Thursday, April 24, 2014

Cities Where Americans Don’t Feel Safe - 24/7 Wall St. com

Cities Where Americans Don’t Feel Safe



By Alexander E.M. Hess, Thomas C. Frohlich and Vince Calio April 18, 2014 3:33 am EDT

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/04/18/cities-where-americans-dont-feel-safe/2/
10. Fresno, Calif.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 57.2%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 14.1% (11th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 539.8 per 100,000 residents (58th highest)
> Poverty rate: 28.4% (5th highest)
> Population: 951,648 (74th highest)
Fresno had among the highest property crime rates in the nation in 2012, with 4,424 crimes per 100,000 residents. That year, there were nearly 730 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in the area, the most out of all but three other metro areas in the United States. Fresno continues to struggle with high unemployment. In December 2013, the area’s unemployment rate was 12.4%, among the highest in the nation. Like most of the cities where people do not feel safe, Fresno also had a high poverty rate of more than 28%, one of the highest rates in America. The residents’ impression of their city was also quite poor as less than 48% believed their city was getting better, well below the national rate of 59.7%.

9. Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio
> Pct. feel safe at night: 56.7%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 9.6% (86th lowest)
> Violent crime rate: N/A
> Poverty rate: 18.3% (111th highest)
> Population: 364,665 (166th highest)
Like several metro areas where people felt unsafe, educational attainment rates were relatively low. Less than one in five Huntington-area residents had attained at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2012, considerably lower than the nationwide rate of nearly 30%. In contrast to other metro areas where residents did not feel safe, a relatively low proportion of respondents, 9.6%, said they did not have enough money for shelter in the past 12 months. However, a typical household in the area made just $39,160 in 2012, among the lowest incomes. And while nearly 60% of Americans thought the city they lived in was getting better last year, just 40% of Huntington residents told Gallup their city was improving, among the worst such assessments.

8. Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 56.3%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 13.7% (18th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 1056.8 per 100,000 (the highest)
> Poverty rate: 19.9% (76th highest)
> Population: 1,341,690 (59th highest)
Memphis had the nation’s highest violent crime rate in 2012, with 1,057 such crimes per 100,000 residents. That year, the area had 155 murders, or 11.5 per 100,000 people — among the highest rates in the nation. Incidents of aggravated assault and robbery were similarly prevalent as well. Nearly 20% of area residents lived below the poverty line in 2012, compared to slightly less than 16% nationally. Memphis residents were among the most likely Americans to state they lacked money for adequate shelter, with 13.7% saying so in 2012 and 2013. Despite all of this, many residents had strong evaluations of their own lives, as only residents in three other metro areas nationwide gave higher evaluations of their prospects in the next five years.

7. Fayetteville, N.C.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 56.0%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 12.7% (29th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 501.0 per 100,000 people (71st highest)
> Poverty rate: 19.7% (86th highest)
> Population: 377,864 (162nd highest)
Fayetteville residents were among the most likely to be victims of property crime. There were 5,359 property crimes and 1,827 burglaries per 100,000 residents in 2012, both the third highest rates nationwide. Violent crime was also a problem in the area. There were more than 500 violent incidents per 100,000 area residents in 2012, well above the national rate of 386.9 per 100,000. There were also 7.9 murders per 100,000 people in the area, versus 4.7 murders per 100,000 nationwide. Like many of the cities where residents felt unsafe walking at night, Fayetteville had a poverty rate well above the national rate of 15.9%.

6. Mobile, Ala.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 54.5%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 13.8% (16th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 552.1 per 100,000 (46th highest)
> Poverty rate: 21.1% (54th highest)
> Population: 414,233 (151st highest)
Mobile’s high violent crime rate in 2012 may be why so many residents felt unsafe at night. That year there were more than 550 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, more than in the vast majority of areas. The metro had 11.1 murders and voluntary manslaughters per 100,000 residents, among the highest rates in the country. The area also had 4,298.8 property crimes per 100,000 people in 2012, also among the highest in the country. Like many areas where residents feel unsafe at night, many residents in the area were also struggling to make ends meet, as 9% of Mobile’s households earned less than $10,000, one of the highest percentages in the country. Nearly 14% of Mobile’s population did not have enough money for shelter in the past year, among the worst rates in the nation.
5. Modesto, Calif.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 54.2%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 14.2%% (10th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 549.4 per 100,000 (48th highest)
> Poverty rate: 20.3% (64th highest)
> Population: 523,330 (124th highest)
With relatively high crime rates, Modesto residents are not likely to feel completely at ease walking alone at night. Motor vehicle theft was particularly bad in the area, with more than 780 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2012, second worst nationwide. Like many metro areas where people feel unsafe, Modesto’s economy has been strained in recent years. The unemployment rate was an abysmal 12.3% at the end of last year, among the highest rates nationwide. More than one in five residents lived in poverty in 2012, also among the highest rates in the nation. More than 14% of respondents said they had enough money for shelter at all times in the past 12 months, among the worst rates in the country.

4. Columbus, Ga.-Ala.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 54.2%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 14.8% (7th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 437.4 per 100,000 (99th highest)
> Poverty rate: 18.7% (102nd highest)
> Population: 304,291 (182nd highest)
Like in many of the cities in which people do not feel safe, 14.8% of Columbus residents said that they did not have enough money for adequate shelter within the past year, among the 10 worst rates in the country. A high percentage of people in the area struggled economically. The area’s median household income was less than $43,000 in 2012, versus more than $51,000 nationwide. Additionally, the area had one of the nation’s highest portions of residents on food stamps, at 20.6% that year. The region also had 166.3 robberies per 100,000 people in 2012, among the highest rates in the nation, and 4,778.6 property crimes per 100,000 people, worse than all but just five other metro areas in the country.

3. Stockton, Calif.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 52.2%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 12.5% (tied for 34th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 889.3 per 100,000 (6th highest)
> Poverty rate: 18.4% (108th highest)
> Population: 702,670 (97th highest)
Stockton had 889 incidents of violent crime for every 100,000 residents in 2012, higher than all but a handful of metro areas nationwide. That year, there were 89 murders, or 12.7 per 100,000 residents, among the highest rates in the nation. Cases of aggravated assault and robbery were also extremely frequent. Violent crime was such a problem in Stockton that year that the city’s police declared a policy of immediately dispatching officers only in cases of violent crimes and crimes in progress. The city of Stockton, which is currently working on plans to exit from bankruptcy, has lost police officers in recent years due to a combination of layoffs and retirements. At the end of 2013, 12% of the area’s workforce was unemployed. While this was down from 16% two years before, it was still among the worst unemployment rates in the nation.

2. Yakima, Wash.
> Pct. feel safe at night: 51.3%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 12.5% (tied for 34th highest)
> Violent crime rate: 349.4 per 100,000 (172nd highest)
> Poverty rate: 23.1% (29th highest)
> Population: 249,564 (178th lowest)
While Yakima residents often felt unsafe walking home alone at night, the area’s violent crime rate was actually lower than the national rate. Property crime, however, remains a problem. Despite Yakima County’s Crimestoppers grassroots organization, which encourages citizens to report crimes, the area had 1,217.7 burglaries per 100,000 people in 2012, and 673.2 car thefts per 100,000 people, both among the highest rates in the country. Like most metro areas in which residents do not feel safe walking alone at night, Yakima is struggling economically. Nearly one-quarter of the area’s residents had to rely on food stamps for at least part of 2012, and 23.1% of residents lived in poverty in 2012 — both among the worst rates in the country.

1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
> Pct. feel safe at night: 48.5%
> Pct. without money for shelter: 24.5% (the highest)
> Violent crime rate: 319.2 per 100,000 (160th lowest)
> Poverty rate: 34.5% (2nd highest)
> Population: 809,759 (90th highest)
McAllen was the only metro area in which less than half of all respondents felt safe walking home alone at night. This was despite the fact that McAllen actually had a lower violent crime rate than the United States overall in 2012, at just 319 incidents per 100,000 residents, versus 387 crimes for 100,000 residents nationally. However, violence along the border with Mexico remains a concern for many McAllen residents. The State Department warns against traveling to the neighboring city of Reynosa, Mexico, due to high levels of drug-related violence. Additionally, nearly 25% of residents stated they did not have enough money for adequate shelter at some point in the previous year, by far the most of any metro area. A lack of adequate shelter may be tied to the relatively low economic prosperity in the region. In 2012, 34.5% of residents lived below the poverty line, and the median household income was just $33,761, both among the worst in the nation.

By Alexander E.M. Hess, Thomas C. Frohlich and Vince Calio
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