Many American cities have long been known for crime, but recent data often show that these reputations are outdated. Homicide rates did increase across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2025, rates receded 15% compared to 2024—one of the largest declines in American history.
Despite this, in the summer of 2025, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops into Los Angeles, which was later deemed illegal by a federal judge in September 2025. Troops also invaded Washington D.C., some armed, to respond to the "crime emergency," according to the executive order that cited violent crime and homelessness.
For a reality check, Stacker ranked the 10 most dangerous U.S. cities using WalletHub's 2025 rankings. WalletHub's methodology compared 182 cities, defining safety by risks to home and community, natural disasters, and finances. It evaluated safety on a 100-point scale, with 1 being the most dangerous, and ranked the cities according to their total score. Natural disaster risks included risks like earthquakes and wildfires; the home and community safety category was weighted by factors such as murders, assaults, and drug poisoning deaths. Financial safety risks included aspects like unemployment rates, the rate of uninsured people, and fraud.
The cities named in the crime crackdown were not always consistent with crime data or WalletHub's list. For instance, Washington D.C., which has the lowest violent crime rate in over 30 years, was ranked #11 by WalletHub, and Los Angeles missed this list by a mile at #21 on WalletHub's ranking. Cities that are being threatened with National Guard invasions but also aren't included in the list include Chicago, which President Trump named "the most dangerous city in the world," and New York City.
However, Trump has focused on some cities that do make the list, like Baltimore, Memphis, and New Orleans—whose governor welcomed "Trump's help." Read on to see where those three cities rank among the 10 most dangerous in the U.S.—and which other ones made the list.
