The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Louisiana For 2022

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Louisiana For 2022

The data is in, and Opelousas turned out to be the most dangerous city in Louisiana for 2022. Once a haven of gambling and prostitution, Opelousas has had a tough time moving away from those sorts of criminal activities. You can still gamble at Evangeline Downs, but you shouldn't brag about your winnings too much.

That's because Opelousas is the second most violent place in Louisiana, with residents facing a 1 in 42 shout of being assaulted, robbed, raped, or outright killed.That includes the 11th highest rape and fourth highest murder rate statewide.

Opelousas didn't fare much better in the property crime, considering the city also had the highest burglary rate in Louisiana. Opelousas is located about 25 miles north of Lafayette.

Folks in Alexandria already know to avoid the city's northeast side, the hotbed of its criminal activity. But they may not know that two violent crimes go down in Alexandria each day. So while there are lions and tigers and bears at The Alexandria Zoo, the really scary stuff is happening on the city's streets.

While Alexandria doesn't top this list, it did have the fourth highest overall crime rate, which is nearly quadruple the national average.

That's because Alexandria had the third highest rate of property crime in Louisiana, with residents facing a 1 in 13 chance of having their stuff stolen or damaged in 2020.

West Monroe might not be as crime-ridden as its eastern neighbor, but it's still far from safe. Property crime here ranked as the second highest in Louisiana, with folks facing a 1 in 13 chance of having something stolen or damaged over 2020.

There was also an average of two violent crimes here each week. So if you're going out for a walk at Kiroli Park, bring a buddy and get home before the sun sets.

Monroe ranks as Louisiana's fourth most dangerous city, mostly thanks to all the violence that goes down there. Monroe had the 27th highest rape and eighth highest murder rates in Louisiana.

Overall, residents had a 1 in 33 shot of being the victim of violence over 2020. That gives Monroe the highest violent crime rate in all of Louisiana.

Monroe also experienced 649 burglaries over the year; we just hope nobody's planning to heist the local Biedenharn Museum.

If you thought living in a small city would automatically protect you from crime, consider Marksville, a city of 5,299 and the smallest spot on this list. Marksville's motto is "where everybody is somebody," but far too many somebodies are also criminals here.

Marksville ranked as the fifth most violent place in Louisiana, so while the animals are safe at Grand Cote Wildlife Refuge, the human population is on their own for finding sanctuary.

Marksville residents had a 1 in 55 chance of being violently attacked over 2020. The only "good" news for Marksville is that most of its violent crime is "just" aggravated assaults, but we're pretty sure that won't bring the victims any solace.

As one of Louisana's oldest cities, you'd think Natchitoches would have gotten its act together by now. Unfortunately, it's also one of the poorest places in Louisiana, with about a third of the population living below the poverty line.

It makes you wonder how many residents can actually enjoy everything on display in the historic shopping district. Apparently not many, since Natchitoches had the fourth highest burglary rate statewide.

Not to mention the 6 murders in 2020; enough to give Natchitoches the tenth highest murder rate in Louisiana.

Bogalusa gets its name from a Choctaw phrase meaning "smoky water." Located in the far eastern part of the state, near the Mississippi border, Bogalusa existed as a lumber town for much of its early history, with sawmills and, eventually, paper mills dominating the economy.

You can imagine how dangerous a sawmill could be. A sharpened metal instrument designed to cut a tree in half will make quick work of a human torso. But saw accidents fall behind crime in terms of the dangers in this area. In fact, in town of just 11,427 people, Bogalusa saw 16 homicides last year -- the number 1 highest murder rate in Louisiana.

You may have expected to see New Orleans higher up on this list, but it's relatively safe as far as big cities go. Everyone knows folks in New Orleans love to have fun, what with the world-famous Mardi Gras celebrations and the eye-catching French Quarter.

But there are some troubling crime numbers here, especially when it comes to violent crime. New Orleans recorded the second highest rape and fifth highest murder rate in Louisiana.

You'll also want to make sure that you park your car in one of New Orleans' safest neighborhoods, or you might join the 3,524 people who had their cars stolen here in 2020.

Located about a half-hour southeast of Baton Rouge, Gonzales ranks as Louisiana's ninth most dangerous place to call home. On the bright side, the violent crime rate in Gonzales is much lower than anywhere else on this list.

On the other hand, Gonzales recorded the highest property crime rate statewide. However, Gonzales is home to some great outlet stores, and 90% of the property crimes committed here were larcenies.

So don't worry too much in Gonzales -- if you're not a retailer dealing with shoplifting teenagers, things should be pretty safe.

Leesville has a population of 5,502 but boasts at least four former NFL players among its one-time residents. And, just to prove it isn't only the kind of hometown that develops great athletes, this community in a rural part of western Louisiana also served as the birthplace of Carolyn Huntoon, NASA scientist and the first woman to hold the position of director of Johnson Space Center.

So far, seems like a nice place to live, developing both brains and brawn. However, residents struggle with massive crime problem. Violence is relatively subdued, but property crime has reached epidemic proportions. This includes the number 10 highest rate of larceny in Louisiana.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Louisiana FAQs

Is Louisiana a dangerous state?

Yes, Louisiana is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #2 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in louisiana ranks fifth highest in the United States -- 64.89% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Pelican State ranks highest in the United States -- 47.3% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2020.

Is New Orleans, LA a dangerous city?

Yes, New Orleans is a dangerous city. New Orleans ranks as the #15 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 New Orleans might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, Lake Shore-Lake Vista is the safest in New Orleans, while Tulane-Gravier is considered dangerous by many based on recent crime stats.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in New Orleans ranks 17th highest in America -- 141.27% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 28th highest in the United States -- 70.93% 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.