These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Small Towns In America

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 just blocks or towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.

We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the most dangerous small towns with populations under 50,000. That left us with nearly 6,900 places in the U.S. to measure.

The result is the following list of top ten most dangerous:

1. South Tucson, AZ
2. Lake City, GA
3. College Park, GA
4. Gallup, NM
5. Lumberton, NC
6. Bellmead, TX
7. Wildwood, NJ
8. Florida City, FL
9. Ringgold, GA
10. Whiteville, NC

Looks like 6 of the 10 cities are in the south, and three of these cities are in Georgia. Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

How we calculated the most dangerous small towns of America

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s 2014 UCR.

Specifically, we analyzed the the number of property crimes and violent crimes per capita in each city. Ranked each city for each criteria and then averaged the ranks to create a dangerous index. The city with the lowest dangerous index was crowned the most dangerous small city in America.

Violent crimes are defined as rapes, murders, robberies and aggravated assaults.

We only looked at cities that have populations of less than 50,000 people as of 2014, which is the last year the full report was available.

We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. It simply states where crimes occurred most frequently.

1. South Tucson, AZ

Population: 5,707
Violent crime rank: 10th worst in US
Property crime rank: 4th worst in US

It wasn’t even close. This small city just south of Tucson, had by far, the highest rate of crime per capita in the entire nation.

In South Tucson, there were .18 property crimes per person. That means that statistically, nearly 1 in 5 people within South Tucson city limits was the victim of a property crime in 2014. Wow.

In terms of violent crime, South Tucson is the 10th worst place you could spend an entire year. There were 4 murders here in 2014, which is really, really high for a city of under 6,000 people.

2. Lake City, GA

Population: 2,634
Violent crime rank: 35th worst in America
Property crime rank: 7th highest in nation

The first of three small towns in Georgia to make this list, Lake City is just south of the busiest airport in the nation – Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. That may or may not be a factor in Lake City’s really high crime.

You have a 6% chance of being the victim of a property crime every year you’re within Lake City limits, and a 1 in 62 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.

3. College Park, GA

Population: 14,780
Violent crime rank: 14th worst in America
Property crime rank: 28th highest in nation

Part of the Atlanta airport lies within College Park, so the property crimes here might seem a bit high, but still, there were a ton of thefts within College Park city limits in 2014. Lots were undoubtedly car break ins.

That doesn’t explain the sheer number of violent crimes happening here. You have a 1 in 50 chance of being the victim of a rape, attack or even killed here every year you’re within city limits. There were 9 murders in this teeny part of the Atlanta metro area according to the latest FBI data.

4. Gallup, NM

Population: 22,239
Violent crime rank: 16th worst in America
Property crime rank: 33rd worst in the nation

What’s going on down in little ole’ Gallup, New Mexico? This small city is really isolated along a stretch of I-40 in the northwest part of the state. It’s been well documented that cities that lie within or close to Native American Reservations are extremely dangerous.

We won’t speculate on why reservations are more dangerous, but this is the 16th most violent small town in the nation, where locals had a 1 in 47 chance of being a victim. Property crimes are also sky high here as well.

5. Lumberton, NC

Population: 21,877
Violent crime rank: 37th worst in America
Property crime rank: 12th worst in the nation

Lumberton is always mentioned when it comes to dangerous places in the state of North Carolina. This smallish place along the South Carolina border is notorious for being a violent place.

There were 11 murders in just 2014 alone, which is by far the highest number within the top 200 most dangerous cities we measured. Meaning there aren’t very many other small towns in America where you have a higher chance of being killed.

6. Bellmead, TX

Population: 10,077
Violent crime rank: 33rd worst in America
Property crime rank: 27th highest

Yikes if you’re a Baylor University student. This small town borders the Baylor University campus just near Waco.

Both the number of property and violent crimes per person put Bellmead in the top 35 out of nearly 7,000 small towns we measured. Who knew?

If you spent a year here, you’d have a 1 in 9 chance of being the victim of some type of crime every year.

7. Wildwood, NJ

Population: 5,205
Violent crime rank: 39th highest in America
Property crime rank: 22nd worst

This small coastal community along the Atlantic is a major tourist draw, making the crime numbers stand out like a sore thumb. Still, the fact remains, that there are a ton of thefts and break ins within Wildwood city limits each year, even if many are caused by visitors to the city each year.

In fact, if you spent a year here, you’d have a 1 in 62 chance of being robbed yourself. The average person has 300 Facebook friends. If all of them lived in Wildwood, 5 would have been the victim of a crime in 2014.

8. Florida City, FL

Population: 12,158
Violent crime rank: 5th worst in America
Property crime rank: 62nd highest in the U.S.

This small town is just south of Homestead, which is also notoriously one of the trouble spots for crime in the nation. Florida City is actually the most violent city to make this list.

Shockingly, 1 in 37 people here was the victim of some type of attack or rape. That’s off-the-charts high. You don’t want to be here in the middle of the day, much less at night.

9. Ringgold, FL

Population: 3,689
Violent crime rank: 58th highest in America
Property crime rank: 11th worst

Across the board, things are really bleak in Ringgold, Georgia, a teeny spleck of a city near the Tennessee state line along I-75.

You have a 1 in 6 chance of being the victim of some type of crime every year you’re within city limits, statistically. Plus, when it comes to robberies, there are few places in the nation where there are more people victimized each year.

10. Whiteville, NC

Population: 5,654
Violent crime rank: 56th worst in America
Property crime rank: 16th highest

Rounding out the most dangerous small towns in America is little Whiteville, another southern North Carolina city that’s actually a short drive from Lumberton.

What’s the deal with this part of North Carolina? You have a really high chance, statistically, of being robbed or attacked if you live here. In terms of property crimes alone, you have a 1 in 10 chance of being victimized.

Which takes the charm out of living in the south.

There You Have It

When you’re looking at the small towns in America which have really high property and violent crime numbers according to FBI reporting, this is an accurate list.

Here are the safest small towns in America:

1. Fennimore, WI
2. Amity, NY
3. La Crescent, MN
4. St. Charles, MN
5. Annandale, MN

Below is a table with the 200 most dangerous small towns in America. You can click here to see the entire list (however, it has nearly 6,900 cities.)

We also wrote about the 10 worst small towns in America, too.

City	State	Population	Crimes per person	Rank
South Tucson	arizona	5707	$	1
Lake City	georgia	2634	$	2
College Park	georgia	14780	$	3
Gallup	new mexico	22359	$	4
Lumberton	north carolina	21877	$	5
Bellmead	texas	10077	$	6
Wildwood	new jersey	5205	$	7
Florida City	florida	12158	$	8
Ringgold	georgia	3689	$	9
Whiteville	north carolina	5654	$	10
Myrtle Beach	south carolina	29686	$	11
South Padre Island	texas	2916	$	12
West Milwaukee	wisconsin	4217	$	13
Henderson	north carolina	15332	$	14
Blytheville	arkansas	15009	$	15
Dillon	south carolina	6671	$	16
Selma	alabama	19705	$	17
Bastrop	louisiana	10857	$	18
Ocean City	maryland	7089	$	19
Lake City	south carolina	6735	$	20
Anniston	alabama	22567	$	21
Marion	south carolina	6774	$	22
Alexandria	louisiana	48618	$	23
East Point	georgia	35929	$	24
Muskegon Heights	michigan	10826	$	25
Opa Locka	florida	16146	$	26
Lake Park	florida	8409	$	27
Doniphan	missouri	2008	$	28
Belen	new mexico	7228	$	29
Hammond	louisiana	20416	$	30
Williamston	north carolina	5345	$	31
Lake City	florida	12121	$	32
Union City	georgia	20691	$	33
Opelousas	louisiana	16455	$	34
Emeryville	california	10972	$	35
Homestead	pennsylvania	3147	$	36
Brunswick	georgia	15912	$	37
Darlington	south carolina	6223	$	38
Elkton	maryland	15770	$	39
Dyersburg	tennessee	16970	$	40
Covington	tennessee	9060	$	41
Ardmore	oklahoma	25109	$	42
Gladewater	texas	6455	$	43
Americus	georgia	16200	$	44
Cairo	illinois	2580	$	45
Newport	tennessee	6924	$	46
Kinston	north carolina	21635	$	47
Marksville	louisiana	5565	$	48
Indianola	mississippi	10175	$	49
Glendale	colorado	4558	$	50
Panama City Beach	florida	12186	$	51
Coffeyville	kansas	9873	$	52
Cleveland	texas	7713	$	53
Taos	new mexico	5737	$	54
Hartsville	south carolina	7914	$	55
Homerville	georgia	2444	$	56
Lanett	alabama	6484	$	57
Newport	arkansas	7729	$	58
Weslaco	texas	37458	$	59
Walterboro	south carolina	5287	$	60
Cocoa	florida	17289	$	61
Seaside Heights	new jersey	2910	$	62
Espanola	new mexico	10171	$	63
Quitman	georgia	3693	$	64
Anderson	south carolina	27130	$	65
Madison	florida	2939	$	66
Athens	tennessee	13640	$	67
Gadsden	alabama	36455	$	68
Douglas	georgia	11924	$	69
Sikeston	missouri	16530	$	70
Beckley	west virginia	17595	$	71
Bishopville	south carolina	3291	$	72
Fife	washington	9479	$	73
Eastman	georgia	5384	$	74
Charleston	west virginia	50693	$	75
Tukwila	washington	19921	$	76
Kennett	missouri	10912	$	77
Griffin	georgia	23279	$	78
Daytona Beach	florida	62629	$	79
Chamblee	georgia	16053	$	80
Wadesboro	north carolina	5665	$	81
Helena-West Helena	arkansas	11411	$	82
Wynne	arkansas	8279	$	83
Ware Shoals	south carolina	2171	$	84
Atlantic City	new jersey	39544	$	85
Garden City	georgia	8931	$	86
Monroeville	alabama	6242	$	87
Eunice	louisiana	10328	$	88
Lake Delton	wisconsin	2939	$	89
Crossville	tennessee	11339	$	90
Natchitoches	louisiana	18248	$	91
Mount Vernon	illinois	15232	$	92
Hapeville	georgia	6755	$	93
Laurel	delaware	3960	$	94
Harper Woods	michigan	13897	$	95
Prichard	alabama	22344	$	96
Seaford	delaware	7419	$	97
Pocomoke City	maryland	4163	$	98
St. Robert	missouri	5375	$	99
Florence	south carolina	37951	$	100
Ahoskie	north carolina	5017	$	101
Bunkie	louisiana	4070	$	102
Panama City	florida	37204	$	103
Fairmont	north carolina	2725	$	104
Pageland	south carolina	2743	$	105
West Memphis	arkansas	25370	$	106
Aurora	missouri	7493	$	107
Jasper	alabama	14182	$	108
Lockland	ohio	3434	$	109
Denham Springs	louisiana	10131	$	110
Pine Bluff	arkansas	45402	$	111
Port Richey	florida	2694	$	112
Winnfield	louisiana	4615	$	113
Spartanburg	south carolina	37795	$	114
Brighton	alabama	2885	$	115
Balcones Heights	texas	2873	$	116
Hayti	missouri	2829	$	117
La Follette	tennessee	7203	$	118
Wellston	missouri	2337	$	119
Benton Harbor	michigan	10014	$	120
Page	arizona	7328	$	121
Wisconsin Dells	wisconsin	2704	$	122
Elberton	georgia	4500	$	123
Oxford	north carolina	8748	$	124
Red Bluff	california	14103	$	125
South Salt Lake	utah	24962	$	126
Greenwood	south carolina	23396	$	127
Milford	delaware	10262	$	128
Cambridge	maryland	12669	$	129
Barnwell	south carolina	4676	$	130
Salem	new jersey	4996	$	131
Trumann	arkansas	7122	$	132
Belle Glade	florida	17927	$	133
Gatlinburg	tennessee	4130	$	134
Rochester	pennsylvania	3598	$	135
Danville	illinois	32404	$	136
Kentwood	louisiana	2295	$	137
Camden	south carolina	7003	$	138
Jesup	georgia	10323	$	139
Batesburg-Leesville	south carolina	5435	$	140
Anderson	california	10176	$	141
Port Aransas	texas	3854	$	142
Rockmart	georgia	4159	$	143
Texarkana	texas	37687	$	144
Springfield	ohio	58891	$	145
Humble	texas	15588	$	146
Vidalia	georgia	10724	$	147
Eatonville	florida	2263	$	148
Donna	texas	16374	$	149
Goldsboro	north carolina	36481	$	150
Osceola	arkansas	7332	$	151
Waynesboro	georgia	5789	$	152
Chester	south carolina	5529	$	153
Washington	north carolina	9826	$	154
South Charleston	west virginia	13435	$	155
Branson	missouri	11168	$	156
Lake Worth	florida	36258	$	157
Talladega	alabama	15799	$	158
Niagara Falls	new york	49300	$	159
Nevada	missouri	8257	$	160
Tifton	georgia	16414	$	161
Asbury Park	new jersey	15789	$	162
Adamsville	alabama	4430	$	163
Beaufort	south carolina	13090	$	164
Cleveland	tennessee	43135	$	165
Georgetown	delaware	6847	$	166
Laurinburg	north carolina	15731	$	167
Alamo	texas	19054	$	168
Poplar Bluff	missouri	17345	$	169
Hillsborough	north carolina	6451	$	170
Holyoke	massachusetts	40336	$	171
Salisbury	maryland	31779	$	172
Jennings	missouri	14762	$	173
Alma	georgia	3536	$	174
Tuskegee	alabama	8842	$	175
Pembroke Park	florida	6208	$	176
Farmerville	louisiana	3802	$	177
Roswell	new mexico	48636	$	178
Hardeeville	south carolina	4688	$	179
Ponchatoula	louisiana	6901	$	180
Dunn	north carolina	9868	$	181
Wilkes-Barre Township	pennsylvania	2960	$	182
Tallapoosa	georgia	3137	$	183
Lawrenceburg	tennessee	10448	$	184
Cheraw	south carolina	5834	$	185
Bogalusa	louisiana	11960	$	186
Shawnee	oklahoma	31237	$	187
Cumberland	maryland	20364	$	188
Raymondville	texas	11113	$	189
Pembroke	north carolina	3023	$	190
Millville	new jersey	28759	$	191
Middletown	ohio	48603	$	192
Riverview	missouri	2836	$	193
Fayetteville	tennessee	7201	$	194
Vicksburg	mississippi	23460	$	195
Texarkana	arkansas	30027	$	196
Cocoa Beach	florida	11347	$	197
Valley	alabama	9508	$	198
Gonzales	texas	7452	$	199
Fort Pierce	florida	43347	$	200