The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Indiana For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Indiana For 2022

From the outside, it doesn't seem scary. Located along the Wabash River, just east of the Illinois border, Terre Haute sits in the middle of rural Indiana. It provides the home to educational and cultural institutions, like the Indiana State University and the Swope Art Museum.

Yet, don't let the amenities or the rural surroundings fool you. This ranks as the number 1 most dangerous community in Indiana. This includes a high rate of burglaries, with 783 such crimes in a city with 60,604 people. Terre Haute also experiences high numbers of arsons and car thefts.

Home to the University of Notre Dame and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, South Bend is the second most dangerous place to live in Indiana for 2022.

South Bend is not a great place to leave the door to your house or car unlocked, seeing as the city had the second highest burglary rate in Indiana and 571 car thefts recorded in 2020.

The bigger issue, though, is violent crime -- folks in South Bend had a 1 in 57 chance of being the victim of an attack over the year, representing the highest worst violent crime rate in Indiana.

Which kind of makes South Bend's motto -- "Peace" -- seem like a wish rather than a reflection of the current state of affairs.

Indiana's third-biggest city, Evansville, goes by "Pocket City." However, we think that "Pickpocket City" would be a more apt nickname, given that Evansville had 3,188 larceny cases in 2020.

Overall, Evansville residents had a 1 in 27 chance of being the victim of a property crime over the year. So definitely keep your winnings quiet after a big night out at Tropicana Casino.

Unfortunately, it's not just small-time crime in Evansville -- the city also had the third highest rate of rape cases in Indiana.

Indianapolis is the biggest city in Indiana. As such, it comes with its share of amenities. You can enjoy NBA and NFL games. Or, if you have a more artsy sensibility, you can go to Newfields, an art museum and nature park. Plenty to do. Just make sure you check your wallet and stay out of dark alleys.

Indianapolis isn't just the state capital. It's the capital of certain types of crimes. It suffers the number 1.0 highest pace of robberies in Indiana. Residents also have to worry about the 216 murders that happen in a year.

There's another Warsaw -- a bigger, more famous one in Poland. There's actually a connection. The town sits in Kosciusko County and both get their name from a Revolutionary War general from Poland named Tadeusz Kociuszko.

There's not much around this Warsaw. In fact, the town represents the only incorporated city in Kosciusko County. Despite its rural surroundings, you can't exactly relax when you're in town. This community stands as the number 5 most dangerous area in Indiana. This includes a high rate of violent crimes. The city reported 121 aggravated assaults in a population of just 15,319.

Indiana's 8th biggest city, Lafayette, is also its sixth most dangerous. Home to Purdue University, Lafayette has above average rates of both property and violent crime.

For instance, Lafayette had the third highest burglary rate in Indiana and the 13th highest rate of rape cases.

Overall, the city averaged just under one violent crime a day and more than six property crimes a day. Oh, and a robbery every week, just for good measure.

Located on the outer fringes of the Indianapolis metro area, Cumberland sits about a half hour from the center of the biggest city in Indiana. Not exactly the inner city. Yet, still, it suffers from some of the problems you'd expect to find in an inner-city environment. Namely, Cumberland ranks as the number 7 most dangerous spot in Indiana.

In terms of violence, you can feel relatively secure in town. But Cumberland represents a hotbed of property crime. Its rate of larcenies sits at the number 2 highest level in the state. Residents also deal with a high number of robberies and burglaries.

Just across the Ohio River, you'll find Louisville, Kentucky's major metropolitan center. That makes New Albany a suburb of sorts. As such, you've got access to a significant number of amenities. These range from cultural stops, like the Carnegie Center for Art & History, to nature hikes, like you'll find at the Loop Island Wetlands.

But you'll also have to deal with some of the crime associated with urban sprawl. This factor makes New Albany the number 8 most dangerous location in Indiana. Violence remains under control for the most part. However, residents deal with high rates of property crime, including enormous numbers of car thefts and larcenies given the overall population in the area.

Located more than an hour southwest of Indianapolis, Bloomington serves as the home of Indiana University, a campus of more than 45,000 students. Given that the surrounding community boasts 86,347 residents, the school dominates the town.

You know how college students can be. It's no surprise that the town falls victim to some pranks or drunken revelry. However, the crime rate goes beyond simple undergrad hijinx. Bloomington has more than its share of serious criminal activity.

In a year, the town suffers 7 murders and 52 sexual assaults. These violations contribute to the state's number 10 highest rate of violent crime.

Let's pretend we're writing an 8th grade term paper. Webster's dictionary defines "boon" as "a think that is helpful or beneficial." Well, then, Boonville must be a great place to live. Nothing but boons here, right?

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. If the town leaders were honest, they'd change the name to "Crimeville." After all, it ranks as the number 10 most dangerous location in Indiana. This largely comes about because a high rate of violent crimes, with 48 such violations in a population of just 6,200.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Indiana FAQs

Is Indiana a dangerous state?

No, Indiana is not a dangerous state as it ranks as the #22 safest state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in indiana ranks 27th highest in the United States -- 7.77% better than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Hoosier State ranks 30th highest in the United States -- 8.94% better than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is Indianapolis, IN a dangerous city?

Yes, Indianapolis is a dangerous city. Indianapolis ranks as the #64 most dangerous out of 320 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Indianapolis might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Indianapolis ranks 55th highest in America -- 58.62% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 69th highest in the United States -- 34.42% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020 and that no city in America is 'dangerous'. Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.