Crime Velocity Index
Which Cities Are Getting Worse Fastest?
Crime isn't just about rates — it's about direction. A city with moderate crime getting worse fast is more concerning than a high-crime city that's improving.
Key Insights
- →0 cities are rapidly worsening while 2 are rapidly improving.
- →The worst velocity score is 36.3 (Teterboro, New Jersey).
- →8014 cities (100%) are stable.
- →Analysis covers 8,019 cities with 3+ years of crime data.
Crime Direction: Best & Worst
🔴 Top 25 Fastest-Worsening
🟢 Top 25 Fastest-Improving
Search All Cities
| City | State | Score | Violent Trend | Property Trend | Category | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teterboro | New Jersey | +36.3 | +919.84 | +50209.86 | Worsening | 3 |
| Industry | California | +23.8 | +2828.45 | +28517.11 | Worsening | 4 |
| Sand City | California | +12.6 | +242.68 | +17665.28 | Worsening | 4 |
| Oriskany Village | New York | +9.3 | 0 | +13370.76 | Stable | 4 |
| Colma | California | +8.3 | -21.84 | +11938.89 | Stable | 4 |
| Sauget | Illinois | +8.3 | +780.15 | +10355.04 | Stable | 3 |
| Black Hawk | Colorado | +8 | +1903.12 | +7725.7 | Stable | 5 |
| Sunset Valley | Texas | +7 | +74.83 | +9858.36 | Stable | 4 |
| Haworth | Oklahoma | +5.2 | +1232.4 | +4929.6 | Stable | 3 |
| McCook | Illinois | +3.9 | +230.27 | +5067.82 | Stable | 3 |
| Hodgkins | Illinois | +2.2 | +29.02 | +3151.41 | Stable | 4 |
| Hemingway | South Carolina | +2 | +417.05 | +2015.33 | Stable | 4 |
| Irwindale | California | +1.7 | +287.21 | +1822.94 | Stable | 4 |
| St. Albans | Vermont | +1.6 | +146.04 | +2057.26 | Stable | 5 |
| St. Ignatius | Montana | +1.6 | -187.36 | +2738.84 | Stable | 4 |
| Fairfax | Ohio | +1.5 | +5.25 | +2209.62 | Stable | 5 |
| Plain Dealing | Louisiana | +1.5 | +933.03 | +229.46 | Stable | 3 |
| Velda City | Missouri | +1.4 | +542.86 | +954.39 | Stable | 4 |
| Balcones Heights | Texas | +1.3 | +65.34 | +1710.92 | Stable | 5 |
| St. Croix Falls | Wisconsin | +1.3 | +69 | +1674 | Stable | 3 |
| Windcrest | Texas | +1.3 | +16.44 | +1790.57 | Stable | 5 |
| Berlin | Vermont | +1.2 | +0.89 | +1667.62 | Stable | 5 |
| Dewey Beach | Delaware | +1.2 | +667.45 | +385.8 | Stable | 5 |
| Herkimer Village | New York | +1.2 | +278.44 | +1157.23 | Stable | 4 |
| Maple Bluff | Wisconsin | +1.2 | +710.1 | +316.8 | Stable | 3 |
| McIntosh | Alabama | +1.2 | +642.88 | +429.58 | Stable | 4 |
| Oak Brook | Illinois | +1.2 | -27.73 | +1744.8 | Stable | 3 |
| Oglethorpe | Georgia | +1.2 | +533.25 | +660.85 | Stable | 3 |
| Beach Haven | New Jersey | +1.1 | +22.65 | +1499.88 | Stable | 3 |
| Atlantic City | New Jersey | +1 | +257.22 | +905.6 | Stable | 4 |
| Bethany Beach | Delaware | +1 | +135.85 | +1163.38 | Stable | 4 |
| Carbondale | Illinois | +1 | +244.99 | +931.58 | Stable | 4 |
| Danville | Illinois | +1 | -2.48 | +1396.14 | Stable | 4 |
| Evergreen Park | Illinois | +1 | -50.62 | +1538.79 | Stable | 4 |
| Matthews | Missouri | +1 | +148.29 | +1145.06 | Stable | 4 |
| Norton | Virginia | +1 | -1.52 | +1479.25 | Stable | 5 |
| Oakland | California | +1 | +321.71 | +799.95 | Stable | 4 |
| Palmhurst | Texas | +1 | -5.79 | +1392.84 | Stable | 5 |
| Southern View | Illinois | +1 | -37.33 | +1448.79 | Stable | 4 |
| Tellico Plains | Tennessee | +1 | +267.07 | +962.52 | Stable | 3 |
| West Mifflin | Pennsylvania | +1 | +168.9 | +1155.75 | Stable | 3 |
| Brundidge | Alabama | +0.9 | +302.55 | +672.1 | Stable | 3 |
| Commerce | California | +0.9 | +88.37 | +1092.77 | Stable | 4 |
| Excel | Alabama | +0.9 | +380.36 | +563.01 | Stable | 4 |
| Glendale | Colorado | +0.9 | +294.38 | +759.02 | Stable | 4 |
| Linden | Texas | +0.9 | +2.52 | +1296.28 | Stable | 4 |
| Peoria | Illinois | +0.9 | +85.44 | +1097.18 | Stable | 4 |
| Rosemont | Illinois | +0.9 | -146.99 | +1624.57 | Stable | 5 |
| Silverhill | Alabama | +0.9 | +129.25 | +1047.25 | Stable | 3 |
| Tallassee | Alabama | +0.9 | +184.6 | +858.9 | Stable | 3 |
| Dothan | Alabama | +0.8 | +230.96 | +670.6 | Stable | 4 |
| Olympia Fields | Illinois | +0.8 | -7.78 | +1195.24 | Stable | 4 |
| Pine Hill | Alabama | +0.8 | +61.29 | +1097.06 | Stable | 4 |
| Ruston | Washington | +0.8 | +336.47 | +412.91 | Stable | 5 |
| Rutherfordton | North Carolina | +0.8 | +65.02 | +971.29 | Stable | 4 |
| Shrewsbury | Missouri | +0.8 | -17.4 | +1216.25 | Stable | 5 |
| Takoma Park | Maryland | +0.8 | +52.17 | +1093.39 | Stable | 3 |
| Todd Mission | Texas | +0.8 | 0 | +1142.95 | Stable | 4 |
| Wagner | South Dakota | +0.8 | +101.77 | +909.18 | Stable | 4 |
| West Burlington | Iowa | +0.8 | -66.83 | +1320.22 | Stable | 5 |
| Arkoma | Oklahoma | +0.7 | +183.66 | +610.81 | Stable | 5 |
| Bennington | Oklahoma | +0.7 | +299.16 | +409.08 | Stable | 4 |
| Binger | Oklahoma | +0.7 | +115.1 | +732.61 | Stable | 5 |
| Brooklawn | New Jersey | +0.7 | -13.89 | +991.62 | Stable | 4 |
| Calvert | Texas | +0.7 | +153.28 | +750.21 | Stable | 4 |
| Chicago Heights | Illinois | +0.7 | +160.58 | +732.16 | Stable | 4 |
| Emeryville | California | +0.7 | +120.89 | +725.85 | Stable | 4 |
| Isleton | California | +0.7 | +35.24 | +916.4 | Stable | 4 |
| Jefferson | Texas | +0.7 | -28.15 | +1030.45 | Stable | 3 |
| Kingstree | South Carolina | +0.7 | +124.74 | +720 | Stable | 5 |
| Kotzebue | Alaska | +0.7 | +284.7 | +370.5 | Stable | 4 |
| Lake Worth | Texas | +0.7 | +30.31 | +936.24 | Stable | 5 |
| Mayodan | North Carolina | +0.7 | -22.55 | +1063.14 | Stable | 5 |
| Mendon | Michigan | +0.7 | +45.85 | +919.26 | Stable | 5 |
| North Riverside | Illinois | +0.7 | -161.49 | +1397.92 | Stable | 3 |
| Ragland | Alabama | +0.7 | +293 | +470.4 | Stable | 3 |
| Roman Forest | Texas | +0.7 | +90.36 | +798.6 | Stable | 5 |
| Springfield | Illinois | +0.7 | -13.49 | +1074.67 | Stable | 5 |
| Alexander City | Alabama | +0.6 | +220.2 | +454.19 | Stable | 4 |
| Brookside | Alabama | +0.6 | +131.23 | +615.8 | Stable | 4 |
| Chesnee | South Carolina | +0.6 | +6.11 | +841.55 | Stable | 4 |
| Christopher | Illinois | +0.6 | +5.01 | +803.58 | Stable | 3 |
| Clayton | New Mexico | +0.6 | +182.05 | +493.1 | Stable | 3 |
| Colorado City | Arizona | +0.6 | +108.83 | +609.58 | Stable | 3 |
| Deadwood | South Dakota | +0.6 | +182.7 | +527.6 | Stable | 5 |
| Depew | Oklahoma | +0.6 | +224.11 | +462.12 | Stable | 5 |
| Edgewater | Colorado | +0.6 | -11.46 | +844.13 | Stable | 5 |
| Edison | Georgia | +0.6 | +8.4 | +865.55 | Stable | 3 |
| Edmundson | Missouri | +0.6 | -146.46 | +1200.58 | Stable | 5 |
| Eldorado | Illinois | +0.6 | +184.8 | +561 | Stable | 3 |
| Franklinton | North Carolina | +0.6 | +84.73 | +686.23 | Stable | 4 |
| Gouverneur Village | New York | +0.6 | -22.82 | +858.69 | Stable | 4 |
| Gurley | Alabama | +0.6 | +406.5 | +67.4 | Stable | 3 |
| Hartselle | Alabama | +0.6 | +16.4 | +827.7 | Stable | 3 |
| Hazel Crest | Illinois | +0.6 | +47.35 | +696.93 | Stable | 4 |
| Lawnside | New Jersey | +0.6 | +23 | +837.59 | Stable | 4 |
| Litchfield | Illinois | +0.6 | +18.72 | +831.97 | Stable | 4 |
| Lone Tree | Colorado | +0.6 | -2.71 | +832.39 | Stable | 5 |
| Marion | Louisiana | +0.6 | +250.85 | +350.2 | Stable | 3 |
| Oak Park | Illinois | +0.6 | -14.26 | +921.07 | Stable | 4 |
Showing first 100 results. Refine your search to see more.
Methodology
The Crime Velocity Index uses linear regression on each city's violent and property crime rates over all available years (2020-2024). The slope measures the annual rate of change.
Violent crime trends are weighted 2x relative to property crime in the composite score. Scores are normalized to a -100 to +100 scale where negative = improving, positive = worsening.
Cities require a minimum of 3 years of data. More years = more reliable scores. Data from FBI Crime Data Explorer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Crime Velocity Index?
The Crime Velocity Index measures the direction and speed of crime changes in a city using linear regression on multi-year crime rate data. A positive score means crime is worsening; negative means improving.
How is the velocity score calculated?
We compute the linear regression slope of violent and property crime rates over all available years (minimum 3). Violent crime is weighted 2x. Scores are normalized to -100 to +100.
Why might a city with low crime still have a bad velocity score?
Velocity measures direction, not level. A safe city could be worsening fast while a dangerous city improves. Both matter for understanding trends.
How many years of data are needed?
A minimum of 3 years of data is required for a meaningful trend. Cities with more years produce more reliable scores.
Related Analysis
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City Crime Trajectories
Long-term crime direction for every city — improving, worsening, or stable.