The First 48
For another year, Memphis has been dubbed one of America’s most dangerous cities.
According to 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware-based financial news and opinion company, in 2013, there were 1,656 violent crimes (murders, rapes, aggravated assaults, and robberies) per 100,000 residents. This statistic earned Memphis the No. 3 slot on 24/7 Wall St.’s most recent “The Most Dangerous Cities in America” list.
In 2013, there were 124 murders in Memphis and the city’s poverty rate was 27.7 percent. An upside, however, is that 82.5 percent of adults in the Bluff City possessed high school degrees.
An excerpt from 24/7 Wall St.’s report: “There were 7,200 aggravated assaults reported in Memphis last year. This was one of the largest figures among U.S. cities and a major contributor to Memphis’ high violent crime rate of 1,656 per 100,000 residents. In addition to a high violent crime rate, Memphis also suffers from high levels of property crimes, which totaled nearly 40,000. There were 366 arsons in 2013, for example, more than in all but five other large U.S. cities. Like residents in a majority of the country’s most dangerous cities, Memphis residents are far more likely to live in poverty than most Americans. The area’s poverty rate of nearly 28 percent in 2013 was among the highest rates nationwide.”
With the report, 24/7 Wall St. used both violent crime data and property crime (burglaries, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft) data published in the FBI’s 2013 Uniform Crime Report to highlight America’s 10 most dangerous cities. The company also reviewed median household income, poverty rates, and educational attainment rates from the 2013 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Aside from Memphis, other places that made the list include Birmingham, Milwaukee, Little Rock, Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland, and Detroit.
To check out 24/7 Wall St.’s full list of America’s most dangerous cities, click here.
