Minnesota is an ideal destination for those who love adventure and the outdoors.
As a whole, the state of Minnesota has consistently ranked in the top 5 for safest states in the country for several years. While the majority of Minnesotans feel safe, that’s not the case for residents in Minnesota’s most dangerous places.
If you’re a Minnesota resident, or you’re thinking about relocating to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” you may be wondering which areas are the most dangerous.
We’ve compiled a list of the 5 most dangerous cities in Minnesota:
Note: The cities below were selected due to having the highest rates of violent crimes and property crimes out of all cities in Minnesota with a population of 20,000 or more. To compile this list, we used various reports and studies, including data published by RoadSnacks, AreaVibes and LawnStarter.
Do you call one of these Minnesota cities home? Keep your home or business safe with a custom security system from Ackerman. Call us at 800.552.1111 or schedule an instant security quote online.
At the top of our list is Bemidji, a small city that lies on the southwest shore of Lake Bemidji in northern Minnesota. It’s known as the “first city on the Mississippi.”
Bemidji is rich with Native American history and is the central city for three Indian reservations. It’s also the home to many Native American services, including the Indian Health Service.
While the rest of the state enjoys an adequate police officer to resident ratio (e.g. 185 police officers per 100,000 residents), the residents of smaller cities like Bemidji don’t see that same type of police presence which could explain the high crime rates.
Here are some Bemidji crime stats at a glance:
*Note: For the sake of comparison, the crime rate is expressed as a number out of a hypothetical 100,000 people, even though the actual population size of the city may be less than 100,000.
Coming up behind Bemidji is Minneapolis, one of the biggest cities in Minnesota with a population size of over 430,000.
Of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis is definitely the more dangerous of the two. Minneapolis has the highest burglary rate statewide and has the 2nd highest murder rate in Minnesota, averaging one murder a week.
However, there are plenty of safe neighborhoods in Minneapolis, so if you do your research and/or install a home security system, you’ll have no reason to worry.
Let’s take a look at some of Minneapolis’ crime stats:
Next on our list is Waite Park, a small city located in Stearns County, approximately 70 miles northwest of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Waite Park is home to just over 7,700 residents. Waite Park was named after Henry Chester Waite of St. Cloud, a local landowner, attorney, statesman, and entrepreneur. It was also home to the Great Northern Railway shops in the 1800’s.
While Waite Park only holds the #3 position on this list, but it has the highest overall crime rate in Minnesota. Its crime rate is actually 300% higher than the national average.
Here are some Waite Park crime stats at a glance:
West St. Paul is located immediately south of Saint Paul, Minnesota and is only 5 square miles in total. And with nearly 20,000 residents jammed into such a small area, you can understand why the crime rate is higher than your average.
When it comes to criminal activity, West St. Paul has some of the highest property crime rates in the state. That said, violent crimes aren’t as widespread and appear to be on a downward trend.
Let’s take a look at some of West St. Paul’s crime stats:
Finally, we end our list of most dangerous cities with Virginia, known as the Queen City of the North.
Originally established as a logging community, Virginia later developed into an iron mining community, with mining camps built for entrepreneurs and financiers including Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, William J. Olcott and others.
Today, the city of Virginia is plagued by high crime rates, with the 4th highest burglary rate in the state of Minnesota.
Here are some of Virginia’s crime stats at a glance:
Investing in a home security system can provide an extra layer of protection against crime and give you peace of mind. For over 50 years, we’ve kept homeowners safe all over the U.S. with our customized home security systems. For more information about the types of security systems and services we offer, visit our home security page.
Call us at 800.552.1111 or schedule an instant security quote online.
