Most Dangerous Cities: 2024 Rankings for the 30 Largest U.S. Cities

The FBI released 2024 crime figures in August that show national crime rates continuing to cool: violent crime fell around 4.5 percent, and property crime dropped about 8.1 percent compared to 2023. Though this is excellent news for the U.S. as a whole, crime rates vary widely by city. Some of the nation’s largest cities still have soaring crime rates that residents should be aware of.

To determine which of America’s metropolises has the highest crime levels, we explored the latest FBI statistics and ranked the 30 most populous cities nationwide.

Total Crime: Memphis Ranks Highest, El Paso Lowest Among Biggest Cities

The total crime rate combines violent crime (such as murder, robbery, and assault) with property crime (such as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft). In 2024, the national total crime rate was 2,119 incidents per 100,000 residents.

Cities with highest total crime rate (per 100,000), 2024

Unfortunately, Memphis, Tennessee, stands out with a total crime rate more than three times the U.S. average, driven by high numbers of both violent and property crimes. On the other end of the spectrum, El Paso, Texas is the only large city in our analysis to fall below the national average in all three crime categories — total, violent, and property.

Violent Crime: Memphis, Detroit, and Baltimore Lead

Violent crime includes serious offenses such as homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The national violent crime rate was 359.1 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — the lowest in roughly 20 years. But in some cities, violent crime remains far above average.

Cities with highest violent crime rates (per 100,000), 2024

Memphis once again tops the list, with a violent crime rate nearly six times the national figure. Detroit and Baltimore also have rates more than triple the U.S. average. Washington, D.C., ranked seventh among the largest cities for violent crime, though it has decreased in recent years. The capital city’s crime rates recently came into the national spotlight as President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency to crack down on crime.

Property Crime: Portland and Seattle Near Top of the List

Property crimes — including burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft — make up the majority of total crime in most cities. In 2024, the national property crime rate was 1,760.1 per 100,000 residents.

Cities with highest property crime rate (per 100,000), 2024

Nationally, property crime declined in 2024, helped by a steep drop in auto thefts — the largest one-year decline in more than four decades. However, in these cities, theft, burglary, and vehicle crime remain stubbornly high.

Methodology

For this report we relied on data from the 2024 Crime in the United States report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. City-level insights were found in table 8 – Offenses Known to Law Enforcement, by State and City.

We ranked the 30 largest U.S. cities (city proper) by three metrics: Total crime rate (violent + property crimes), violent crime rate, and property crime rate. Rates are normalized per 100,000 residents. Populations are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2024. Several entries reflect the primary police jurisdiction name, which we simplified to reflect the city name (e.g., Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department). Offense groupings follow FBI definitions (violent = murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault; property = burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft).

The FBI also provides data by metropolitan statistical areas, but we wanted to use the most granular data possible, so we opted for cities proper. Reporting completeness can vary; year-to-year shifts may reflect reporting changes and real change.

Data appendix

Crime rates in the top 30 largest U.S. cities, 2024