The Most Dangerous Small Cities In The United States For 2025


The most dangerous small cities in the US are Lumberton and Bessemer for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Nick Johnson | About RoadSnacks
Last Updated: October 21, 2025

Most Dangerous Small Cities In The United States Map

Do you live in one of the most dangerous small towns in America?

We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a crime that happens pretty close by. While a major crime blocks or towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, most likely, where you live is relatively safe in the long run.

We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data using Saturday Night Science to identify the most dangerous small towns with populations over 5,000 and under 50,000. That left us with 2,478 places in the U.S. to measure.

These are the small cities in the United States with big crime problems.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

Looks like 6 of the 10 cities are in the South.

The safest small town to live in America? Bellefonte, PA. More on that later.

Check out more about America here:

The 10 Most Dangerous Small Cities To Live In America For 2025

1. Lumberton, NC

Lumberton Location In North Carolina

Lumberton, NC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,220
Crime Per Capita: 0.1365
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0197
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.1168
Murders: 3
More on Lumberton: Data

Review Of Lumberton by Zak Wilkerson

I’m from Lumberton, I work in Lumberton, I live in Fayetteville and I have been in every region of this state.

NC is an incredibly blessed state. We have great weather, beautiful beaches, the mountains, the coastal Plains, the piedmont, and several advanced large cities.

Yes, crime is there, there is no doubt. Sometimes it’s a cycle passed from generation to generation. Sometimes it’s desperation, and sometimes it’s laziness.

I will tell you though, the majority of the people and places in North Carolina are good, proud North Carolinians. Some are born here, some are transplants, but we’re all eventually Tar Heels.

Lumberton is a good place to raise a family. So is Fayetteville. We are blessed to be the home of Fort Bragg and Pope AAF, supporting the greatest military in the world.

Review Lumberton

2. Bessemer, AL

Bessemer Location In Alabama

Bessemer, AL

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 25,655
Crime Per Capita: 0.1
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.023
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.077
Murders: 9
More on Bessemer: Data

3. Atlantic City, NJ

Atlantic City Location In New Jersey

Atlantic City, NJ

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 38,486
Crime Per Capita: 0.0869
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0189
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0681
Murders: 7
More on Atlantic City: Data

Review Of Atlantic City by HomeSnacks User

Everything runs fine, but tall building and beach life really goes hand and hand and not a whole lot of crime besides summer party goers.

Casinos, and good food. It’s a time and place to relax and could find work if needed to move.

Review Atlantic City

4. Emeryville, CA

Emeryville Location In California

Emeryville, CA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 12,756
Crime Per Capita: 0.1901
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0153
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.1748
Murders: 1
More on Emeryville: Data

5. Fife, WA

Fife Location In Washington

Fife, WA

Source: Wikipedia User SounderBruce | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 10,902
Crime Per Capita: 0.112
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.015
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.097
Murders: 1
More on Fife: Data

6. Commerce, CA

Commerce Location In California

Commerce, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Justefrain | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,072
Crime Per Capita: 0.1469
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0134
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.1334
Murders: 4
More on Commerce: Data

7. Walterboro, SC

Walterboro, SC

Source: Wikipedia User BeaufortTiger | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,490
Crime Per Capita: 0.0867
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0157
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.071
Murders: 2
More on Walterboro: Data

8. Alexandria, LA

Alexandria Location In Louisiana

Alexandria, LA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 44,566
Crime Per Capita: 0.0816
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0192
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0624
Murders: 18
More on Alexandria: Data

9. Orangeburg, SC

Orangeburg Location In South Carolina

Orangeburg, SC

Source: Wikipedia User Akhenaton06 at English Wikipedia | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 13,189
Crime Per Capita: 0.0815
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.016
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0655
Murders: 1
More on Orangeburg: Data

10. Spartanburg, SC

Spartanburg Location In South Carolina

Spartanburg, SC

Source: Wikipedia User PegasusRacer28 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 38,578
Crime Per Capita: 0.0818
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0159
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0659
Murders: 7
More on Spartanburg: Data

Review Of Spartanburg by Ethan Bayne

I live in Spartanburg SC!! love it here in this beautiful town!!

Review Spartanburg

How We Determined The Most Dangerous Small Cities In The US

To rank the most dangerous small towns in America, we turned to Saturday Night Science to research FBI crime data.

We defined a “small city” as a population under 50,000 and over 5,000. And then we measured the following two criteria for each of these 2,478 US cities:

  • Violent Crime Per Capita
  • Property Crime Per Capita

We ranked each city on both criteria and averaged the rankings together to create a “Crime Index.” The city with the highest Crime Index, Lumberton, was named the most dangerous small city in the United States.

We updated this report for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the most dangerous small cities in America. This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment — don’t freak out.

These Are The 10 Cheapest States To Live In

There You Have It — The Most Dangerous Small Cities In The US

We looked at FBI crime data to find the most dangerous small cities in the U.S. for 2025. We analyzed each city’s violent and property crime rates per capita and combined them into a Crime Index.

The most dangerous small cities in the United States are Lumberton, NC, Bessemer, AL, Atlantic City, NJ, Emeryville, CA, Fife, WA, Commerce, CA, Walterboro, SC, Alexandria, LA, Orangeburg, SC, and Spartanburg, SC.

Lumberton, , is the most dangerous, and Bellefonte, PA is the safest for cities with populations between 5,000 and 50,000.

Here’s a look at the best small cities in America according to the data:

  1. Bellefonte
  2. Campton Hills
  3. Montevideo

Most Dangerous Small Cities To Live In America

Rank City Population Total Crime Rate Violent Crime Rate Property Crime Rate Murders
1 Lumberton, NC 19,220 0.1365 0.0197 0.1168 3
2 Bessemer, AL 25,655 0.1 0.023 0.077 9
3 Atlantic City, NJ 38,486 0.0869 0.0189 0.0681 7
4 Emeryville, CA 12,756 0.1901 0.0153 0.1748 1
5 Fife, WA 10,902 0.112 0.015 0.097 1
6 Commerce, CA 12,072 0.1469 0.0134 0.1334 4
7 Walterboro, SC 5,490 0.0867 0.0157 0.071 2
8 Alexandria, LA 44,566 0.0816 0.0192 0.0624 18
9 Orangeburg, SC 13,189 0.0815 0.016 0.0655 1
10 Spartanburg, SC 38,578 0.0818 0.0159 0.0659 7
11 Monroe, LA 47,241 0.0801 0.0207 0.0594 22
12 Hartsville, SC 7,422 0.0784 0.0181 0.0604 0
13 Goldsboro, NC 33,448 0.0772 0.0149 0.0623 14
14 Florida City, FL 12,791 0.0736 0.0167 0.0569 4
15 Opelousas, LA 15,662 0.073 0.0165 0.0565 8
16 Crescent City, CA 6,180 0.0714 0.0136 0.0578 0
17 Dillon, SC 6,406 0.0684 0.0183 0.0501 6
18 West Monroe, LA 12,837 0.0703 0.0132 0.0571 1
19 Berkeley, MO 8,149 0.0681 0.0187 0.0495 6
20 Darlington, SC 6,128 0.0692 0.0152 0.054 5
21 Myrtle Beach, SC 37,214 0.0735 0.0107 0.0628 1
22 Red Bluff, CA 14,592 0.0698 0.0119 0.0578 0
23 West Memphis, AR 24,147 0.0717 0.024 0.0477 7
24 Whitehall, OH 19,974 0.074 0.0098 0.0642 2
25 Cordele, GA 10,107 0.0627 0.017 0.0457 3
26 Pine Bluff, AR 40,436 0.0628 0.0159 0.0469 31
27 Dyersburg, TN 16,075 0.0623 0.0123 0.05 0
28 Humble, TX 16,489 0.105 0.0086 0.0964 1
29 Tukwila, WA 21,479 0.1854 0.0083 0.1771 2
30 Taos, NM 6,468 0.0642 0.0102 0.054 1
31 Laurinburg, NC 15,079 0.0603 0.0173 0.043 5
32 West Hollywood, CA 35,090 0.0692 0.0089 0.0603 0
33 Coos Bay, OR 15,867 0.0631 0.0096 0.0536 1
34 Oroville, CA 19,855 0.0594 0.0105 0.0489 2
35 Attalla, AL 5,829 0.0746 0.0077 0.0669 0
36 Semmes, AL 5,404 0.0788 0.0076 0.0712 5
37 Moraine, OH 6,503 0.0887 0.0074 0.0813 7
38 Culver City, CA 39,993 0.0729 0.0077 0.0653 2
39 Vidalia, GA 10,762 0.058 0.0093 0.0487 2
40 Roxboro, NC 8,144 0.0538 0.0109 0.0429 2
41 Moultrie, GA 14,545 0.0573 0.0094 0.0479 4
42 Anniston, AL 21,377 0.0583 0.0089 0.0494 10
43 Holyoke, MA 37,949 0.0554 0.0098 0.0455 5
44 Bennettsville, SC 6,798 0.0534 0.0132 0.0402 1
45 Jacksonville, AR 29,285 0.0532 0.0111 0.0421 1
46 Asbury Park, NJ 15,239 0.053 0.0111 0.0419 3
47 Bogalusa, LA 10,539 0.0524 0.0121 0.0403 3
48 Sikeston, MO 16,231 0.0543 0.0146 0.0397 6
49 Cheraw, SC 5,024 0.0567 0.009 0.0478 1
50 Hobbs, NM 39,887 0.0575 0.0087 0.0488 7
51 Hyattsville, MD 20,861 0.0534 0.0095 0.0439 3
52 Atmore, AL 8,389 0.0555 0.0175 0.038 6
53 Dunn, NC 8,512 0.0638 0.0076 0.0562 1
54 Roanoke Rapids, NC 15,024 0.0581 0.0082 0.0499 3
55 Santa Fe Springs, CA 19,310 0.0698 0.0071 0.0627 9
56 Elkton, MD 15,867 0.0566 0.0087 0.0479 2
57 Millington, TN 11,117 0.055 0.0088 0.0461 0
58 Havre, MT 9,333 0.0569 0.0083 0.0486 0
59 Salisbury, NC 35,730 0.0512 0.0098 0.0414 2
60 Fitzgerald, GA 8,962 0.0503 0.01 0.0403 3
61 Statesville, NC 29,161 0.0499 0.0099 0.04 1
62 Parsons, KS 9,482 0.0503 0.0094 0.0409 0
63 Gonzales, LA 12,748 0.0604 0.0071 0.0533 2
64 Gallup, NM 21,333 0.051 0.0131 0.0379 5
65 Polson, MT 5,334 0.0502 0.0092 0.0411 1
66 Benton Harbor, MI 9,023 0.0585 0.0226 0.0359 2
67 Rome, GA 37,754 0.0495 0.0098 0.0397 7
68 Brewton, AL 5,232 0.0533 0.0076 0.0457 0
69 Greenbelt, MD 24,572 0.0614 0.0068 0.0546 0
70 Trumann, AR 7,432 0.0492 0.0117 0.0375 0
71 Alexander City, AL 14,686 0.0517 0.0077 0.044 2
72 Paragould, AR 29,940 0.0497 0.0128 0.0369 2
73 Pigeon Forge, TN 6,345 0.0487 0.0095 0.0392 1
74 Rockingham, NC 9,094 0.0506 0.0077 0.0429 0
75 Donna, TX 16,774 0.0504 0.0148 0.0356 2
76 Montclair, CA 37,809 0.0503 0.0076 0.0426 5
77 Belen, NM 7,427 0.0489 0.0135 0.0354 1
78 Signal Hill, CA 11,563 0.0585 0.0066 0.0519 0
79 Beckley, WV 16,977 0.0745 0.006 0.0685 4
80 Englewood, CO 33,774 0.0623 0.0064 0.0559 5
81 Demopolis, AL 7,010 0.0474 0.0091 0.0382 2
82 Sumter, SC 43,065 0.0476 0.0087 0.0389 14
83 Americus, GA 15,910 0.0483 0.0131 0.0352 6
84 Helena-West Helena, AR 9,218 0.0469 0.0113 0.0356 4
85 Cambridge, MD 13,094 0.0477 0.0078 0.0399 0
86 Phenix City, AL 38,477 0.0469 0.0088 0.0381 12
87 Lake Park, FL 9,005 0.0692 0.006 0.0632 2
88 Dover, DE 39,491 0.0504 0.007 0.0434 3
89 Forrest City, AR 12,826 0.0519 0.0182 0.0337 4
90 Toppenish, WA 8,746 0.0627 0.0061 0.0566 8
91 Jackson, MI 31,206 0.0462 0.0103 0.0359 5
92 Camden, AR 10,427 0.0465 0.0116 0.0349 4
93 Hope, AR 8,787 0.0461 0.01 0.0361 0
94 El Dorado, AR 17,382 0.0506 0.0171 0.0335 10
95 Ardmore, OK 24,757 0.0467 0.012 0.0347 4
96 Eureka, CA 26,302 0.0458 0.0095 0.0363 1
97 Chamblee, GA 30,369 0.049 0.0069 0.0421 3
98 Kinston, NC 19,576 0.0461 0.0088 0.0373 3
99 Anderson, SC 29,563 0.0603 0.0061 0.0543 2
100 Savannah, TN 7,219 0.0461 0.0087 0.0374 0

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About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

 Most Dangerous Cities

6 thoughts on “The Most Dangerous Small Cities In The United States For 2025”

  1. I live near South Tucson. It’s a square mile city surrounded on all sides by Tucson. As a teenager I briefly live in Ft Defiance, AZ the nearest shopping was Gallup, NM; it was the drunk driving capitol of America.

    Reply

  2. You listed #9 as Ringgold, FL in the section with pictures and descriptions. It’s supposed to be Ringgold, GA.

    Reply

  3. This is a little misleading in that many of these are subdivisions of large metropolitan populations. South Tucson is, as Fred mentioned, only one square mile and located just a few blocks south of downtown Tucson… only 6,000 people but completely enveloped in what I think I last read was the 34th largest city in the country. Same goes for Lake City and College Park which are at, and next to, the Atlanta airport. Yes these places have their own unincorporated governments, but they are more like neighborhoods located in large cities. And as far as South Tucson… great food (home of Bill Clintons favorite Tucson Eatery, and some claim South Tucson as the birthplace of the Sonoran hotdog), exciting Norteno festivals, and the crime is nothing like it was in the 80’s and 90’s.

    Reply

  4. Why aren’t there many towns or cities from New England on your list?? We know Hartford is NYC North. You omitted places like Lawrence, MA (HQ for dope dealing), most of Rhode Island, Bridgeport-New Haven, CT (very high crime), Berlin, NH (one employer: the state Super max prison), and Rumford, ME (declining paper mills, high substance abuse and AIDS).
    New England also got slammed by the opoid problem.

    Reply

  5. The pictures you have for Ringgold Georgia are not depicting Ringgold. They are from some other city. In addition, as noted above, you have confused Ringgold Ga. with Ringgold Florida.

    Reply

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