Louisiana Cities Ranked in 2026 Most Dangerous List

You might wanna sit down for this one, because the updated list of the most dangerous cities in Louisiana for 2026 has a few names that caught me off guard. New Orleans made the list, which probably won't shock anybody. Baton Rouge is there too. But neither one of them is anywhere close to No. 1. This ranking comes from Reolink.com and looks at violent crime and property crime rates.

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Now, lets look at what goes into making this list. If your city is on this list that doesn't mean that every street and every neighborhood is bad. This list is generalized by the number of people per town in comparison of the crime rate.

Top 10 Dangerous Towns in Louisiana

10. Bossier City
Starting with #10 with a rate of 4,570 crimes per 100,000 people. Now this percentage doesn't seem this bad but when you add in that 911 of those are what is considered "Violent Crimes" that brings Bossier City to the list.

9. Baton Rouge
With our Capital City at #9 with a rate of 5,526 crimes per 100,000 people. This is starting the trend upward in our state. Like the previous city this percentage doesn't seem this bad but when you add in that 1,004 of those are what is considered "Violent Crimes" that brings Baton Rouge to the list.

8. Jennings
Looking at this list the crime rate of 4,440 per 100,000 is lower that Baton Rouge, but apparently those violent crimes being higher moves them up on the list. Those 1,012 per 100,000 were violent.

7. Bogalusa
Just like Jennings this cities Violent Crimes is what lands it at #7. 4,117 per 100,000 overall but 1,231 of those being Violent.

6. West Monroe
The rate of 5,895 per 100,000 is not the worse, but those Violent Crimes rate will always report you on the list higher with 1,359 per 100,000.

5. New Orleans
I really felt like New Orleans would have been at least #1 or #2. You think the "Big Easy" might be calming down a little? 5,090 per 100,000. 1,361 of those being violent. I am in shock that its not higher. Shout out to them cleaning up this town and getting it lower on the list.

4. Opelousas
With the Violent Crime Rate of 1,680 per 100,000 people, while property crime comes in at 5,762 per 100,000. This surprises me because of the size of the town. I don't consider Opelousas being that typical big city. I guess sometime those small towns can have a rough side too.

3. Alexandria
Driving through Alexandria, I can totally understand why they are listed at #3. I wonder how many of the 1,972 per 100,000 Violent Crimes started over a road rage incident. Now we're into the Top 3. Statistics shows that on average Alexandria has about 5.4 violent crimes and 14 property crimes per day.

2. Monroe
Im not sure why they split Monroe from West Monroe, but here we are. Ranked at #2 Monroe's Violent Crimes is one of the highest on the list at 2,104 per 100,000. If you do some simple math, 1 in 48 people have a chance at becoming a victim.

1. Marksville
Time to crown a Champion. With a 1 in 13 chance of becoming a victim, right around the middle of the state. I present Marksville. Rankings show 2,209 per 100,000 being violent. That's a wild number.

The report points toward economic struggles, unemployment and limited law enforcement resources as possible reasons Marksville's crime rate is so high.
I would've guessed New Orleans or Baton Rouge before Marksville. I probably would've guessed several other cities before Marksville. But that's why lists like this get people talking.

These are crime rates spread across entire cities. Every Louisiana town has good neighborhoods, good families and good people. A ranking can't tell you what life is actually like on every street. But I gotta know, which city on this list surprised you the most?