Watch CBS News

Two Local Cities Rank First And Second On List Of Most Dangerous In The Country

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Turns out the most dangerous cities in the country aren't as far away as Detroit or Memphis but are right here near Philadelphia.

The keyword is "near" -- Philadelphia didn't even crack the top 50.

NeighborhoodScout, an online research group, ranked the 100 most dangerous cities in the country with 25,000 people or more, and Camden, NJ came in first. Chester, Pa. ranked second.

"NeighborhoodScout's report shows that in the past year Camden has seen 1,895 violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault). While these numbers are much less than Philadelphia's next door (17,088 violent crimes), factoring in population size is what pushes Camden to the top of the list," NeighborhoodScout writes. "Camden soars over the national average of 3.8 violent crimes per 1,000 people with 25.66 (more than six times the national average)."

Additionally, NeighborhoodScout says the landscape of areas with high rates of violent crime is changing. While most people picture high rise public housing buildings when they think of dangerous areas, it seems the most dangerous places are full of single family homes, with many of those abandoned. And many cities on the list aren't big cities, but low-income inner-ring suburban neighborhoods or "decaying cities."

"This matches up with the report: the list's top-ten is devoid of America's biggest cities. Only 3 are mid-to-large sized cities (Oakland 5, Memphis 10, and Detroit 3). The rest are smaller, around or below populations of 100,000 people. Bessemer 6 is just outside of Birmingham (itself ranked at number 26); Camden 1 and Chester 2 are near Philadelphia, which is ranked at 55," NeighborhoodScout says.

In addition to Camden and Chester, two other nearby cities also came in relatively high on the list. Struggling Atlantic City, NJ ranked eighth while Wilmington, DE came in ninth. Bridgeton, NJ was the next local spot on the roundup, coming in 25th.

To see the full report and read more on NeighborhoodScout's methodology, click here.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.