Check out 10 cities to avoid if you travel to America - Forbes

 Check out 10 cities to avoid if you travel to America - Forbes

American business magazine, Forbes, has listed the cities that visitors to the United States should avoid, citing the crime rate and other troubling statistics.

See the list:

    Detroit (the largest city in the mid-western state of Michigan), with a population of 713,239 comes top on the list.

Forbes states the city’s violent crime rate as 2,137 per 100,000 residents

According to the magazine, Detroit, known as the Motor City because of its vehicle manufacturing sector, tops the list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities for the fourth straight year.

This is due to what it describes as “a stubborn problem mostly with gang-related violence.”

Violent crimes common in Detroit, according to Forbes, are: murder, rape, robbery and assault. The crime rates fell by 10% in 2018, Forbes states, but are still running five times the national average.

    St. Louis ( a major independent city and inland port in the U.S. state of Missouri)
    Population: 320,454
    Violent crime rate: 1,857 per 100,000 residents

Lying directly in the path of major drug-trafficking routes, St. Louis has been plagued by murders and other violent crimes for years.

“The crime rate fell 4% last year — and it’s down 50% from the crack epidemic days of the early 1990s — but St. Louis still ranked fourth in the nation for murders,” the magazine states.

    Oakland (the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California)
    Population: 395,317
    Violent crime rate: 1,683 per 100,000 residents

Oakland’s high levels of poverty and proximity to drug corridors combine to generate lots of violence, Forbes warn. The city across the Bay from San Francisco ranks first nationwide in violent robberies.

    Memphis (a city located along the Mississippi River in southwestern Shelby County, Tennessee)
    Population: 652,725
    Violent crime rate: 1,583 per 100,000 residents

Memphis police have been said to have complained that they report more crimes than some other cities. “But Memphis also has a stubborn criminal culture: violent crimes dropped by only 68 last year, to 10,333,” says Forbes.

    Birmingham (a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama), has a population of 213,258, says Forbes.
    Violent crime rate: 1,483 per 100,000 residents

Quoting officials statistics, Forbes notes that “Birmingham’s persistently high crime rate can be attributed to the drug trade and its high poverty rate — 26% versus 17% for the state as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Department.”

It notes that the crime rate is currently down 40% from its highs in the mid-1990s.

    Atlanta ( the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia) has a population of 425,433.
    Violent crime rate: 1,433 per 100,000 residents

“Atlanta’s position as an ideal drug transit point helps keep it high on the list of the most dangerous cities. The violent crime rate rose 6% last year, driven mostly by robbery and assault,” reports Forbes.

    Baltimore (the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland), has a population of 626,848.
    Violent crime rate: 1,417 per 100,000 residents

Baltimore’s violent crime rate fell about 5% last year, but the Atlantic Coast city is still plagued with drugs and poverty and ranks in the top 15 U.S. cities for all violent crimes but forcible rape.

    Stockton (a city on the San Joaquin River, in California’s Central Valley), with a population of 295,136.
    Violent crime rate: 1,408

“It’s hard to control crime when your city is broke. Stockton filed for bankruptcy in June and has cut back dramatically on policing, exacerbating the city’s longstanding problems with violence,” it was reported.

    Cleveland (a major city in the state of Ohio), with population of 397,106.
    Violent crime rate: 1,363 per 100,000 residents

Cleveland’s economic decline, location on prime interstate drug routes and large population of poor residents keep it among the most violent cities.

“The violent crime rate barely budged last year, but murders fell 27%,” the report said.

    Buffalo (the second largest city in the U.S. state of New York)
    Population: 262,484
    Violent crime rate: 1,238 per 100,000 residents

Buffalo’s crime rate has fallen steadily since the 1990s, along with the rest of the country, but with 30% of its residents below the poverty level, police are having difficulty driving the rate lower.

“Intensified gang sweeps helped reduce Buffalo’s murder rate to its lowest level in a decade last year,” the report said.