Metro Areas Where Crime is Falling

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. violent crime rate rose to its highest level in a decade. The increase was driven by a rise in aggravated assault and, most notably, a historic 29% surge in homicides that made 2020 the deadliest year in the United States since the mid-1990s.

Violent crime is a broad category of offenses that includes rаpe, robbery, aggravated assault, and murder. All told, more than 1.3 million violent crimes were reported in the U.S. – or 399 for every 100,000 people – in 2020, an increase of 18 incidents per 100,000 people from the previous year. 

While rates of violence are rising in much of the country, many major metropolitan areas are bucking the national trend, reporting year-over-year declines in criminal violence. 

Using data from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 50 metro areas where crime is falling. Metro areas are ranked by the year-over-year change in violent crimes reported for every 100,000 residents in 2020. 

Among the metro areas on this list, the violent crime rate fell by anywhere from 8 incidents to 159 incidents per 100,000 people from 2019 to 2020. The largest share of metro areas on this list are in the West, including seven in California alone. 

The majority of these cities have a lower violent crime rate than the U.S. as a whole. Even before the recent decline in violence, most metro areas on this list had a lower than average violent crime rate. Still, despite the decline, some metro areas on this list, such as Anchorage, Alaska, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, still rank among the most dangerous cities in the country. Here is a look at America’s most dangerous city.

Click here to see metros where crime is falling
Click here to read our detailed methodology

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