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Which five US cities had the highest violent crime rates in 2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting and rankings from mid‑2024 through 2025 consistently place Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and New Orleans among U.S. cities with the highest violent‑crime indicators, but there is no single authoritative 2025 federal list naming “the five highest” that all sources agree on (examples: Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, New Orleans appear across multiple outlets) [1] [2] [3]. Coverage also warns that different methodologies (per‑capita violent‑crime rate, overall crime rate, or subset metrics like homicide rate) produce different rankings, so any “top five” depends on the dataset and definition used [4] [2].
1. Headlines and recurring names: which cities keep appearing?
Journalists and private rankings in 2025 repeatedly name Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit and Baltimore among the cities with the highest violent‑crime rates; New Orleans and Birmingham also show up in some lists, depending on the metric and sample used [3] [1] [2] [5]. Site‑by‑site variation is clear: for example, a Worldstar Security Cameras list highlights Detroit, St. Louis, Memphis and Baltimore [3] while STL.News emphasizes Memphis and St. Louis at the top [1]; ArcadianAI and other compilations also list St. Louis, Detroit and Baltimore high on violent‑crime measures [2].
2. Why lists disagree: metrics, populations and source data
Differences in “most violent” rankings stem from methodological choices: whether the compilers use FBI UCR totals for large cities, local police department trackers, violent‑crime per 100,000 residents, or single metrics like homicide rates. The FBI and criminology organizations explicitly caution that rankings can mislead because jurisdictional boundaries, reporting practices and population bases change results; Wikipedia’s compiled UCR‑based table notes those limitations [4]. Private websites often mix FBI figures, local data and editorial weighting, producing divergent top‑five lists [2] [3].
3. What the Council on Criminal Justice adds: sample trends, not a “top five” list
The Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) provides mid‑year and year‑end analyses for selected samples of cities and offense categories; its mid‑2025 update reports violent offenses down year‑over‑year in many sampled cities and highlights falling homicides and aggravated assaults in the 30–42 city samples it tracks, but CCJ does not publish a single national “top five violent‑crime” ranking in these pieces [6] [7]. CCJ’s strength is trend analysis for a consistent sample, not producing a roster of the five most violent cities nationwide [6].
4. Homicide versus broader violent crime: different stories
Some outlets focus on homicide (murder) rates while others use a composite violent‑crime rate (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault). A city can top one list and not another: for instance, a report might show a particularly high homicide rate in a smaller jurisdiction while a different large city leads in composite violent‑crime per capita [8] [4]. National commentary and private rankings reflect this—Memphis is repeatedly called the highest in overall crime in some 2025 summaries, while St. Louis often leads homicide or violent‑crime‑per‑capita lists, depending on the dataset [1] [9].
5. Caveats about media and private “most dangerous” lists
Many online lists (blogs, security vendors, niche media) compile “most dangerous city” rankings using mixed sources and editorial choices; these lists repeatedly include Detroit, Memphis, St. Louis and Baltimore but vary in placement and methods [3] [9] [2]. Independent fact‑checking and criminology scholars urge caution: rankings can stigmatize places and mask within‑city variation or improving trends [4] [10]. Snopes and academic literature note that political narratives sometimes misuse such charts to argue causal links (for example, mayoral partisanship), and peer‑reviewed work finds little evidence that a mayor’s party alone determines crime outcomes [10].
6. So what is defensible to say about “the five highest in 2025”?
Based on the coverage provided, the most defensible statement is that Memphis, St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and New Orleans (with Birmingham appearing in some lists) are repeatedly identified across 2025 reporting and private rankings as among U.S. cities with the highest violent‑crime indicators; however, available sources do not present a single, universally accepted official “top five” ranking for 2025, and exact ordering differs by dataset and crime definition [1] [3] [2] [5] [4].
7. What readers should do next if they need a precise ranking
If you need a definitive top‑five for a specific use—policy, research or personal decision—pick the metric (e.g., violent crimes per 100,000, homicide rate, or total violent incidents) and the jurisdictional basis (city limits vs. metro area), then consult the underlying data: FBI UCR/SRS tables, local police department crime dashboards, or CCJ’s datasets for consistent city samples [4] [6]. Note that methodology choice will determine which five cities appear on your list and that many reputable sources explicitly warn against simplistic ranking use [4].