3 Upstate New York Cities Named Most Dangerous in America

A new study revealed the most dangerous cities in the country and, shockingly, New York City was left off the notorious list.

America's Most Dangerous Cities

New Yorkers may be surprised to hear the Big Apple failed to make a list of the cities with the worst crime rates. According to data from the NYPD, the city has seen a 6.3% increase in assaults, a 5% rise in stabbings, and a 15% jump in grand larceny incidents in 2023 from the year prior.

One positive point to report is that murders were down about 11.9% in New York City, so there's that.

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Crime rates are a major factor when moving to a new city, and that is why Norada Real Estate Investments looked into the cities that have the worst problems of all.

The agency compared data pertaining to gang violence, property crime, assaults, murders and more to compile their list. In the end, the report uncovered a pretty dark image of the more-urban areas around America.

In the end, 3 familiar cities in Upstate New York were found to be among the most dangerous places of all.

Detroit, Michigan, Is #1

Overtaking the list this year was Detroit due to its high levels of violent crime. The report found elevated rates of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the The Motor City. Apparently, this is due to gang activity, which the agency says puts Americans' personal safety at increased risk.

Also making the top five were, respectively, Baltimore, MD; St. Louis,  MO; Oakland, CA; and Memphis, TN.

Chicago was 10th overall.

While New York failed to secure a nod in the top 10, which isn't all that bad if you think about it, Norada released regionalized data for certain parts of the country. When it came to looking at the Northeast, New York had the most entries on the list.

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Coming in second overall, behind #1 Hartford, Connecticut, was the city of Buffalo. The survey found the area has a violent crime rate of about 410 per 100,000 residents.

In fourth place, trailing behind Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the city of Rochester. Looking at Rochester's rate, the area suffers from a violent crime rate of roughly 425 per 100,000 inhabitants.

In ninth place on the top 10 was none other than Syracuse, with an overall crime rate of roughly 350 per 100,000 residents.

Those wondering where cities like Utica, Herkimer, or Rome ended up on the list, Norada's data excluded cities with less than 100,000 residents.

Localized Crime Rates

Looking at a local level, a survey from AreaVibes found Utica's crime rate is 71 percent higher than the national average per 100,000 residents. Apparently, the city sees a total of nearly 7 daily crimes - the majority being property crimes at a rate of 5.7. Data says the city's violent daily crimes rate is at .99 daily.

On the other hand, AreaVibes found residents have a 1 in 177 chance of being a victim of violent crime in the city.

For Rome, the same website says the area's crime rate is about 25 percent lower than the national average. Added AreaVibes, "Specifically, there were 77 violent crimes reported in Rome, equivalent to 242 per 100,000 residents, which is lower than the national average by 34.6%."

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Herkimer's crime rate was found to be roughly 15% above the national average, and violent crime rates were found to be 45 percent higher than the national average.

All findings were found using data from the FBI's uniform crime reports for 2022, which looks into over 18,000 cities nationwide.

On the flipside, if you wish to live in the safest city in New York State, AdvisorSmith says you'll be the most secure in Kirkland.

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