In Alaska we face many dangers on a daily basis. Encountering grumpy wildlife at the wrong place and time, battling snow and ice encrusted roads, bundling up against below freezing temperatures, even avalanches are a daily threat when touring backcountry. But what may possibly be the scariest of it all is the fact that the Anchorage Metro area is ranked the most dangerous place to live in the west.
According to the FBI’s latest crime data from the year 2013, the Anchorage Metro area is the most violent and dangerous place to live in the west based on the crime to population ratio. If you’re from Alaska and thinking of moving to a different part of the state or if you’re considering moving to Alaska take into account the more dangerous places to live according to our following list.
- Anchorage
Paxson Woelber | Flickr The Anchorage Municipality is one of the most dangerous places to live in Alaska. The violent crime rate in 2013 was reported at 2,435 with a population of 299,455 in all of Anchorage.
- Wasilla
burny_the_clown | Flickr Wasilla is part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough which also includes Palmer and several other towns. In 2013 Wasilla had a population of 8,654 with 42 reports of violent crime, 627 reports of property crime, and 520 reports of theft and larceny.
- Kotzebue
J. Stephen Conn Kotzebue has a very high crime rate considering the small size of population. With roughly 3,375 people there were 85 violent crimes reported in the year of 2013. That alone is three times as many reported crimes than any other city in the state with similar population size.
- North Slope
ulalume | Flickr The North Slope Borough had 9,674 people living there in 2013, similar in size to Sitka and Ketchikan, but with a crime rate that’s double or nearly triple their amount. In 2013 there were 79 reports of violent crime, 9 reports of rape, and 121 reports of property crime. Seems like a pretty dangerous place to live!
- Fairbanks
Curtis Cronn | Flickr Fairbanks is nowhere near as dangerous as Anchorage, however it’s almost twice as dangerous as the state capitol, Juneau, which shares an almost identical population size. Fairbanks recorded a population of 32,505 in 2013 with 213 reports of violent crimes. That’s nearly double what was reported in Juneau for the very same year!
Though these cities may be more dangerous, they certainly aren’t boring.
Paxson Woelber | Flickr
The Anchorage Municipality is one of the most dangerous places to live in Alaska. The violent crime rate in 2013 was reported at 2,435 with a population of 299,455 in all of Anchorage.
burny_the_clown | Flickr
Wasilla is part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough which also includes Palmer and several other towns. In 2013 Wasilla had a population of 8,654 with 42 reports of violent crime, 627 reports of property crime, and 520 reports of theft and larceny.
J. Stephen Conn
Kotzebue has a very high crime rate considering the small size of population. With roughly 3,375 people there were 85 violent crimes reported in the year of 2013. That alone is three times as many reported crimes than any other city in the state with similar population size.
ulalume | Flickr
The North Slope Borough had 9,674 people living there in 2013, similar in size to Sitka and Ketchikan, but with a crime rate that’s double or nearly triple their amount. In 2013 there were 79 reports of violent crime, 9 reports of rape, and 121 reports of property crime. Seems like a pretty dangerous place to live!
Curtis Cronn | Flickr
Fairbanks is nowhere near as dangerous as Anchorage, however it’s almost twice as dangerous as the state capitol, Juneau, which shares an almost identical population size. Fairbanks recorded a population of 32,505 in 2013 with 213 reports of violent crimes. That’s nearly double what was reported in Juneau for the very same year!
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