Memphis, Tennessee has the highest violent crime rate of any US city with 100,000 or more residents: 11,219 violent crimes in a population of 606,629, or about 1,849 per 100,000 people. That is 5.6 times the national rate of 327.6. Detroit follows at 1,649, and the gap between the third and tenth cities is only about 260 crimes per 100,000. This guide to the most dangerous cities in the US ranks the top 10 on that measure and gives each city’s murder rate beside it.
The table uses the FBI’s 2025 city data, the latest full year, released in 2026. Every city here is far above the national figure, and every one of them recorded fewer violent crimes in 2025 than in 2024. A single rate compresses a lot, so the sections below show what sits behind it and where it stops being reliable.
Violent Crime Rate in the 10 Highest US Cities of 100,000 or More, 2025
| # | City | Population | Violent crimes | Violent crimes per 100,000 | Murders per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis, Tennessee | 606,629 | 11,219 | 1,849.4 | 31.2 |
| 2 | Detroit, Michigan | 642,155 | 10,590 | 1,649.1 | 25.7 |
| 3 | Little Rock, Arkansas | 205,320 | 3,048 | 1,484.5 | 21.4 |
| 4 | Oakland, California | 444,211 | 6,554 | 1,475.4 | 12.4 |
| 5 | Kansas City, Missouri | 518,039 | 7,094 | 1,369.4 | 26.1 |
| 6 | Cleveland, Ohio | 363,659 | 4,947 | 1,360.3 | 28.3 |
| 7 | Baltimore, Maryland | 562,811 | 7,578 | 1,346.5 | 23.8 |
| 8 | Peoria, Illinois | 111,389 | 1,392 | 1,249.7 | 10.8 |
| 9 | Birmingham, Alabama | 195,393 | 2,415 | 1,236.0 | 42.5 |
| 10 | St. Louis, Missouri | 274,819 | 3,364 | 1,224.1 | 51.3 |
Violent crime means murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The rate is violent crimes divided by population, multiplied by 100,000, so a city of 111,000 people and a city of 640,000 can be compared directly. The national murder rate in 2025 was 4.1 per 100,000.
Most Dangerous Cities in the US, Ranked
1. Memphis, Tennessee: The Highest Rate of Any City
Population: 606,629 · Violent crimes: 11,219 · Violent crime rate: 1,849.4 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 31.2 per 100,000
Memphis reported 189 murders, 333 rapes, 1,473 robberies and 9,224 aggravated assaults in 2025. The 189 murders are the most of any city in this top 10, and aggravated assault is 82 percent of the total.
The count fell sharply from 2024, when Memphis recorded 15,338 violent crimes and 249 murders, a 26.1 percent drop in the rate. Its murder rate of 31.2 per 100,000 is still the third highest among the 335 cities of 100,000 or more in the table.
2. Detroit, Michigan: The Largest City in the Top 10
Population: 642,155 · Violent crimes: 10,590 · Violent crime rate: 1,649.1 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 25.7 per 100,000
Detroit has the largest population in this top 10 and reported 541 rapes, 935 robberies and 165 murders. Its 8,949 aggravated assaults are 84.5 percent of all violent crimes, the highest share in the list.
The rate slipped 7.4 percent from 2024, when Detroit counted 11,599 violent crimes and 203 murders. Its murder rate of 25.7 per 100,000 ranks seventh among the 335 cities, below its second place on overall violent crime.
3. Little Rock, Arkansas: A City of 205,000 in Third Place
Population: 205,320 · Violent crimes: 3,048 · Violent crime rate: 1,484.5 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 21.4 per 100,000
Little Rock has about a third of the population of Detroit and still places third. It logged 44 murders, 219 rapes, 348 robberies and 2,437 aggravated assaults.
It is the only city in this top 10 where the murder count rose, from 36 in 2024 to 44 in 2025, even as the overall rate fell 11.2 percent. The murder rate of 21.4 per 100,000 ranks twelfth among the 335 cities.
4. Oakland, California: The Only West Coast City
Population: 444,211 · Violent crimes: 6,554 · Violent crime rate: 1,475.4 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 12.4 per 100,000
Oakland’s 6,554 violent crimes include 55 murders, 324 rapes, 1,743 robberies and 4,432 aggravated assaults. Robbery is 26.6 percent of the total, a much larger share than in Memphis, Detroit or Little Rock.
The rate fell 23.4 percent from 2024, when the city counted 8,376 violent crimes and 81 murders. Oakland reported through the Summary Reporting System for all 12 months rather than the newer incident-based system, so its counts follow the same definitions but are not a strict match with other cities. Its murder rate of 12.4 per 100,000 ranks thirty-second of 335.
5. Kansas City, Missouri: Not to Be Confused With Kansas City, Kansas
Population: 518,039 · Violent crimes: 7,094 · Violent crime rate: 1,369.4 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 26.1 per 100,000
Kansas City, Missouri reported 135 murders, 363 rapes, 1,036 robberies and 5,560 aggravated assaults. Kansas City, Kansas is a separate city, at 970.6 per 100,000.
The Missouri city’s rate fell 11.5 percent from 2024, when it logged 7,914 violent crimes and 141 murders. Its murder rate of 26.1 per 100,000 ranks sixth among the 335 cities, ahead of Detroit and Baltimore.
6. Cleveland, Ohio: Fifth in the Country for Murder Rate
Population: 363,659 · Violent crimes: 4,947 · Violent crime rate: 1,360.3 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 28.3 per 100,000
Cleveland counted 103 murders, 413 rapes, 1,048 robberies and 3,383 aggravated assaults.
The rate declined 12.9 percent from 2024, when there were 5,663 violent crimes and 109 murders. The murder rate of 28.3 per 100,000 ranks fifth among the 335 cities, one place above its sixth position on overall violent crime.
7. Baltimore, Maryland: Robbery Is Nearly a Third of the Total
Population: 562,811 · Violent crimes: 7,578 · Violent crime rate: 1,346.5 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 23.8 per 100,000
Baltimore reported 134 murders, 270 rapes, 2,342 robberies and 4,832 aggravated assaults. Robbery is 30.9 percent of its violent crimes, the highest share in this top 10, and the 2,342 robberies are the most of any city here.
The rate fell 16.2 percent from 2024, when the city counted 9,101 violent crimes and 197 murders. Its murder rate of 23.8 per 100,000 ranks ninth among the 335 cities.
8. Peoria, Illinois: The Smallest City in the Top 10
Population: 111,389 · Violent crimes: 1,392 · Violent crime rate: 1,249.7 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 10.8 per 100,000
Peoria reported 12 murders, 217 rapes, 148 robberies and 1,015 aggravated assaults.
The rate fell 7.1 percent from 2024, when Peoria recorded 1,475 violent crimes and 14 murders. Its murder rate of 10.8 per 100,000 ranks forty-fifth of 335, and a handful of cases moves a rate much further in a city of 111,000 than in one of 640,000.
9. Birmingham, Alabama: Second-Highest Murder Rate
Population: 195,393 · Violent crimes: 2,415 · Violent crime rate: 1,236.0 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 42.5 per 100,000
Birmingham counted 83 murders, 38 rapes, 385 robberies and 1,909 aggravated assaults. Its murder rate of 42.5 per 100,000 is second only to St. Louis among all 335 cities and more than ten times the national rate of 4.1.
The overall rate barely moved, slipping 0.8 percent from 1,246.6 per 100,000 in 2024 on 2,436 violent crimes. Murders dropped from 115 to 83.
10. St. Louis, Missouri: The Highest Murder Rate in the Country
Population: 274,819 · Violent crimes: 3,364 · Violent crime rate: 1,224.1 per 100,000 · Murder rate: 51.3 per 100,000
St. Louis reported 141 murders, 110 rapes, 585 robberies and 2,528 aggravated assaults. Its murder rate of 51.3 per 100,000 is the highest of the 335 cities in the table, about 12.5 times the national rate.
The rate fell 10.5 percent from 2024, when the city logged 3,791 violent crimes and 150 murders. Dayton, Ohio sits just below at 1,221.6 per 100,000, only 2.5 points behind, so tenth place is narrow.
Where the Highest-Rate Cities Sit on the Map
Five of the ten cities are in the Midwest: Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland, Peoria and St. Louis. Four are in the South: Memphis, Little Rock, Baltimore and Birmingham. Oakland is the only city from the West, and none is from the Northeast. Missouri has two cities in the top 10, and Springfield, Missouri follows at 1,213.7 per 100,000.
The largest cities rank well down. New York is at 656.5 per 100,000, Los Angeles at 667.7, Chicago at 420.4, Houston at 886.1 and Phoenix at 694.5. Houston is the highest of the five and still sits below tenth-placed St. Louis. Per capita, size alone does not produce a high rate.
Murder Rate Versus Violent Crime Rate: Two Different Rankings
Aggravated assault dominates the violent crime rate. In the ten cities above it makes up between 64 and 85 percent of all violent crimes, so a city can rank high overall while its murder rate is moderate, as Peoria does at 10.8 per 100,000.
Ranked on murder rate alone, St. Louis leads at 51.3 per 100,000, followed by Birmingham at 42.5, Memphis at 31.2, Montgomery, Alabama at 30.8 and Cleveland at 28.3. Kansas City, Missouri (26.1), Detroit (25.7), Milwaukee (25.4) and Baltimore (23.8) complete the top nine.
The National Violent Crime Rate and Its Fall Since 2006
The national rate was 327.6 per 100,000 in 2025, down 9.7 percent from 362.9 in 2024. Murders dropped 18.1 percent to 14,085, robbery fell 18.5 percent and aggravated assault fell 7.2 percent.
The rate was 477.3 in 2006, 368.6 in 2019, 389.2 in 2020 and 381.6 in 2023; the 2021 estimates are flagged as not nationally representative. Cities as a group run higher than the nation: all reporting cities recorded 384.0, cities of 250,000 or more 626.9, and cities of 100,000 to 249,999 398.9. Of the 335 cities of 100,000 or more, 197 are above the national rate and 21 are at or above 1,000.
How the Rates Were Calculated and Why the FBI Advises Against Ranking Cities
Table 8 of the FBI’s Crime in the United States report prints population and offense counts for each city but no rates. The rates here are computed from the FBI’s reported counts and populations: violent crimes divided by population, multiplied by 100,000. Only cities of 100,000 or more are ranked.
The FBI itself advises against ranking cities. It has a long-standing policy against ranking agencies on crime data alone, because reporting practices differ and so do the conditions that shape crime: population density, the concentration of young people, economic conditions, climate, the strength of local police, the policies of prosecutors and courts, and how readily residents report crime. A city rate also covers only the people inside the city limits, not the surrounding suburbs.
Four cities of 100,000 or more are missing from the 2025 table because they supplied fewer than 12 months of data: Gainesville, Florida (7 months), Topeka, Kansas (8), Worcester, Massachusetts (9) and Greensboro, North Carolina (10). Their rates could fall anywhere in the order. Jackson, Mississippi appears with 555 violent crimes for 138,701 residents, about 400 per 100,000, far below the city’s recent history, so it is not read as evidence of low violence and plays no part in the ranking.
How to Compare These Figures Before Drawing Conclusions
A rate of 1,849 per 100,000 means roughly 1 violent crime for every 54 residents in a year, but it says nothing about where those crimes happened. Look at the murder rate and the aggravated assault count separately, check how many months of data a city reported, and use neighborhood figures from the local police department for any one address. For the opposite end of the scale, see the guide to the safest cities in the US.
A move also depends on housing costs, which the guide to the cheapest states to live in covers, and on growth, as in the fastest-growing cities in the US. The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer hosts the downloadable tables for any city outside the top 10.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most dangerous city in the US by violent crime rate?
Memphis, Tennessee, with 11,219 violent crimes in a population of 606,629, or about 1,849 per 100,000 residents in the 2025 city table. Detroit is second at about 1,649 and Little Rock third at about 1,485.
Which US city has the highest murder rate?
St. Louis, at about 51.3 murders per 100,000 residents (141 murders in a population of 274,819). Birmingham, Alabama follows at 42.5 and Memphis at 31.2, against a national murder rate of 4.1.
Does the FBI rank the most dangerous cities?
No. The FBI says it has a long-standing policy against ranking agencies on crime data alone, because density, economic conditions and reporting practices differ between places. The rankings here are computed from its counts and populations and are a starting point, not a verdict on any city.
What is the national violent crime rate?
It was 327.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, down 9.7 percent from 362.9 in 2024, based on about 1,119,768 estimated violent crimes in a population of 341,784,857. Of the 335 cities of 100,000 or more in the city table, 197 are above that rate.
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