US Cities by Crime Rate, 2026
Major U.S. cities ranked by reported violent crime rate
This ranking compares major U.S. cities by reported violent crime rate per 100,000 residents. The rate covers the FBI UCR violent-crime group: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. It is a reported-offense benchmark, not a complete personal-safety score.
The 2026 label refers to the publication snapshot. The table uses 2024 reported-crime data because the FBI’s 2024 “Reported Crimes in the Nation” release is the latest full annual release suitable for a stable city-level comparison. Preliminary 2025 data are not used for this ranking.
The city order and displayed rates are taken from OpenCrime’s 2024 city ranking for places with 100,000+ residents. OpenCrime states that its ranking is based on FBI Crime Data Explorer reported-offense data. This page uses that processed city-ranking layer for the ranked table and cites FBI Crime Data Explorer as the official underlying crime-data environment.
The denominator matters. Crimes are counted where they are reported, while the rate uses resident population. Downtown employment, tourism, universities, nightlife, event districts and police-jurisdiction boundaries can affect the rate without changing the resident base.
Memphis, Tennessee, reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Top 50 highest-rate entries from the 100,000+ population city comparison universe.
Reported violent offenses divided by resident population and multiplied by 100,000.
Compiled as a 2026 snapshot and reviewed on May 24, 2026.
What this violent-crime ranking measures
The indicator measures the concentration of reported violent offenses relative to resident population. It does not combine violent crime and property crime into a single total-crime index. Robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor-vehicle theft describe different risk patterns and should not be merged without explanation.
The upper part of the list includes both large metropolitan anchors and smaller regional cities. A smaller city can rank high when reported violent offenses are large relative to its population, while a much larger city can record more offenses in absolute terms but a lower per-capita rate.
Top 10 cities by reported violent crime rate
Memphis ranks first in this snapshot at 2,501.3 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Oakland, Detroit, Little Rock and Baltimore complete the top five. The Top 10 spans the South, Midwest and West, showing that elevated reported violent-crime rates are not confined to one region.
| Rank | City / reporting area | Region | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis, Tennessee | South | 2,501.3 |
| 2 | Oakland, California | West | 1,925.3 |
| 3 | Detroit, Michigan | Midwest | 1,781.3 |
| 4 | Little Rock, Arkansas | South | 1,672.0 |
| 5 | Baltimore, Maryland | South | 1,606.2 |
| 6 | Cleveland, Ohio | Midwest | 1,561.1 |
| 7 | Kansas City, Missouri | Midwest | 1,547.1 |
| 8 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Midwest | 1,430.9 |
| 9 | Pueblo, Colorado | West | 1,424.1 |
| 10 | St. Louis, Missouri | Midwest | 1,367.1 |
The displayed rates and ranking order use OpenCrime’s processed 2024 city-ranking view. This table is not an official FBI ranking.
Chart: highest reported violent crime rates in the Top 20
The Top 20 ranges from Memphis at 2,501.3 to Minneapolis at 1,160.2 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents. The first-ranked entry is more than twice the twentieth-ranked entry.
Methodology
The primary metric is reported violent crime per 100,000 residents. The offense group follows the FBI UCR violent-crime category: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Indicator formula
Reported violent crime rate = reported violent offenses / resident population × 100,000.
Reporting year
The table uses 2024 data because it is the latest full FBI annual reported-crime release used here for a stable city-level comparison.
Processed ranking layer
The ranked city order and displayed rates are taken from OpenCrime’s 2024 ranking for cities with 100,000+ residents, based on FBI Crime Data Explorer data.
Rounding
Rates are shown to one decimal place. Small differences may occur if a source updates denominators or recalculates unrounded values.
FBI Crime Data Explorer is the official environment for UCR reported-crime data. OpenCrime is used here as the processed city-ranking layer for sorting and displayed city rates; the result should be treated as an analytical comparison, not as a separate official FBI ranking.
Reported-crime rates have comparability limits. UCR participation is voluntary, agency coverage can differ from municipal boundaries, and not all crimes are reported to police. Resident population also does not capture commuters, tourists, students, unhoused populations, event crowds or daytime employment inflows. Interpret the rate together with local context, offense mix, reporting completeness and recent trend direction.
Full ranking of major U.S. cities by reported violent crime rate
The full table lists 50 entries ranked by reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents. The controls compare regions, sort by rate or city name, and switch between the Top 10, Top 20 and all listed entries.
| Rank | City / reporting area | Region | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis, Tennessee | South | 2,501.3 |
| 2 | Oakland, California | West | 1,925.3 |
| 3 | Detroit, Michigan | Midwest | 1,781.3 |
| 4 | Little Rock, Arkansas | South | 1,672.0 |
| 5 | Baltimore, Maryland | South | 1,606.2 |
| 6 | Cleveland, Ohio | Midwest | 1,561.1 |
| 7 | Kansas City, Missouri | Midwest | 1,547.1 |
| 8 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Midwest | 1,430.9 |
| 9 | Pueblo, Colorado | West | 1,424.1 |
| 10 | St. Louis, Missouri | Midwest | 1,367.1 |
| 11 | New Orleans, Louisiana | South | 1,361.1 |
| 12 | Lansing, Michigan | Midwest | 1,345.1 |
| 13 | Peoria, Illinois | Midwest | 1,344.9 |
| 14 | Dayton, Ohio | Midwest | 1,339.2 |
| 15 | Birmingham, Alabama | South | 1,246.6 |
| 16 | Shreveport, Louisiana | South | 1,228.5 |
| 17 | Evansville, Indiana | Midwest | 1,206.2 |
| 18 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | West | 1,181.8 |
| 19 | Springfield, Missouri | Midwest | 1,178.1 |
| 20 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Midwest | 1,160.2 |
| 21 | Houston, Texas | South | 1,148.2 |
| 22 | Stockton, California | West | 1,145.8 |
| 23 | Beaumont, Texas | South | 1,137.3 |
| 24 | Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Tennessee | South | 1,124.1 |
| 25 | Rockford, Illinois | Midwest | 1,080.0 |
| 26 | Lafayette, Louisiana | South | 1,066.1 |
| 27 | Tacoma, Washington | West | 1,063.0 |
| 28 | Kansas City, Kansas | Midwest | 1,047.2 |
| 29 | Toledo, Ohio | Midwest | 1,041.1 |
| 30 | Victorville, California | West | 1,015.6 |
| 31 | Anchorage, Alaska | West | 1,014.8 |
| 32 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | South | 1,003.7 |
| 33 | Denver, Colorado | West | 993.0 |
| 34 | Paterson, New Jersey | Northeast | 978.6 |
| 35 | South Bend, Indiana | Midwest | 965.0 |
| 36 | Aurora, Colorado | West | 947.8 |
| 37 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | South | 941.9 |
| 38 | Washington, District of Columbia | South | 925.9 |
| 39 | Greensboro, North Carolina | South | 923.7 |
| 40 | Richmond, California | West | 923.1 |
| 41 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Midwest | 910.1 |
| 42 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Northeast | 908.7 |
| 43 | Springfield, Illinois | Midwest | 901.2 |
| 44 | San Bernardino, California | West | 897.1 |
| 45 | Springfield, Massachusetts | Northeast | 891.4 |
| 46 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Midwest | 877.9 |
| 47 | Salt Lake City, Utah | West | 864.2 |
| 48 | Corpus Christi, Texas | South | 863.6 |
| 49 | Topeka, Kansas | Midwest | 856.5 |
| 50 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Midwest | 845.6 |
Source basis: OpenCrime processed 2024 city ranking based on FBI Crime Data Explorer reported-offense data; FBI CDE is the official UCR data environment. Reviewed May 24, 2026.
Insights from the city distribution
Upper tier
The top of the ranking is not limited to the largest U.S. cities. Memphis, Little Rock, Pueblo, Lansing, Peoria and Dayton show how mid-sized cities can reach very high rates when reported violent offenses are large relative to resident population.
Regional pattern
The Midwest and South are heavily represented in the upper half of the list, while the West appears through California cities, Colorado cities, Albuquerque, Tacoma, Anchorage and Salt Lake City. The Northeast appears less often but includes Paterson, Philadelphia and Springfield, Massachusetts.
Large-city contrast
Houston, Philadelphia, Washington and Indianapolis appear in the Top 50 because their rates remain high, but several smaller cities rank above them. Absolute crime volume and per-capita rate answer different questions.
Lower end of the Top 50
The bottom of this high-rate list still sits well above the national violent-crime rate reported for 2024. Cincinnati at 845.6 per 100,000 is far below Memphis but remains high within the 100,000+ city comparison universe.
What the ranking means for readers
For residents and people considering relocation, the ranking is a starting point for understanding reported violent-crime exposure at the city level. It should not be used alone to choose a neighborhood, because risk varies sharply inside large cities and because a citywide rate can be influenced by downtown, transit, nightlife or event districts.
For businesses, the table helps frame security planning, insurance questions, site-selection research and employee-safety discussions. A high citywide rate does not automatically mean every commercial corridor faces the same risk, but it signals that more granular local data should be reviewed before making decisions.
For analysts and policymakers, the ranking is most useful when paired with offense mix, clearance data, socioeconomic indicators, policing coverage, victimization surveys and trend data. A one-year city rate can identify pressure points, but it does not explain causes by itself.
FAQ
Is this an official FBI ranking of dangerous cities?
No. FBI Crime Data Explorer is the official source environment for UCR reported-crime data, but the city order and displayed rates in this page use OpenCrime’s processed 2024 city-ranking view. The table is an analytical ranking, not an official FBI list.
Why does the page say 2026 if the data year is 2024?
The 2026 label identifies the publication snapshot. The ranking uses 2024 because it is the latest full annual FBI reported-crime release used here for stable city-level comparison. Preliminary 2025 figures are excluded from the ranked table.
Does a high rate mean the whole city is unsafe?
Not necessarily. A citywide rate averages very different neighborhoods, downtown areas, entertainment zones and residential districts. It is useful for broad comparison, but local decisions require neighborhood-level context.
Why use rate per 100,000 instead of the number of crimes?
Rates make cities of different sizes more comparable. A large city can have more reported offenses in absolute terms but a lower per-capita rate than a smaller city with fewer residents.
What are the main limits of reported violent-crime data?
The main limits are underreporting, voluntary UCR participation, jurisdiction boundaries, differences in local reporting practice and the use of resident population as the denominator. Visitor and commuter flows can also change the practical exposure behind a citywide rate.
Sources
-
OpenCrime — Most Dangerous & Safest Cities in America, 2024 rankings. Used as the processed city-ranking layer for the ordered Top 50 table and displayed rates for cities with 100,000+ residents.
https://www.opencrime.us/rankings -
FBI Crime Data Explorer. Official environment for UCR reported-crime data by agency, city, county, state and other reporting categories.
https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/ -
FBI — 2024 Reported Crimes in the Nation Statistics. Used to identify the 2024 full annual reporting release and the violent-crime category context.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-2024-reported-crimes-in-the-nation-statistics -
FBI UCR Program. Used for context on Uniform Crime Reporting and the reported-offense basis of the data.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/ -
U.S. Census Bureau — City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2025. Used for population-denominator context and to explain why city rates depend on resident population estimates.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html -
Bureau of Justice Statistics — National Crime Victimization Survey. Used to explain why reported police data and victimization experience are related but not identical measures.
https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvs
