24/7 Wall St. decided to figure out which states are the ones most likely to find people getting their shit pushed back and the winner is *drumroll* Tennessee. The Volunteer state was tops in the country for violent crimes and saw 388 murders, a number that was up for the second straight year.
Nationally, crime rose 1%, even though the trend for the past 20 years has seen statistics on the decline after peaking in the late 1980s. The study also showed that low income and low education are oftentimes linked to higher crime rates, which isn’t a shocker, but the “why” has never been properly determined. Of the 10 states with the highest rates of violent crime, eight have lower rates of adults with bachelor’s degrees, and most of them had median income levels below the national figure in 2012.
I will admit that a lot of Tennesseans do seem pretty dumb but we’re a peaceful place. The study tries to lay blame on metropolitan areas – specifically Memphis and Nashville – but, as a resident, I disagree. Well, on second thought, I don’t really disagree because Memphis is known for robberies and gun violence, however, Nashville’s very tame.
According to the study, the list below shows the top 10 most dangerous states in America. How Illinois missed making the list is beyond me because Chicago should’ve pushed the whole state somewhere into the top of the heap.
1. Tennessee
– Violent crimes per 100,000: 643.6
– Poverty rate: 17.9%
– Pct. of population with bachelor’s degree or higher: 24.3%
– Property crimes per 100,000: 3,371.4 (10th highest)Tennessee has the dubious distinction of having the worst violent crime rate in the country. The state was among the top 10 in the country for murders and robberies and was first for aggravated assaults, with an estimated 479.6 for every 100,000 residents. Tennessee’s 41,550 violent crimes in 2012 were up 6.8% from 2011 but down 10% from 2007, when there were 46,380 violent crimes. There were 388 murders in the state in 2012, up for a second straight year. To be fair, Tennessee’s violent streak is concentrated in some of the major metropolitan areas. Memphis’s violent crime rate was the nation’s fifth worst, while Nashville’s was the 18th worst. Like many states with high violent crime, poverty in Tennessee is acute, and high school and college graduation rates are lower than most of the country.
2. Nevada
3. Alaska
4. New Mexico
5. South Carolina
6. Delaware
7. Louisiana
8. Florida
9. Maryland
10. Oklahoma
Cred: USA Today
Photo: Getty