This Is the Most Dangerous Small Town in America, According to Data

Is there anything as idealized as small-town life? For many people, the white picket fences, friendly neighbors, and main street lined with quaint mom-and-pop shops paint the perfect picture of the American Dream. But in reality, small towns aren't immune to problems; in fact, some are just as threatening as bigger cities. To find out which in particular you should be aware of, we crunched the numbers to find out the most dangerous small town in America.

First, let's clarify what we mean by "small town." For starters, we focused our analysis on towns and small cities with populations ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 residents. We then narrowed the list down to the top 25 of the 100 towns with the highest violent crime rates (as recorded by the FBI and assembled by News+), which was the most important factor in our Danger Index.

From there, we used FBI data for property crime per capita, as well as the rate of pedestrian fatalities by congressional district (as compiled by Smart Growth America's 2019 Most Dangerous Districts report). Finally, we factored in unemployment rate by congressional district, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, considering research has shown that a 1 percent change in the unemployment rate is typically found to increase property crime by up to 2 percent.

We then gave each metric a weighted value before running them through our exclusive algorithm to see how each small town scored on our 100-point scale Danger Index. Overall, the most dangerous small towns were located overwhelmingly in the Sun Belt and Midwest. And while we were analyzing towns with up to 100,000 people, the largest town on our list had 74,330 people; most were much smaller, with 30,000 or fewer residents. Read on to find out which small town is the most dangerous one in country, and to see if any in your state land on the list. And for more on how safe your state is overall, check out The Most Dangerous State in America, According to Data.

Read the original article on Best Life.

Population: 10,595

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 144.41

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,151.49

Pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents: 2.23

Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 66.06

Population: 35,791

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 117.91

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,032.82

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.29

Unemployment rate: 5.0 percent

Danger Index Score: 67.18

Population: 74,330

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 117.45

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 487.02

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.42

Unemployment rate: 9.4 percent

Danger Index Score: 68.47

And for the area of the U.S. where love isn't all around, check out The Most Hateful State in America, According to Data.

Population: 24,641

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 120.94

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 335.62

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.66

Unemployment rate: 9.6 percent

Danger Index Score: 68.84

Population: 21,683

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 181.25

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,382.65

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 1.96

Unemployment rate: 4.3 percent

Danger Index Score: 70.69

Population: 23,528

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 172.56

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 700.44

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.28

Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 70.69

Population: 24,548

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 131.99

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 294.93

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.43

Unemployment rate: 8.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 71.97

Population: 17,825

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 207.01

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 678.82

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.94

Unemployment rate: 5.6 percent

Danger Index Score: 73.02

Population: 12,297

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 207.01

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 678.82

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.94

Unemployment rate: 5.6 percent

Danger Index Score: 73.02

And for more on the place that's dangerously vain, check out The Most Selfish State in America, According to Data.

Population: 15,838

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 110.32

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 759.04

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.42

Unemployment rate: 9.4 percent

Danger Index Score: 74.97

Population: 19,283

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 180.47

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 773.74

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.8

Unemployment rate: 6.8 percent

Danger Index Score: 76.66

Population: 23,894

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 151.08

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 475.43

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.11

Unemployment rate: 8.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 76.89

Population: 12,186

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 152.63

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 719.68

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.79

Unemployment rate: 6.2 percent

Danger Index Score: 77.94

And for more on the place that could use a few lessons on hospitality, check out The Rudest State in America, According to Data.

Population: 14,724

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 189.49

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 954.22

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.29

Unemployment rate: 5.0 percent

Danger Index Score: 78.11

Population: 10,810

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 173.91

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 279.37

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.43

Unemployment rate: 8.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 79.25

Population: 9,213

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 161.73

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 372.2

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.43

Unemployment rate: 8.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 79.67

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Population: 7,837ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 196.5

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,042.49

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.34

Unemployment rate: 5.1 percent

Danger Index Score: 83.15

Population: 16,835

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 222.16

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 642.71

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.98

Unemployment rate: 5.0 percent

Danger Index Score: 83.33

Population: 6,648

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 191.04

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,090.55

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.34

Unemployment rate: 5.1 percent

Danger Index Score: 83.52

Population: 10,030

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 267.20

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 555.33

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.28

Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 83.96

Population: 22,205

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 331.01

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 771.00

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 1.57

Unemployment rate: 5.9 percent

Danger Index Score: 84.19

And for more on the place that isn't afraid to bend the rules, read up on The Most Corrupt State in America, According to Data.

Population: 31,864

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 168.84

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 1,379.30

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 3.34

Unemployment rate: 5.1 percent

Danger Index Score: 87.73

Population: 6,809

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 187.99

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 644.73

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 4.05

Unemployment rate: 6.7 percent

Danger Index Score: 88.48

Population: 49,677

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 300.54

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 935.24

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.23

Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent

Danger Index Score: 88.61

Population: 26,592

Violent crime per 10,000 residents: 286.93

Property crime per 10,000 residents: 903.66

Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 2.80

Unemployment rate: 6.8 percent

Danger Index Score: 100.00

And for more on the place that's all about more, more, more, check out The Greediest State in America, According to Data.