Baltimore is no longer ranked one of the nation’s most crime-ridden cities after steep declines in killings and muggings in recent years, according to an annual report.
U.S. News & World Report did not include Baltimore in one of its “Most Dangerous Places in the U.S. in 2024-2025,” an annual list typically consisting of 25 cities on which Baltimore has been a recent fixture.
The ranking is based on FBI data for the city’s murder and property crime rate per 100,000 people.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during his State of the City address Monday that it’s the first time “in a long time” that Charm City has not been included on the notorious list.
“This is not a moment for celebration,” said Mr. Scott, a Democrat. “This is progress, but we still have more work to do.”
According to Baltimore police data, violent crime is down 20% so far this year while property crimes are down 19% in that same time frame.
Nearly every major crime has seen a pronounced year-over-year decline, with homicides down 26%, nonfatal shootings down 31%, rapes down 38%, robbery and carjackings down 24% and assaults down 14%.
The only crime that has ticked up are burglarie,s and police data shows even that has only risen 1% in the past year.
Baltimore has been trending in this direction since 2023, when the city recorded 262 homicides, and thereby ended an eight-year streak of 300 or more killings per year.
Last year, the city saw only 197 homicides.
Memphis was the nation’s most dangerous city, according to the report. Rounding out the top five was St. Louis; Detroit; Birmingham, Alabama; and Little Rock, Arkansas.
Some other notable cities included on the list are New Orleans (6th), Denver (10th), Minneapolis (11th), Portland, Oregon (15th), Philadelphia (17th), Houston (19th), San Francisco (20th) and Seattle (21st).
