As crime goes up you have the right to know how dangerous largely populated cities in the United States are, especially when it comes to homicide rates. Make no mistake the top five cities are ruthless, taking statistics out of every 100,000 people how many are murdered; the numbers are off the charts! The United States crime rate fluctuates every year due to a number of factors such as socioeconomics, how effective the criminal justice system is at that point of time and the demographics of the area. So maybe we’ll take a miss at visiting these top five as murder seems to be high on their list.
These statistics provided by the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report last updated for 2012 and can give you an insight on the top five cities with the highest murder rate in the United States.
1. Flint, Michigan
Pulling in at number one, Flint, for a city that many in the US have never heard of unless known that it is the birthplace of General Motors (GM) is making news with its monumental murder rate of 62! It is the seventh largest populated city in Michigan and is located right along the Flint River, with its many abandoned residences and vandalized businesses the crime affects are obvious all throughout the city even without the 63 murders a year.
2. Detroit, Michigan
Michigan taking one for the team brings in the second city with a murder rate of 55. Located not even 66 miles northwest of Flint (our number one) we can see the drop in less than five percent which is not very impressive even if it is the largest city on the US/Canada border. Making this one of our deadliest representations of what the United States is all about to other nations with an average of 386 murders per year!
3. New Orleans, Louisiana
Looks like it’s not all Mardi Gras and good old Cajun spice down in New Orleans, keeping our third spot a tight one with 53 still pulling way head of the last two on our list for murder rates in comparison with 193 murders a year. Heat of the gulf coast seems to really stir some people up as a city that’s big on tourism but could be bigger on homicide!
4. Jackson, Mississippi
We couldn’t forget the Deep South on our count as Jackson, the capital and largest city in Mississippi having the second smallest population on our list joins us with a murder rate of 36. No wonder the population is so low with also 63 murders per year! Southern hospitality does not seem to be at its finest and I would be cautious as to how long to make a stop with that statistic.
5. St. Louis, Missouri
Last but not least St. Louis with a close call for number five bringing in murder rate of 35, where the Gateway Arch monument is not the only thing it is famous for. Like the rest of our cities it is located on a major body of water on the eastern state line of Missouri. About to celebrate its 250th anniversary and encompassed with a long history, I’m not quite sure working its way to the top five homicide rates with 113 murders a year anything to celebrate about!
Rebecca Borchers is a creative writer and internet marketing consultant for Orl-Law.com, an industry leading criminal defense law firm based in Orlando, Florida.