The holiday season is a time filled with laughter and cheer – at least, that’s what we’d like it to be. Some cities in Texas are anything but joyful. Taken from the FBI’s recently updated database, here are 13 cities that will be receiving a lump of coal in their stocking this year for having the highest violent crime rates in the state.
- El Paso
Flickr/khowaga With so many barren, desolate areas of desert, it’s no wonder El Paso has violent crime. The rate is 347 crimes per every 100,000 inhabitants.
- College Station-Bryan
Flickr/kalooz College towns are often notorious for petty crimes, but this came as a surprise to me. College Station has a rate of 371 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
- Longview
Flickr/James Stutzman Who would’ve guessed a little town in East Texas harbors so much rage? Longview has 414 violent crimes per every 100,000 residents.
- Laredo
Flickr/phil_websurfer This one isn’t too much of a shocker - towns near the border generally have a lot of drug activity which can be violent. Laredo has 431 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
- San Antonio-New Braunfels
Flickr/cleopold73 Despite being a rather large city, San Antonio is fairly low on the list. It has 460 violent crimes per every 100,000 inhabitants.
- Victoria
Flickr/wyatt523 Victoria certainly doesn’t strike me as a dangerous place, but it has a violent crime rate of 495 per every 100,000 residents.
- Corpus Christi
Flickr/qnr Beach towns are supposed to be laid back, right? Think again - Corpus has 524 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
- Amarillo
Flickr/pagedooley This panhandle city also has 524 violent crimes/100,000 inhabitants, making it even with Corpus Christi.
- Beaumont
Flickr/michael_reed The city of the largest oil gusher ever also has the highest murder rate in all of Texas and ranks 5th for violent crime in general with 536 crimes/every 100,000 people. Maybe if Beaumont weren’t so boring people would be less inclined to commit crimes.
- Texarkana
Flickr/stevenm_61 This city barely within the confines of Texas has a violent crime rate of 559/every 100,000 people, most of which are aggravated assault.
- Houston
Flickr/Katie Haughland Surprisingly, the biggest city on the list isn’t the most dangerous. Houston has 560 violent crimes/every 100,000 residents.
- Lubbock
Flickr/joshewwahh Ironically, Lubbock has also been voted the most boring city in Texas. I suppose boredom can inspire crime - because this city sure has a lot of it, with a violent crime rate of 658/every 100,000 people. That’s nearly 100 more than Houston!
- Odessa
Flickr/lindsayloveshermac Don’t let the small town feel of Odessa fool you - it’s been ranked the most dangerous city in Texas by the FBI countless times with a violent crime rate of 806 per every 100,000 inhabitants. This is a town I’m definitely not hurrying to visit.
Do you call one of these cities home? Or have you visited any of them? If not, are you scared to now? Let me know in the comments below.
Flickr/khowaga
With so many barren, desolate areas of desert, it’s no wonder El Paso has violent crime. The rate is 347 crimes per every 100,000 inhabitants.
Flickr/kalooz
College towns are often notorious for petty crimes, but this came as a surprise to me. College Station has a rate of 371 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
Flickr/James Stutzman
Who would’ve guessed a little town in East Texas harbors so much rage? Longview has 414 violent crimes per every 100,000 residents.
Flickr/phil_websurfer
This one isn’t too much of a shocker - towns near the border generally have a lot of drug activity which can be violent. Laredo has 431 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
Flickr/cleopold73
Despite being a rather large city, San Antonio is fairly low on the list. It has 460 violent crimes per every 100,000 inhabitants.
Flickr/wyatt523
Victoria certainly doesn’t strike me as a dangerous place, but it has a violent crime rate of 495 per every 100,000 residents.
Flickr/qnr
Beach towns are supposed to be laid back, right? Think again - Corpus has 524 violent crimes per every 100,000 people.
Flickr/pagedooley
This panhandle city also has 524 violent crimes/100,000 inhabitants, making it even with Corpus Christi.
Flickr/michael_reed
The city of the largest oil gusher ever also has the highest murder rate in all of Texas and ranks 5th for violent crime in general with 536 crimes/every 100,000 people. Maybe if Beaumont weren’t so boring people would be less inclined to commit crimes.
Flickr/stevenm_61
This city barely within the confines of Texas has a violent crime rate of 559/every 100,000 people, most of which are aggravated assault.
Flickr/Katie Haughland
Surprisingly, the biggest city on the list isn’t the most dangerous. Houston has 560 violent crimes/every 100,000 residents.
Flickr/joshewwahh
Ironically, Lubbock has also been voted the most boring city in Texas. I suppose boredom can inspire crime - because this city sure has a lot of it, with a violent crime rate of 658/every 100,000 people. That’s nearly 100 more than Houston!
Flickr/lindsayloveshermac
Don’t let the small town feel of Odessa fool you - it’s been ranked the most dangerous city in Texas by the FBI countless times with a violent crime rate of 806 per every 100,000 inhabitants. This is a town I’m definitely not hurrying to visit.
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