Mississippi: The Best and Worst Cities for Crime

Corinth, the Crossroads of the South, leads the state in property crime.
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Derek Prall
July 24, 2024 Derek Prall Derek Prall , Home Security Expert | July 24, 2024
Statewide Crime Trends in Mississippi Property Crime in Mississippi Violent Crime in Mississippi

Although it was almost entirely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Pass Christian, Mississippi, has made a great recovery. It’s now a popular beach destination and has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the state. The town, known as “The Pass,” is located on Mississippi’s gulf shoreline, just east of the Louisiana state line. Long Beach, which has the third-lowest violent crime rate, is located farther east along the coastline.

Mississippi City Map

Dubbed the Crossroads of the South during the Civil War, Corinth and nearby Shiloh were the site of heavy fighting between the Union and Confederate armies as they battled for control of the towns’ crucial railroad junctions. Corinth, now home to about 14,000 residents, holds a distinctly dubious distinction: The city has the highest property crime rate of any city in Mississippi. Its combined rate of larceny-theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft is about three times higher than the state’s overall rate.

Property Crime in Mississippi

When determining property crime rates in Mississippi, we looked at larceny-theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft incidents.

  • The property crime rate per 100,000 people is 1,747, which is about 11 percent lower than the overall U.S. rate of 1,954 per 100,000. The state ranks 26th among all states for property crime.
  • Larceny is the most common property crime in Mississippi, as it is everywhere else in the country, with about 1,200 incidents per 100,000 people.

Mississippi Property Crime Rates

Violent Crime in Mississippi

Violent crimes, such as murder/non-negligent homicide, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery, are much less common than property crimes.

  • The overall violent crime rate in Mississippi is 245 per 100,000 people, which is about 36 percent lower than the overall U.S. rate of 381 per 100,000.
  • Mississippi ranks 39th in violent crime among all states and has the third-lowest violent crime rate in the South. It ranks far behind neighboring Arkansas and Louisiana, which are third and fourth, respectively.
  • Aggravated assault is the most common violent crime in Mississippi, with a rate of 178 per 100,000.

Mississippi Violent Crime Rates

Our data

Our data comes from comprehensive reporting compiled by the FBI and accessed via the Crime Data Explorer website. Property and violent crime state figures were drawn from Table 5 of the 2022 Crime in the U.S. Report. Metropolitan figures were found in Table 6, Crime in the U.S. by Metropolitan Statistical Area. City-level figures were drawn from Table 8, Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City. The population figures in that table are U.S. Census Bureau provisional estimates as of July 1, 2020.

Limitations: According to the FBI, the data in the publication tables may differ from those released on the Explorer Pages of the CDE. These variations are due to the difference in methodologies between the publication tables and data displayed on the CDE. Please note that crime statistics are not the sole measure of a city’s safety.

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