Louisiana Lands 3 on Most Dangerous Small Cities in America List

Of the "10 Most Dangerous Small Cities in America" for 2023, Louisiana unfortunately has three cities on the list.

Most Dangerous Cities in America 2023

Year after year, New Orleans, Louisiana routinely shows up at number one or at least in the top 3 of America's most dangerous cities.

However, you crunch the numbers around Louisiana's smaller towns and cities, you start to see a much more disturbing picture when it comes to crime and violence.

What makes a city dangerous?

Obviously, cities with high crime rates are going to be dangerous, so the better question to ask is why certain cities have higher crime rates than others.

Several factors contribute to making a city dangerous, and it's often a complex interplay of social, economic, and environmental factors.

High rates of violent crime, such as homicides, assaults, and robberies, contribute significantly to a city's reputation for danger.

Cities with high levels of poverty and economic inequality may experience higher rates of crime.

The presence of drugs and drug trafficking also contributes to high crime rates.

Other factors found in cities with high crime rates are things like corruption in law enforcement, a lack of law enforcement, poor infrastructure and city planning, a lack of quality education, substance abuse, and mental health issues.

Louisiana's Most Dangerous Small Cities 2023

Out of "The 10 Most Dangerous Small Cities in America" compiled by roadsnacks.net, 6 of the 10 are in the South.

Three of the 10 are right here in Louisiana.

From roadsnacks.net -

"We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data using Saturday Night Science to identify the most dangerous small towns with populations over 5,000 and under 50,000.

That left us with 2,625 places in the U.S. to measure."

So, out the 2,625 small cities and towns measured, Louisiana has three.

"The 10 Most Dangerous Small Cities in America" via roadsnacks.net -

1. Fife, WA
2. Lumberton, NC
3. Alexandria, LA
4. Globe, AZ
5. Gadsden, AL
6. Opelousas, LA
7. Wadesboro, NC
8. Myrtle Beach, SC
9. West Monroe, LA
10. Orangeburg, SC

Below are the crime statistics on Alexandria, Opelousas, and West Monroe.

Alexandria

Population: 45,736
Crime Per Capita: 0.0899
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0184
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0715
Murders: 21

Opelousas

Population: 15,884
Crime Per Capita: 0.082
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.0183
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0637
Murders: 5

West Monroe

Population: 13,103
Crime Per Capita: 0.0793
Violent Crime Per Capita: 0.018
Property Crime Per Capita: 0.0613
Murders: 2

Read more at roadsnacks.net.