Travelling to the states – The safest and most unsafe cities in the US – words Alexa Wang

Safety is a key consideration in anything a person does – especially in matters of living situations or visiting a certain area. Most countries have an image that is often full of misconceptions; topping that list is the United States.

Usually labeled as one of the most civilized and safe places in the world, but those statistics fail to delve into specific regions and their cities. So there it is, what equates to safe or unsafe, and where are these places in relation to the United States?

The Current Crime Rate of America as a Whole

Before 2013, the violent crime rate was 26.1%; in 2013 itself, the rate declined slightly to 23.2 victims per one-thousand US citizens. However, as the drug epidemic in this country has risen drastically in the past three years, the crime rates have increased drastically. Though the report for 2016 has yet to be released, due to the fact that the year is only halfway through, the most recent crime statistics read as this:

1,165,383 violent crimes, including murder, rape, robberies, assaults, and attempted murders.
63.6% of the total crimes committed were aggravated assaults.
7.2% of these crimes were rape.
28% were made up of robberies.
1.2% included solved murders.

Mention must be made that these were the crimes that were reported, but it is estimated that the numbers and percentages would double if all crimes were reported, and if all murders were solved.

The Safe Cities

Bay areas of the country tend to have the lowest crime rates, probably because they are enjoyable and expensive to live in. These areas tend to be secluded from populated areas, require extensive travel times to reach, and residents often live quiet lives free from drug use. These areas compose the majority of the safest cities to live in America; the rest are as followed:

Sunnyvale, California: With a violent crime rate of 1.4%, this city also ranks incredibly low in terms of drug use and vehicle fatalities.
Honolulu, Hawaii: A 3.59% violent crime rate composes the statistics of this tropical city.
Cary, North Carolina: Safer than 66% of the cities in America, this city also has a 0.66% violent crime rate.
Alexandria, Virginia: Per 1,000 residents, violent crimes rank at 1.84%.
McAllen, Texas: 1.31% of all crimes are violent, and this city ranks fairly high in terms of safety.
Frisco, Texas: Less than 1% of crimes occur annually here (0.80%).
Ridgefield, Connecticut: Known as the safest city in America by 97%, 0.04% of violent crimes occur here annually.
Bartlett, Illinois: One of the top ten safest cities is here, with 0.34% of crimes being violent.
Long Beach, New York: Safer than 77% of other US cities, Long Beach has a crime rate of 1.34%.

The Top Three Most Unsafe Cities in the US

East St. Louis, Illinois: This is the worst city in America–ranking only a 1% on the safe scale. Nearly 80% of all crimes that occur here annually are violent and property crimes.
Camden, New Jersey: Coming in at number two is Camden, with over 1,000 violent crimes occurring annually.
Detroit, Michigan: Most would argue that this is actually the most violent city in America, and that is hard to disprove, seeing as over 20,000 violent crimes occur here each year. It is also one of the poorest cities in the nation.

Factors: Why the Crime?

Many factors contribute to crime rates–number one currently being the escalating drug issue the US is facing. In fact, over 18,893 overdoses from opioids have occurred in the US, thus far, in 2016; far more use illegal drugs each day. Poverty is also a major contributor to the violent crime rate, and this is seemingly the aftermath of the 2008 collapse of the economy. As the economy is still barely stable, the country sees an increase in crime and a shift in status; the middle class is now considered poor, while the once deemed poor are now homeless. Currently in the US, there are 564,708 homeless people. No country is necessarily perfect, and this is proof of that. A study by ABODO, further validates the issues of circulating growing crime rates, too.