Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the South

By Kevin Rizzo | April 20, 2015

The Memphis, Tennessee metro area tops the list of the South’s most dangerous metros. According to the latest data from the FBI, which covers calendar year 2013, Memphis had a violent crime rate of 993 per 100,000 people. Alternatively, the safest metro area in the South, Elizabethtown, Kentucky, had a violent crime rate of just 78 per 100,000 people. Virginia made the strongest showing with five of its metro areas ranking among the Top 10 Safest in the South. Overall, 41.4 percent of the violent crimes that occurred in the United States were committed in the South. The South is home to more than 37 percent of the nation’s population. Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metro areas across the South. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

Read More: 2015 crime rankings for the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Read More: Crime map of the United States

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TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS METROS IN THE SOUTH

#1 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area

Overall Rank: #1
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 993
– Murder: 10
– Rape: 46
– Robbery: 257
– Aggravated Assault: 680
Population: 1,347,803

 

 

The Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area includes: Crittenden County, Arkansas; Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica Counties, Mississippi; and Fayette, Shelby, and Tipton Counties in Tennessee, as well as the city of Memphis.

Memphis, Tennessee is ranked the #3 most dangerous city with a population over 200,000.

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#2 Jackson, TN Metro Area

Overall Rank: #2
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 925
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 44
– Robbery: 129
– Aggravated Assault: 744
Population: 130,702

 

 

The Jackson, TN metro area includes: Chester, Crockett, and Madison Counties in Tennessee, as well as the city of Jackson.

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#3 Hammond, LA Metro Area

Overall Rank: #3
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 875
– Murder: 10
– Rape: 46
– Robbery: 126
– Aggravated Assault: 694
Population: 124,208

 

 

The Hammond, LA metro area includes: Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana, as well as the city of Hammond.

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 #4 Odessa, TX Metro Area

Overall Rank: #4
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 806
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 39
– Robbery: 120
– Aggravated Assault: 645
Population: 147,448

 

 

The Odessa, TX metro area includes: Ector County in Texas, as well as the city of Odessa.

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#5 Alexandria, LA Metro Area

Overall Rank: #5
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 794
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 31
– Robbery: 122
– Aggravated Assault: 634
Population: 154,678

 

 

The Alexandria, LA metro area includes: Grant and Rapides Parishes in Louisiana, as well as the city of Alexandria.

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#6 Lawton, OK Metro Area

Overall Rank: #11
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 712
– Murder: 10
– Rape: 68
– Robbery: 127
– Aggravated Assault: 507
Population: 133,449

 

 

The Lawton, OK metro area includes: Comanche and Cotton Counties in Oklahoma, as well as the city of Lawton.

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#7 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metro Area

Overall Rank: #16
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 676
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 41
– Robbery: 176
– Aggravated Assault: 452
Population: 723,132

 

 

The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area includes: Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski, and Saline Counties in Arkansas, as well as the cities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Conway.

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#8 Sumter, SC Metro Area

Overall Rank: #17
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 672
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 47
– Robbery: 99
– Aggravated Assault: 519
Population: 108,703

 

 

The Sumter, SC metro area includes: Sumter County in South Carolina, as well as the city of Sumter.

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#9 Lubbock, TX Metro Area

Overall Rank: #19
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 658
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 39
– Robbery: 130
– Aggravated Assault: 487
Population: 300,769

 

 

The Lubbock, TX Metro Area includes: Crosby, Lubbock, and Lynn Counties in Texas, as well as the city of Lubbock.

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 #10 Albany, GA Metro Area

Overall Rank: #20
Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 655
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 142
– Aggravated Assault: 484
Population: 157,365

 

 

The Albany, GA metro area includes: Baker, Dougherty, Lee, Terrell, and Worth Counties in Georgia, as well as the city of Albany.

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TOP 10 SAFEST METROS IN THE SOUTH

#1 Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 78
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 23
– Robbery: 15
Aggravated Assault: 39
Population: 150,699

 

 

The Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY metro area includes: Hardin, Larue, and Meade Counties in Kentucky, as well as the city of Elizabethtown.

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#2 Harrisonburg, VA Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 128
– Murder: 0.8
– Rape: 26
– Robbery: 13
– Aggravated Assault: 88
Population: 129,689

 

 

The Harrisonburg, VA metro area includes: Rockingham County in Virginia, as well as the city of Harrisonburg.

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#3 Owensboro, KY Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 138
– Murder: 0.0
– Rape: 48
– Robbery: 45
– Aggravated Assault: 46
Population: 116,530

 

 

The Owensboro, KY metro area includes: Davies, Hancock, and McLean counties n Kentucky, as well as the city of Owensboro.

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#4 Bowling Green, KY Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 144
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 44
– Robbery: 47
– Aggravated Assault: 53
Population: 163,437

 

 

The Bowling Green, KY metro area includes: Allen, Butler, Edmonson, and Warren counties in Kentucky, as well as the city of Bowling Green.

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#5 Gainesville, GA Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 156
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 37
– Aggravated Assault: 92
Population: 187,290

 

 

The Gainesville, GA metro area includes: Alachua and Gilchrist counties in Georgia, as well as the city of Gainesville.

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#6 Staunton-Waynesboro, VA Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 167
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 44
– Robbery: 21
– Aggravated Assault: 101
Population: 119,067

 

 

The Saunton-Waynesboro, VA metro area includes: Augusta County in Virginia as well as the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro.

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#7 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 175
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 44
– Robbery: 11
– Aggravated Assault: 119
Population: 179,521

 

 

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford VA metro area includes: Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski counties in Virginia as well as the cities of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford.

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#8 The Villages, FL Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 175
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 14
– Robbery: 23
– Aggravated Assault: 136
Population: 104,608

 

 

The Villages, FL metro area includes: Sumter county, Florida.

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#9 Winchester, VA-WV Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 186
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 46
– Robbery: 31
– Aggravated Assault: 106
Population: 131,881

 

 

The Winchester, VA-WV metro area includes: Frederick County and the city of Winchester in Virginia, and Hampshire County and the city of Winchester in West Virginia.

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#10 Lynchburg, VA Metro Area

Rates/100,000 people
– Violent Crime: 191
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 32
– Robbery: 35
– Aggravated Assault: 122
Population: 256,835

 

 

The Lynchburg, VA metro area includes: Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell counties in Virginia, as well as the cities of Bedford and Lynchburg

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The Office of Management and Budget began delineating Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the 1950s in order to provide an established level of analysis for government reports and statistics. MSAs are characterized as having an urban core with more than 50,000 people and surrounding areas that have close social and economic integration. The FBI does not provide data on all of the 388 MSAs defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Click here to see the FBI’s explanation for why all MSAs are not included. MSAs are organized by counties or their equivalent. All statistics in Law Street’s Crime in America metro rankings are presented as rates per 100,000 people, and they are taken from the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States publication section on metropolitan statistical areas. To see the FBI’s data click here.

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, Chelsey Goff, Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here to see full Crime in America 2015 coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.