MO
Population: 678,167
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,004.8
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 6,814
#15. Pulaski County, AR
Population: 388,752
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,008.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 3,922
#14. Haywood County, TN
Population: 18,389
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,016.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 187
#13. Orleans Parish, LA
Population: 368,471
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,023.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 3,770
#12. Philadelphia County, PA
Population: 1,546,920
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,029.5
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 15,925
#11. Crittenden County, AR
Population: 50,172
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,058.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 531
#10. Rock County, MN
Population: 9,587
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,105.7
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 106
#9. Scott County, MO
Population: 39,137
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,119.1
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 438
#8. Davidson County, TN
Population: 648,048
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,122.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 7,277
#7. Potter County, TX
Population: 122,053
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,126.6
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 1,375
#6. Marion County, IN
Population: 919,336
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,178.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 10,832
#5. Washington County, D.C.
Population: 633,736
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,232.4
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 7,810
Note: There is only one county in the District of Columbia.
#4. Shelby County, TN
Population: 936,130
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,314.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 12,303
#3. Baltimore City, MD
Population: 622,271
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,341.2
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 8,346
#2. Alexander County, IL
Population: 7,821
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,355.3
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 106
#1. St. Louis City, MO
Population: 318,727
Violent Crimes per 100K People: 1,677.9
Number of Violent Crimes Reported: 5,348
