It’s true that crime rates in the United States are constantly changing, and the news tends to focus overwhelmingly on bad news rather than good news. However, if you want to know how safe you are, you need to look at the actual information, not the news’s reports on that information. Here’s everything you need to know about America’s crime rates.
1. The United States Is Becoming Safer
As scary as it can be to see crime statistics on the news, the fact that you might see more news about crime today than you did 10 years ago doesn’t necessarily mean that things are scarier. It just means that the news is easier to access. For example, according to the FBI’s national crime database, crime has decreased every year since 2010 according to crime per 100,000:
2010: 3,350.4
2011: 3,292.5
2012: 3,255.8
2013: 3,112.4
2014: 2,971.8
2015: 2,859.6
2016: 2,837
2017: 2,745.1
2018: 2,568.4
As you can see, crime has gone down every single year since 2010, with a full 23% decrease in only eight years. Violent crime has also gone down overall, even though it’s gone down in a much less linear manner. This is the violent crime rate per 100,000 since 2010:
2010: 404.5
2011: 387.1
2012: 387.8
2013: 379.1
2014: 375.7
2015: 372.6
2016: 386.3
2017: 382.9
2018: 368.9
Even though the violent crime rate has gone up in certain years, like between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016, the violent crime rate was still lower in 2018 than in 2010.
2. Violent Crime Varies Depending on the Area
The area in which you live will have a marked impact on the level of violent crime that you experience. Although you probably already knew that different areas have different levels of violence, it might surprise you exactly how significant the discrepancy is. These are the five most dangerous cities in the United States, with violent crime rates that are around five times the national average:
Detroit, Michigan: 2,007.8
Memphis, Tennessee: 1,943.2
Birmingham, Alabama: 1,911.5
Baltimore, Maryland: 1,833.4
St Louis, Missouri: 1,800.4
On the other hand, there are some locations that are significantly safer than the national average. Consider the violent crime rate per 100,000 for these, the safest cities in the United States:
Hopkinton, Massachusetts: Nearly 0
Bridgefield, Connecticut: Nearly 0
Madison, Connecticut: Nearly 0
Harrison Town, New York: 3.5
Bernards Township, New Jersey: 3.7
3. Socioeconomic Status Plays a Huge Part
One of the most significant roles in determining a city’s crime rate may be socioeconomic status. All ten of the most dangerous cities of the United States have a poverty rate over 20%, and six of them are in the ten poorest states. The safest cities, on the other hand, all have a median income over $100,000 per year.
Conclusion
When you’re trying to determine whether you’re safe, the first thing you should do is look at the facts. Truthfully, the United States is becoming safer. Your best option for staying safe is to look at local crime rates for direction.
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