Florida Named 8th Most Dangerous State

When it comes to violent crime, the Sunshine State is among the worst of the worst.

That’s according to Law Street, which just named Florida the eighth most dangerous state in the nation. The news site’s determination was based on the FBI’s violent crime statistics listed in its most recent Uniform Crime Report. The rankings are based on the number of violent crimes – murder, rape, robbery and assault – per 100,000 people in population.

When Law Street’s writers crunched the numbers, Maine came out on top as being the safest state in the nation. Tennessee, however, earned the distinction of being the most dangerous state with 643.6 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Since it’s not a state, Washington, D.C., was singled out. In fairness to Tennessee, it does top the Volunteer State in crime by a sizeable amount. The stats there, Law Street reports, fall in at 1,177.88 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Florida comes in at eighth with 487.1 violent crimes per 100,000. States that top it in crime include Alaska, Nevada, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Law Street also examined each state’s most dangerous cities. There’s some good news for the Tampa Bay area, which doesn’t even have a single listing in the Top 10 most dangerous cities in the state. The first entry comes in at 14 with the dubious honors going to St. Petersburg. Sarasota ranks 23rd, while Tampa comes in at 37. Tampa is actually topped by Bradenton at 30 and Clearwater at 32. Largo is also on the list at 44 and Plant City at 54 and Temple Terrace at 56.

Homestead is listed at No. 1 in the state for violent crimes.

Check out the full report here.