Missouri Plunges to Bottom of Rankings for Public Safety & Crime

I want to start by saying that I'd like to add my own non-scientific addendum to this new ranking that shows Missouri has taken a deep dive to almost the bottom of states when it comes to public safety and crime.

The source of this new data is a very reputable one. It's US News and World Report who have a details ranking of all the states in America and how they rank for public safety and crime. Spoiler Alert - you'll need to scroll almost all the way down to the bottom to find Missouri. 

Last time I checked, there were 50 states in America. That means that Missouri's overall ranking for public safety at #43 is very disappointing. If you narrow it down to just crime in the state, it's even worse. Missouri comes in at #45 for that.

According to the methodology shared by US News and World Report, it was simple measurements property and violent crime measurements that resulted in Missouri being told to sit in the no-no chair apparently.

Now for my polite non-scientific rebuttal. I don't question the journalists at US News and World Report being accurate with Missouri being listed as one of the worst places for public safety, but I would argue that this is true mainly in the metro areas only and not the very rural small town that I live in. (Looking at you, St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield) For example, my wife and kids walked down to a local park for the solar eclipse this week and didn't even worry about locking our door on the way out. For most in Missouri, this is a typical experience.

Crime in the metro areas of Missouri gets the press and is responsible for us landing near the bottom on a lot of these "best of" or "worst of" lists. It's just not an accurate representation for what life overall in Missouri is like for most.

Believe it or not, we Missourians are not that scary most of the time.