Missouri City Has More Crimes Per Square Mile than Anyplace Else

The crime rates for this city in Missouri are staggering. Imagine a place that's relatively small yet has a higher violent crime rate than even New York City. It's sadly true and just so you know, it's not St. Louis or Kansas City.

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I was so surprised by the crime numbers I found during my research that I went to multiple different sources to verify it's accurate and true. When you think of cities with serious crime issues in Missouri, you likely think of metro areas like St. Louis and Kansas City. Think again. I'm not referencing either of those places.

What city in Missouri has the most crime per square mile than almost any other place in America?

Answer? Springfield, Missouri and there isn't even a close second.

My first source for this Missouri crime data is Population U. Here's what they shared:

Lee's Summit, Independence, Columbia, Springfield, St. Louis and Kansas City are the populous cities in Missouri with over 100 thousand people, out of these Springfield is the most violent crimes in 2021 with 36.13 incidents per 1000 residents, Kansas City with 28.59, St. Louis with 22.60 and Columbia with 20.42.

In New York City, you have a 1 in 192 chance of being a victim of violent crime. In Springfield, it's 1 in 64. Astonishing.

Here's another Springfield statistic to drop your jaw. Neighborhood Scout says that there are more crimes per square mile in Springfield than almost any other American city.

The national average for crimes per square mile is just above 26. For Springfield, Missouri, it's 165.

My family used to vacation in southwestern Missouri almost every summer. Admittedly we didn't spend as much time in Springfield as Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks area. But, my perception of that part of Missouri has always been a friendly and safe place. It appears that my perception is sadly completely wrong.