Baltimore no longer appears on the list of the most dangerous places in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report earlier this year.
Despite its usual ranking in the top 25, Baltimore was not included in the 2024–2025 “Most Dangerous Places in the U.S.” list this year.
The list is compiled based on a city’s murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people, as families often look to crime statistics when deciding where to live.
Memphis, Tennessee, St. Louis and Detroit top the list, with Pittsburgh being the only city in the Mid-Atlantic to make the list. No Maryland cities were included on the list this year.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott addressed Baltimore’s absence on the list in his State of the City address Monday.
“Baltimore, for the first time in a long time, is not on the list,” Scott says in his address. “But this is not a moment for celebration. This is progress, but we still have more work to do.”
Scott cited the city’s declining crime rates, noting that in the first few months of 2025, Baltimore has seen its fewest homicides in half a century.
“Baltimore has less violence today than we’ve had in 50 years,” Scott says.
Years ago, the mayor announced Baltimore’s first-ever Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, which went into effect in 2021 with the goal of reducing homicides in the city by 15% every year.
In the first year, the city did not meet its goal of a 15% reduction but made a significant improvement by 2024. Baltimore had 335 homicides in 2020 and 201 in 2024, marking a decrease of 40%.
Shootings also decreased 43% from 2020 to 2024. Robberies, carjacking and auto thefts in the city are also down by double-digit percentages, according to Scott’s address.
Scott resolves to continue this progress in the coming months, citing community resources such as Roca, a violence intervention and behavioral health program for at-risk youth, and Group Violence Reduction Strategy for the marked improvement.
“Ending violence in Baltimore is going to take all of us working together,” Scott says.
See the full U.S. News & World Report list of the most dangerous places in the U.S. in 2024–2025 here.
