When you think of crime, most people will automatically think big cities like Chicago and New York. With that being said, you may be surprised to learn that the most burglarized cities in the country have populations under 15,000.

Safe.Wise.com recently did a study that showed that smaller towns seem to have a bigger issue with burglaries. According to the study, 19% of America's most-burglarized cities had populations over 15,000 people, and another 19% have populations less than 1,000 people.

Topping the chart nationwide is the little town of Vernon, California. With a population of just 112 residents, the tiny California town reported 133 burglaries in 2019 among its 112 residents. Let us do the math for you...that breaks down to 118.8 burglaries per 100 people. The study showed that 36 of the cities, roughly 75%, had fewer than two burglaries per 100 people.

So what Michigan city made the not so special list? It was none other than Muskegon Heights on the west side of the state. With a population of 10,717, the city saw 113 burglaries in 2019. That's a 1.05 rate.

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There was a bit of science behind compiling the list. SafeWise analyzed the most-recent FBI data on burglaries and population. Analysts then calculated the number of burglaries per 100 residents for each city that qualified (cities below 100 in population and cities that did not report to the FBI were not included).

The top five most-burglarized cities nationwide according to the study are:

  1. Vernon, Calif. (Pop. 112)
  2. Sauget, Ill. (Pop. 164)
  3. Maggie Valley, N.C. (Pop. 1,230)
  4. Berry Hill, Tenn. (Pop. 515)
  5. Quincy, Fla. (Pop. 7,143)

If you're wondering where burglars are laying low and  are less busy, New England is the place to be.  Even the most-burglarized cities in New England states report fewer than one burglary per 100 residents.

You can check out the full list of the most-burglarized city in each state here. 


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