Report: 20% of Most Dangerous Cities Are in Missouri

I am one of the biggest advocates, defenders and cheerleaders for the state of Missouri. I have battled the perception that the state is dangerous for what feels like forever, but even I can't argue against brand new data that shows my birth state is now home to no less than 20% of the 10 most dangerous cities in Missouri.

This isn't just from one source either. I heard that Love Exploring had just dropped their America's Most Dangerous Cities list and it agrees with data just shared by Money Geek. They are both in agreement about both St. Louis and Kansas City landing right in the middle of the 10 most dangerous cities in America. Kansas City is ranked as the 9th most dangerous city with St. Louis in the 3rd most dangerous spot.

How did they decide that St. Louis and Kansas City are now both among the top 10 most dangerous cities?

The methodology says it was created using the "most recent crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to estimate the cost of crime in 292 cities with populations greater than 100,000". The crime cost per capita is $7,081 for Kansas City and a staggering $9,752 for St. Louis. Worst of all, both Kansas City and St. Louis have violent crime rates above 1,400. The property crime rates are also problematic in both Missouri metros. The total crime cost for Kansas City is $3,610,488 with St. Louis unloading $2,731,708 to battle the villains.

The data originated from the FBI and "data provided by the FBI and the Census Bureau 1-year American Community Survey" according to the ranking.

I'll put my defender, advocate and cheerleader hat on one more time. Most of us that live in Missouri know that this new ranking isn't really about the St. Louis or Kansas City areas as much as it's an indictment (ideal word) of specific areas in both metros. Some of Missouri's best neighborhoods are in both cities, but the trouble spots are real trouble. The criminal elements in both are the real reason why Missouri ends up on lists like this and that's tragic.