Many American cities have long been known for crime, but while White House rhetoric reinforces this lingering image, recent data often show that these reputations are outdated.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 risk reality check, Stacker ranked the 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. has the lowest violent crime rate in over 30 years and ranked #11 by WalletHub. Cities that are being threatened with National Guard invasions but 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."
Certain states appear more frequently on WalletHub's list than others; Florida appears three times, while Texas, California, Ohio, and Tennessee each have two cities on the list. States like Texas with higher ratings may reflect multiple safety issues that could stem from policy, like lax firearm laws, to geography, such as being located in the Tornado Alley region.
