Summary
In 2024, rural states in the southern and western United States had some of the highest violent crime and homicide rates based on FBI data. Violence in small communities contributed to these high rates, contrasting with the focus on crime in big cities. President Trump has considered deploying the National Guard to address crime but primarily in urban areas.
Key Facts
- FBI data shows high violent crime rates in rural southern and western states in 2024.
- States like Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina had rates above the national average.
- Alaska had the highest violent crime rate, with 1,194.3 incidents per 100,000 people, more than three times the national average.
- New Mexico followed with a rate of 757.7 per 100,000 people.
- Despite the focus on larger cities, rural towns like Fairbanks, Ala. and McKeesport, Pa. have exceptionally high crime rates.
- President Trump has sent the National Guard to places like Washington, D.C., and threatened to send them to other Democratic-led cities.
- Washington, D.C., has a homicide rate of 25.9 per 100,000 residents but is not a state.
- Jackson, Miss., had the country's highest homicide rate at nearly 78 per 100,000 residents.
