These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Mississippi For 2017

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.

The data shows that these ten cities are currently the most dangerous in the Magnolia State:

1. Pascagoula (Photos)
2. Batesville (Photos)
3. Biloxi (Photos)
4. Jackson (Photos)
5. Meridian (Photos)
6. Holly Springs (Photos)
7. Vicksburg (Photos)
8. Natchez (Photos)
9. Picayune (Photos)
10. Hattiesburg (Photos)

Why did Pascagoula take the top spot? For the answer to this question and 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.

How we determined the most dangerous cities in Mississippi for 2017?

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 second release of 2015 data, specifically the 2015 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available for 2016 in September 2017.

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 28 cities in Mississippi.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 28 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 — Pascagoula. Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Mississippi.

Here’s a visualization of the criteria:

Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Mississippi.

1. Pascagoula

Population: 22,202
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 472
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,805
Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Pascagoula is the 1st most dangerous city in Mississippi.

Its high ranking has a lot to do with a 76% hike in violent crime between 2013-15, 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 14.7 chance of being the victim of theft or arson every year.

2. Batesville

Population: 7,434
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 484
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,739
Tiny Batesville, statistically, is the 6th most violent city per capita in the entire state of Mississippi.

While crimes here skyrocketed in 2014, apparently, local jurisdictions have made progress, as crimes went down in 2015. However, for a town of just over 7,434 people, 36 violent crimes is eye opening. Statistically, 1 in 206 residents was the victim of a rape, attack or was killed last year.

3. Biloxi

Population: 45,208
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 561
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,607
Biloxi has the 7th worst property crime rate in the state.

Property crime rose between 2013-15, leaving residents of Biloxi with a 1 in 17.8 chance of being the victim of theft or arson in 2015.

At least violent crime fell during this interval.

4. Jackson

Population: 170,508
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 921
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,056
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 2013-15.

That left Jackson residents with a 1 in 108 chance of being the victim of violence each year. but hey, at least property crime only ranks 11th worst in the Magnolia State.

5. Meridian

Population: 39,966
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 510
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,402
Meridian, located in the central-eastern part of the state about 90 miles east of Jackson, is the 5th most dangerous and 5th most violent city in Mississippi.

Violent crime has remained high from 2013-15, during which time property crime fell by only small amounts.

6. Holly Springs

Population: 7,548
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,457
Property Crimes Per 100k: 4,478
Holly Springs has been dealing with violent crime for a while, although it has, successfully, been dealing with the problem recently.

That being said, it still has the most violent crimes occur per resident of any place in Mississippi with a 1 in 68 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.

7. Vicksburg

Population: 23,275
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 468
Property Crimes Per 100k: 5,709
Located on the Louisiana border, east of the Mississippi River, Vicksburg is the 7th most dangerous city in Mississippi.

The good news is that violent crime dropped between 2013-15.

For perspective, Vicksburg’s 2011 crime statistics would have ranked the city 4th in violent crime, and 2nd in property crime.

8. Natchez

Population: 15,142
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 316
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,287
Natchez is the smallest city to make this list, mostly due to the instances of violent crime increasing between 2013-15, leaving residents a 1 in 315 chance of being the victim of violence in 2015.

Additionally, from 2013-15 property crime increased, but that fact has a lot less to do with Natchez’s spot on this list than the city’s violent crime rate.

9. Picayune

Population: 10,713
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 522
Property Crimes Per 100k: 4,937
A city in Pearl River County, Picayune has seen crime become a problem over the last decade.

Perhaps that has something to do with the high rate of violent crime, with residents facing a 1 in 191 chance of being the victim of violence in 2015.

On the bright side, instances of property crime fell during this time period.

10. Hattiesburg

Population: 47,315
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 221
Property Crimes Per 100k: 6,367
Hattiesburg has more violent crime than most cities in the Magnolia State.

While property crime dropped by 10% between 2013-15, violent crime rose by 11%, producing very little net gain for the city’s overall crime rate.

In 2015, Hattiesburg residents had a 1 in 15.7 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.

Locking It All Up In Mississippi

The latest FBI crime data shows that Pascagoula ranks as the most dangerous city in Mississippi for 2017.

However, there will be new data coming out later this year. At that point we can revisit Pascagoula’s status — that is if they haven’t beaten us all up already.

If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in Mississippi:

1. Petal
2. Brandon
3. Madison

For more Mississippi reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Mississippi
• These Are The 10 Drunkest Cities In Mississippi
• 10 Small Towns In Mississippi Where You’d Never Want To Live

Detailed List Of The Most Dangeroues Cities In Mississippi

Rank	City	Population	Violent Crimes Per Capita	Property Crimes Per Capita
1	Pascagoula	22,202	472	6,805
2	Batesville	7,434	484	6,739
3	Biloxi	45,208	561	5,607
4	Jackson	170,508	921	5,056
5	Meridian	39,966	510	5,402
6	Holly Springs	7,548	1,457	4,478
7	Vicksburg	23,275	468	5,709
8	Natchez	15,142	316	6,287
9	Picayune	10,713	522	4,937
10	Hattiesburg	47,315	221	6,367
11	Laurel	18,943	380	5,426
12	Gulfport	72,736	257	5,108
13	D’Iberville	11,327	44	7,680
14	Ocean Springs	17,565	216	3,928
15	West Point	11,048	416	2,769
16	Flowood	8,731	206	3,882
17	Pass Christian	5,491	182	3,933
18	Ridgeland	24,257	234	3,108
19	Starkville	25,131	171	3,410
20	Olive Branch	35,937	183	2,768
21	Gautier	18,595	139	3,049
22	Amory	7,061	56	3,611
23	Horn Lake	26,930	100	2,268
24	Oxford	22,520	97	2,144
25	Long Beach	15,610	89	2,101
26	Madison	25,763	77	947
27	Brandon	23,424	51	764
28	Petal	10,790	27	444