Democratic mayors are in charge of almost all of the United States' 10 most dangerous cities, based on analyses of the latest available national data on violent crimes and the cost of crime.
NeighborhoodScout and MoneyGeek used different methodologies to gauge the most violent and costliest crime cities, although five of the cities ended up on both lists.
NeighborhoodScout’s report is based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents in cities with 25,000 or more people. The data are based on the number of violent crimes reported to the FBI in each city, projections of violent crime rates based on prior years’ data, and the population of each city, according to the company.
MoneyGeek analyzed the most recent crime statistics from the FBI to estimate the societal cost of crime per resident in 263 cities that have populations greater than 100,000.
10 Most Dangerous Cities
NeighborhoodScout says it matches crime incident data from "all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. to the specific local communities the agency covers, and hence in which community the crimes have occurred."
The organization considers homicide, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault as violent crimes.
Its most dangerous city is Bessemer, Alabama, with a violent crime rate of 33.1 crimes per 1,000 residents. Bessemer is a suburb of Birmingham, which comes up sixth on this list and second on MoneyGeek's "cost of crime" top 10 list.
NeighborhoodScout lists Monroe, Louisiana, as its second most dangerous city, with a rate of 26.3 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Monroe sits halfway between Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.
In third place is Saginaw, Michigan, with a violent crime rate of 25.1 per 1,000 residents. Saginaw is about 100 miles northwest of Detroit.
Rounding out the top 10 are Memphis, Tennessee; Detroit; Birmingham, Alabama; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Cleveland.
Several mayoral races in the above cities are run as nonpartisan elections, which means all candidates are in one pool for voters.
However, all but one of the cities are run by mayors who are either Democrats or are affiliated with the Democratic Party. The exception is Monroe, Louisiana, whose mayor, Friday Ellis, is a Republican-turned-independent.
Cost of Crime Top 10
MoneyGeek's data measure the cost of crime per capita in cities of 100,000 or more. It doesn't drill down to cities as small as NeighborhoodScout (25,000) but ends up with a very similar list and five exact matches.
“Crime and safety are intertwined with prosperity, income, and economic opportunity. Crime is costly to individual victims, perpetrators, communities, and society at large,” the finance company posted on its website.
Overall, MoneyGeek calculated the cost of crime in 2021 was $1,836 per capita in U.S. cities, up 6 percent, or $100 per capita, since 2020.
The company says it analyzed crime data, including violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault and property crimes such as home burglary and motor vehicle theft. MoneyGeek omitted any cities that didn't report murder and rape.
It calculated the cost of crime based on the "direct economic costs of crime to individuals and society."
This includes the medical and mental health care costs for victims and the damage to and loss of property, and the costs for police and corrections, MoneyGeek stated in its report.
"Aside from the imminent danger of crime, people living in higher crime areas see depressed home values and pay higher prices for crucial needs, including home insurance, renters insurance, and auto insurance," the report states.
Ranking No. 1 on MoneyGeek’s list is St. Louis, which has an estimated crime cost per capita of $8,457, according to the finance company. Democrat Tishaura Jones was sworn in as the 47th mayor and the first black female mayor in the city’s history on April 20, 2021. Her predecessor was also a Democrat.
