The following cities ranked among the top 10 most “unsafe” places in the U.S. during the holidays, according to new research from Vivint, a smart-home security company.
Researchers combined “property crime data, Google search trends and other security factors” to rank the 50 largest cities in the country in order by crime risk.
Those factors include data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), Google Trends searches related to holiday security, security features for Airbnb listings, registered Neighborhood Watch groups and National Insurance Crime Bureau statistics, according to Vivint.
Here are the top 10, with the highest “risk scores” representing the most risky places, according to Vivint:
1. St. Louis, Missouri
Risk score of 62.492.
2. Newark, Delaware
Risk score of 62.46
3. Salt Lake City
Risk score of 60.2
4. Denver, Colorado
Risk score of 62.46
5. Seattle, Washington
Risk score of 59.34
6. Burlington, Vermont
Risk score of 58.64
7. Rutland, Vermont
Risk score of 58.56
8. Atlanta
Risk score of 58.05
9. Minneapolis
Risk score of 57.20
10. Portland, Oregon
Risk score of 56.95
“Among the 182 U.S. cities we analyzed, St. Louis, MO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Denver, CO, topped the list of the riskiest cities for crime during the holiday season. Focusing on the specific risk factors contributing to these rankings shows that different cities present unique security challenges,” the Vivint report states.
The highest number of NIBRS reports per 100,000 people were recorded in St. Louis, Salt Lake City and Denver, according to the study. Internet data shows that Newark, Delaware, and Rutland, Vermont, had the most online searches related to holiday crime, Vivint found.
Among individual safety metrics, Tacoma, Washington, ranked No. 1 for most crimes reported during the holidays per 100,000 people; Newark, Delaware, ranked No. 1 for Google searches related to holiday security; and Rockville, Maryland, ranked No. 1 for having the largest percentage of Airbnb properties without security cameras.
Riverside, California, and St. Louis had the most vehicle thefts per 100,000 people based on available data. St. Louis recorded a 50% increase in vehicle thefts this year compared to 2022. Little Rock, Arkansas, and North Charleston, South Carolina, have the fewest neighborhood watch groups.
The 10 cities that ranked last for holiday crime risk include Shreveport, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Kansas City, Kansas; Oakland, California; North Las Vegas, Nevada; Santa Ana, California; Montgomery, Alabama; Glendale, Arizona; Henderson, Nevada; and Jacksonville, Florida.
A graphic showing lists of cities beneath two categories
The Vivint study noted that two in five U.S. homeowners have experienced property crime at least once during the last two holiday seasons, and nearly 50% of Americans who reported crimes during the last two holiday seasons disclosed losses or damages of more than $100.
Signs that a house may be unoccupied and therefore a target for theft include lights that are off, piling packages and an empty driveway, the report states.
