Morgan Quitno releases an annual
report of the safest and most dangerous cities/metropolitan areas in the
country. With the 2004 rankings recently released, we'll take a look at
any possible political trend among the cities. Note: Some areas are
considered inclusive of two states. If one is a blue state, and the
other read, each counts as "1/2" in calculations.
Safest/Most
Dangerous Metro Areas
Safest 25
Most Dangerous 25
Appleton, WI
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn,
MI
Fond du Lac,
WI
Memphis,
TN-MS-AR
Bismarck, ND
Sumter,
SC
State
College, PA
Fairbanks,
AK
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
New
Orleans, LA
Bangor, ME
Miami-Date
County, FL
Harrisonburg,
VA
Myrtle
Beach, SC
Binghamton,
NY
Las-Vegas-Paradise,
NV
Wasau, WI
Victoria,
TX
La Cross,
WI-MN
Florence,
SC
Columbus, IN
Stockton,
CA
Edison, NJ
Shreveport-Bossier
City, LA
Sheboygan, WI
Pine
Bluff, AR
Nassau-Suffolk, NY
Lafayette,
LA
Glens Falls,
NY
Jackson,
MS
Rockingham
County, NH
Saginaw,
MI
Portland, ME
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale,
AZ
Fargo, ND-MN
Tucson,
AZ
Provo-Orem,
UT
Los
Angeles County, CA
Grand Forks, ND-MN
Baltimore-Towson,
MD
Williamsport,
PA
Albuquerque,
NM
Poughkeepsie,
NY
Vineland,
NJ
Cambridge-Newton, MA
Montgomery,
AL
Lewiston, ID-WA
Little
Rock, AR
Bloomington,
IN
Charleston-North
Charleston, SC
--Of the safest 25 metropolitan areas, 62% are in blue states, while 38%
are in red states.
--Of the 25 most dangerous cities, 76% are in red states, while 24% are
in blue states.
This trend is also observable when looking at the comprehensive rankings
of all cities/metropolitan areas surveyed. Why might this be the case? I
do not believe that the fact that a city is in a conservative or liberal
state directly affects crime, but rather than something inherent within
those areas is the reasoning behind it, as statistically, it is all but
impossible that this correlation is a result of random chance. The
specific reason, however, is a topic which clearly could be debated.
Could it be related to gun ownership? Poverty? Another issue? Most
likely, it is a combination of these and other issues, but a specific
theory would be interesting to see.
For the original report on which this data is based, please visit
www.morganquitno.com.
Please send any question, comments,
or hate mail to me
here.
