This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
Small-town America is often imagined as a place where doors remain unlocked, neighbors know one another, and violent crime belongs to distant metropolitan areas. The numbers tell a more complicated story.
Some smaller communities report violent-crime rates several times higher than the national average. Their modest populations can make each incident carry greater statistical weight, but the underlying totals remain serious. Assaults, robberies, sexual offenses, and homicides can strain local police departments while reshaping how residents use streets, parks, businesses, and public spaces.
We ranked these communities by their 2024 reported violent-crime rates. The FBI defines violent crime as murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Nationally, the rate stood at 359.1 offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, down 4.5% from the previous year.
“Small town” is used informally here for communities with reporting populations below 100,000. Several are legally cities or townships. The figures represent crimes reported to participating agencies, not every crime committed, and risk can differ considerably from one neighborhood to another.
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria recorded the highest violent-crime rate among the communities on this list: 2,713.5 offenses per 100,000 residents.
The city reported 1,165 violent offenses among a population of 42,933. Aggravated assaults accounted for 1,026 of them, alongside 70 robberies, 53 reported rapes, and 16 murders. Its property-crime rate was also strikingly high at 6,596.3 per 100,000 residents.
Alexandria’s numbers show why population size alone cannot determine safety. A smaller skyline does not necessarily produce a smaller crime problem.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff reported a violent-crime rate of 1,580.8 per 100,000 residents.
The city recorded 609 violent offenses among 38,524 people. Aggravated assault accounted for 538 incidents, followed by 37 robberies, 20 reported rapes, and 14 murders. Its property-crime rate reached 4,547.8 per 100,000.
Those figures place violent crime at more than four times the national rate. Even after population adjustment, Pine Bluff’s numbers remain too elevated to dismiss as a statistical curiosity.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks had the lowest violent-crime rate on this list, but its 697.7 offenses per 100,000 residents were still almost twice the national figure.
The city recorded 221 violent crimes within a reporting population of 31,676. Those offenses included 139 aggravated assaults, 42 robberies, 38 reported rapes, and two murders. Its violent-crime rate increased 16.8% from 2023, while property crime declined.
Fairbanks demonstrates that a community does not need to approach the extreme rates seen in Alexandria or Saginaw to face a meaningful safety challenge. How Crime Rates Can Distort Small-Town Comparisons
Bessemer, Alabama
Bessemer recorded 1,743.5 violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024.
Among its reporting population of 24,720, the city registered 431 violent crimes. Those included 365 aggravated assaults, 40 robberies, 15 reported rapes, and 11 murders. Bessemer also experienced a property-crime rate of 7,123.8 per 100,000, the highest among several communities featured here.
The historic downtown may present the architecture of a traditional Southern community, but the crime data complicates any easy assumption that small-city charm guarantees safety.
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw reported 2,201.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, more than six times the 2024 national rate.
Its 42,880-person reporting population recorded 944 violent offenses, including 810 aggravated assaults, 58 robberies, 57 reported rapes, and 19 murders. Unlike several other places on this list, Saginaw’s violent-crime rate was considerably higher than its property-crime rate.
The figures also demonstrate that declining national crime does not guarantee identical progress in every community. National trends can improve while particular cities continue facing severe local violence.
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe reported 1,156.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Its population of 12,368 recorded 143 violent offenses, including 109 aggravated assaults, 19 robberies, 14 reported rapes, and one murder. Property crime was an even larger concern, reaching 5,886.2 offenses per 100,000.
The city’s violent-crime rate declined from 2023, but its combined violent and property figures still placed substantial pressure on overall safety.