Do you live in one of the most dangerous cities in Mississippi?
We all watch the news and see reports on Facebook of the latest crimes that happen in our hometowns. But it can be hard to tell at a big picture level how dangerous our town actually is.
No one wants to feel unsafe, and statistically speaking, odds are that where you live is most likely relatively safe. In order to help the good people of Mississippi — and anyone looking to move to Mississippi — know just how close they are to danger, we took data from the annual FBI report and did some serious analysis.
So what is the most dangerous city in Mississippi? After analyzing 30 cities in Mississippi, McComb takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Mississippi based on the most recent FBI data.
For a detailed explanation of the data and analysis we used in creating this ranking, read on.
Or learn more about the safest places in Mississippi.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Mississippi
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Mississippi
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Mississippi
Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Mississippi
How Is Your Town In ?
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Mississippi for 2019?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets, a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in the country, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the JUST released 2017 data, specifically the 2017 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2019.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 30 cities in Mississippi.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 30 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Mississippi — McComb.
Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Mississippi.
The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Mississippi For 2019
Located in the southwestern part of Mississippi, McComb is the third most violent city in the state, and it’s only been getting worse.
Violent crime rose by 15% between 2015-17, with residents facing a 1 in 161 chance of being the victim of violence in 2017.
McComb’s property crime statistics also remained relatively high during this period.
Greenwood is located on the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta, a region known as the Most Southern Place on Earth.
Greenwood itself has seen a 12% drop in violent crime between 2015-17, but also a 10% hike in property crime, meaning there was very little net gain for the city during this period.
I lived in Greenwood from ’61-’81 and have spent time going back for family and friends. I can remember when G’wood was a thriving town, bustling with business and wholesome activities in the 60s and 70s. No more. White flight along with an agenda of appeasement for the downtrodden coupled with white guilt absolutely destroyed the area. It isn’t even a shadow of it’s former self. Crime is rampant and areas to stay away from have become larger. Greenwood took pride in keeping higher paying jobs out of the City/County for many decades. Planters and Businesses were probably responsible for most of this. The “powers that be” would Never allow common citizens to “rise” financially or socially as I saw it. The ending will probably be along the lines of Greenwood becoming another Tchula or Mound Bayou with the Hospital, Private Prisons, City and County Government being the main employers. For any of you there still holding on, may I offer………..Get OUT while you can.
You can easily cover things to see in a day and then spend an hour at the Crystal Grill for an excellent meal. I can not in good conscience recommend a Motel there aside from the Alluvian and it will cost you….big time for a nice room.
But you’ll be safe and please don’t venture out too far after dark. And lock your vehicle. You’re Welcome.
Located on the Louisiana border, east of the Mississippi River, Vicksburg is the 3rd most dangerous city in Mississippi.
The good news is that violent crime dropped between 2015-17.
For perspective, Vicksburg’s 2011 crime statistics would have ranked the city 4th in violent crime, and 2nd in property crime.
As a one-time resident of Vicksburg, it was a quaint, quiet town rich in culture…and crime was present, yet I just feel you missed again.
Unfortunately, Mississippi’s capital and largest city, Jackson, finishes 4th on the list of most dangerous cities in the state.
And from recent trends, Jackson has shown no indication of giving up its spot as the most violent city in Mississippi; its violent crime numbers remained high from 2015-17.
That left Jackson residents with a 1 in 141 chance of being the victim of violence each year. but hey, at least property crime only ranks 11th worst in the Magnolia State.
horrible streets and roads, crime, businesses leaving the city or states, going out of business, losing airlines, low business environment, bad schools and less good doctors.
The horrible streets and roads the bad; which aren’t being repaired due to lack of funds in the budget.
Biloxi is the most populous city in Harrison County.
Biloxi experienced a massive rise in violent crime between 2015-17.
Property crime statistics, meanwhile, remained stagnant, with residents facing a 1 in 15.6 chance of being the victim of theft or arson each year — the 4th highest rate in the state.
I don’t feel safe in Biloxi. You can’t leave anything in your car. There’s a lot of people on drugs down here.
There isn’t much to do for fun for kids or adults. There are casinos which is fun if you have the money to just throw away. There aren’t any good museums or fun things to do for a date. It’s always hot. It’s fun to fish but the beaches are very dirty and not safe to go in. People have gotten very sick if they had a cut on them and went in the beach. It’s very dangerous
Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Pascagoula is the 6th most dangerous city in Mississippi.
Its high ranking has a lot to do with a 76% hike in violent crime between 2015-17, which, to be fair, still left Pascagoula with less violent crime than Jackson.
In any case, property crime statistics have remained relatively high, with residents facing a 1 in 15.1 chance of being the victim of theft or arson every year.
The trajectory of Laurel’s crime rate gives it a 7th place finish in our analysis.
Violent crime shot up from 2015-17, while instances of property crime also went up.
That left residents of Laurel with a 1 in 223 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in 2017.
Gulfport ranks as the 8th most dangerous city in Mississippi. It ranks 10th for violent crime and 8th for property crime (both per capita).
Overall, you had about a 1 in 18.4 chance of being the victim of crime in 2017.
Holly Springs is slightly less dangerous than some of the others on the list, but it is still a very uncomfortable place to live if you cherish safety. While the number of robberies here has gone down lately, violent crimes have gone up. Statistically, 1 out of 76 people was attacked in 2017.
Meridian, located in the central-eastern part of the state about 90 miles east of Jackson, is the 10th most dangerous and 7th most violent city in Mississippi.
Violent crime has remained high from 2015-17, during which time property crime fell by only small amounts.
Locking It All Up In Mississippi
The latest FBI crime data shows that McComb ranks as the most dangerous city in Mississippi for 2019.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in McComb and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.
If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in Mississippi:
- Brandon (Pop. 24,125)
- Madison (Pop. 26,339)
- Petal (Pop. 10,743)
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Mississippi
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Mississippi
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Mississippi
- 10 Safest Places In Mississippi
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Mississippi
Detailed List Of The Most Dangerous Cities In Mississippi
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McComb | 12,812 |
| 2 | Greenwood | 14,146 |
| 3 | Vicksburg | 22,772 |
| 4 | Jackson | 168,397 |
| 5 | Biloxi | 46,263 |
| 6 | Pascagoula | 21,928 |
| 7 | Laurel | 18,790 |
| 8 | Gulfport | 72,792 |
| 9 | Holly Springs | 7,682 |
| 10 | Meridian | 38,778 |
| 11 | Batesville | 7,380 |
| 12 | Brookhaven | 12,334 |
| 13 | Hattiesburg | 47,116 |
| 14 | Gautier | 18,451 |
| 15 | D’Iberville | 11,852 |
| 16 | Ocean Springs | 17,698 |
| 17 | West Point | 10,817 |
| 18 | Starkville | 25,852 |
| 19 | Waveland | 6,426 |
| 20 | Flowood | 9,032 |
| 21 | Ridgeland | 24,551 |
| 22 | Oxford | 24,071 |
| 23 | Clinton | 25,202 |
| 24 | Southaven | 53,928 |
| 25 | Byram | 11,549 |
| 26 | Horn Lake | 27,199 |
| 27 | Pass Christian | 5,902 |
| 28 | Brandon | 24,125 |
| 29 | Madison | 26,339 |
| 30 | Petal | 10,743 |
After studying these statistics, and knowing both McComb and Jackson, I will still take my chances in McComb rather than Jackson. I dread the thought of even driving through Jackson on either I-55 or I-20. I get through that city as quickly as possible. I loved for 8 years in Jackson from 1972-1980. It was dangerous enough back then, but nothing compared to today.
Apparently the people who wrote this article don’t know the difference between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Given that, I doubt the reliability of anything they publish.
I used to live in Pascagoula, didn’t know that much bad stuff happened in there..