The Most Dangerous Metros In The U.S.: Where Birmingham Ranks

BIRMINGHAM, AL — More than 8 million crimes were reported in the United States in 2018, leaving many residents vulnerable to victimization. These crimes are especially common in more densely populated metro areas. A recent study by real estate website Clever ranked the most and least dangerous metro areas in the U.S., and Birmingham unfortunately did not fare well.

Clever chose for its study the 50 most populated metros because a large proportion of American residents currently do or will at some point live in those metro areas.

The Birmingham metro ranked second behind Memphis overall on the list of most dangerous metro areas.

Here's how Clever conducted the study and where Birmingham ranked:

• Violent crime, which includes aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder, was considered the most life-threatening danger to a resident of a population. Therefore, it weighed the heaviest (3x full weight) in the ranking. Birmingham rank: 2nd
• Natural disasters were weighed at 2x the full weight in our ranking. While less frequent, many natural disasters can be fatal and cause damage to property and well-being. It's an important factor to consider for homebuyers and renters alike. Birmingham rank: 17th
• Transport fatalities are 2x the full weight, as well. Transport fatalities were any death associated with a vehicle (traffic, boat, pedestrian, etc.). Birmingham rank: 1st
• Property crime was also weighed at 1.5x the full weight because they're more prevalent than other types of crime and are often associated with people's perception of their safety, but don't typically impact residents' physical safety. Birmingham rank: 49th
• Drinking water contamination risk was weighed at full weight and we defined the risk as the frequency of drinking water violations per capita. Birmingham rank: 34th

The most dangerous metros are Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, St. Louis, Riverside, Nashville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, and Memphis. On the other end, the safest metros are Denver, San Jose, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Providence, New York City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Buffalo, and Boston.

See the full report on Clever's website.