After Missing the List Last Year, Baltimore Named America’s Fourth ‘Most Dangerous’ City

Ranked in fourth place, the city trails only Memphis, Tennessee, Oakland, California; and St. Louis, Missouri — all cities that have historically been high among the top 25.
U.S. News said the rankings are “determined by FBI crime reports” on murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people.
The outlet’s public relations team did not immediately respond to The Baltimore Sun’s request for the specific data reports that determine ranking, as the FBI’s most recent nationwide data on violent and property crimes is from 2023.

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore has re-appeared on U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-’26 ranking of the “most dangerous places” in America after a brief reprieve from the list last year.

Ranked in fourth place, the city trails only Memphis, Tennessee, Oakland, California; and St. Louis, Missouri — all cities that have historically been high among the top 25.

U.S. News said the rankings are “determined by FBI crime reports” on murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people. The outlet’s public relations team did not immediately respond to The Baltimore Sun’s request for the specific data reports that determine ranking, as the FBI’s most recent nationwide data on violent and property crimes is from 2023.

During his 2025 State of the City address, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott spoke about the city’s absence from last year’s U.S. News’ list of most dangerous places. At the time, Scott said, “This is not a moment for celebration” because the city still has more work to do.

Asked if anything had changed that would impact Baltimore’s ranking on the list, the mayor’s office referenced his work to reduce violent crime.

“Through July 21st homicides in Baltimore are down another 25% from last year and are at its lowest number of homicides through that date on record. Our focus is to continue to work with everyone involved in our Comprehensive Violence Reduction Plan to continue that historic progress and nothing will change that focus,” a Scott spokesman said in an emailed statement to The Sun.

The city saw a 22.7% reduction in homicides and 19.6% reduction in non-fatal shootings through the first half of 2025 compared to 2024. Property crime also dropped 11% through July 12 compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis published by The Sun Monday.

Despite the decrease in crime overall, a June 3 presentation by the Baltimore Police Department showed that juvenile offenders were making up a greater percentage of those arrested for crimes such as robbery and handgun-related offenses. Lisa Reynolds, chief of BPD’s Youth and Community Partnerships Division, testified that the department has identified about 50 “repeat” juvenile offenders who are committing increasingly serious crimes.

A spokesman for Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates declined to comment on the U.S. News ranking. A spokesman for Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen did not respond to a request for comment.