If you’ve ever watched Morgantown’s News 12 at six or Parkersburg’s crimestoppers at ten, then you know what many West Virginians already know: the Mountain State has some pretty dangerous places.
Do we think it’s because expensive tolls are breakin’ people? Jobs are scarce? Low wages? Yes, all three and then some. So, it would be in your best interest to take a look below at RoadSnacks’ list of the most dangerous places in West Virginia for 2020 before you make any life changing decisions.
How do we know? We consulted the numbers. In total, we analyzed 31 cities. We looked at the FBI’s latest crime report for violent crime and property crime statistics for every place with over 2,000 residents. We discovered that West Virginia has some pretty interesting statistics when it comes to violent and property crime compared to the national average. West Virginia is winning the arson game, but losing in murder and aggravated assault. And, shockingly, the city with the most assaults and murders in the state has less than 30,000 residents.
Now, it’s not all bad in West Virginia. The state’s good angel is definitely looking out for the state’s safest cities. The ying to that yang, however, is that West Virginia has its fair share of dangerous cities too; and folks, they’re pretty dangerous. And if you guessed that most of West Virginia’s problems are centered around the state’s largest cities, you guessed right. Cities like Huntington are losing their war on crime.
Want to know the rest of the most dangerous cities in West Virginia that could use a hug? Keep reading.
Here are the 10 most dangerous cities in West Virginia for 2020:
- Beckley (Photos)
- Charleston (Photos)
- Dunbar
- South Charleston (Photos)
- Moorefield (Photos)
- Nitro (Photos)
- Martinsburg (Photos)
- Vienna (Photos)
- Bluefield (Photos)
- Wheeling (Photos)
It’s not lost on us that many of West Virginia’s cheapest places are also the state’s most dangerous–this is usually how it works. And this is definitely what is happening in West Virginia’s number one most dangerous city: rent is cheap, jobs are scarce, and crime is high.
So, where is the most dangerous place in West Virginia for 2020? That would be, Beckley.
If you want to know where the rest of the most dangerous places in West Virginia are located, take a look at the list below; and if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, head to the bottom.
Learn more about the safest places in West Virginia.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.
For more West Virginia reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In West Virginia
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In West Virginia
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In West Virginia
The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In West Virginia For 2020
Coming in as the 1st most dangerous city in West Virginia is Beckley.
While violent crime has been steadily dropping in recent years, with a 10% total drop in violent crime from 2017-2018, property crime went up by nearly the same rate during this interval.
That left residents of Beckley a 1 in 1219.4 chance of being the victim of a property crime in 2018, and a 1 in 110 chance of being the victim of violence.
Charleston is also the home to quite a bit of crime.
Despite the fact that violent crime and property crime dropped between 2017-2018, Charleston’s crime statistics are still pretty terrible.
In 2018, residents still faced a 1 in 143 chance of being the victim of violence, and a 1 in 2,853 chance of being the victim of a property crime for every year they spent in Charleston city limits.
There are positives and negatives about the city. It can be beautiful in the good places, and it is exceptional in uniqueness and even the dining options.
The city is home to the cultural shenanigans of the state.
/10
Population: 7,262
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 7)
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 605 (6th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 4,117 (5th most dangerous)
More on Dunbar: Data
Dunbar is the least populated city on this list, as well as the least violent.
Residents of Dunbar faced a 1 in 24.3 chance of being the victim of a property crime in 2018.
Dunbar has been improving a lot lately too, with reductions in both violent and property crime between 2017-2018.
Coming in 4th place for most dangerous places in West Virginia is a city that neighbors the state’s capital, Charleston.
Here residents face a 1 in 262 chance of being the victim of a violent crime, and a 1 in 21.4 shot for property crime.
Property crime has been pretty consistent lately, while violent crime is on an upward trend, meaning it may overtake some of the other cities in a few years if the situation continues.
Moorefield’s motto might tout that the city is “a great place to live,” but its status as the 5th most dangerous city in West Virginia might stain that saying a bit.
Moorefield residents have a 1 in 35.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime every year.
Violent crime has also gone up nearly 30% between 2017-2018, with a higher than 1 in 120 chance of being the victim of violence.
Nitro takes 6th because of its 9th place finish for violence.
Located in central West Virginia, 30 miles north of Charleston, Nitro experienced rise in violent crime between 2017-2018.
This left residents with a 1 in 260 chance of being the victim of violence and a 1 in 25.1 chance of being the victim of theft or arson in 2018.
The largest city in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, and home of the first US post office, Martinsburg, places 7th for the most dangerous place in the state.
As far as violent crime goes, the chance of falling victim to property crime is a 1 in 32.3 chance.
As one of the only cities on this list with a growing population, Martinsburg has seen moderate decreases in its crime over the past few years as well.
You are wrong about Martinsburg having a terrible commute. The MARC Train connects it with DC, the AMTRAK connects it with DC and Chicago, and it is on the junction of two great highways, RT 45 and RT 81.
As far as crime – there are save neighborhoods and not so safe neighborhoods, like any city. Just like DC. My wife and I lived in Martinsburg for 7 years and never had any problems.
Vienna has been on the rankings the past couple of years and now finds itself as the 8th most dangerous city in West Virginia. Vienna’s ranking for violent crime and property were 16th and 7th, respectively. Overall, like every other city in our top 10, it scored an F when it comes to crime.
Located on the southern edge of West Virginia, Bluefield has been nicknamed “Nature’s Air Conditioned City.”
While that sounds nice, the 6th place ranking in violent crime sounds much more sinister.
The 1 in 187 chance of being the victim of a violent crime may be one reason why the population of Bluefield has been halved since the 50’s.
Wheeling residents faced a 1 in 117 chance of being the victim of violence in 2018 and a 1 in 83.7 chance of being the victim of a property crime — both statistics that have barely changed in recent years.
It’s the 3rd most violent city.
Wheeling is a relatively safe, small town located in a tri-state area of the Ohio Valley within 60 minutes of Pittsburgh, PA with the nearest international airport.
The waterfront of downtown can also be lively in the summer with various music events. The Center Market area is a cute, trendy spot with a local brewery, a wine bar, a hair salon, a coffee shop, a creperie and some antiques shops. Don’t miss Ogelbay Park, a wonderful resort with upscale dining, golf, tennis, and more and the Festival of Lights at Christmas.
How Is Your Town In ?
How we determined the most dangerous cities in West Virginia for 2020?
Every year the FBI release two crime datasets, a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in the country, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.
For our analysis, we focused on the JUST released 2017 data, specifically the 2017 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2019.
So what criteria did we use? Have a look:
- Violent Crimes Per Capita
- Property Crimes Per Capita
In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered cities over 2,000 in population. That left us with 31 cities in West Virginia.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 31 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.
Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.
Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in West Virginia — Beckley.
Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in West Virginia.
Locking It All Up In West Virginia
The latest FBI crime data shows that Beckley ranks as the most dangerous city in West Virginia for 2020.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Beckley and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.
If you’re curious enough, here are the safest cities in West Virginia:
- Charles Town (Pop. 6,060)
- Weirton (Pop. 18,542)
- Wellsburg (Pop. 2,560)
For more West Virginia reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In West Virginia
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In West Virginia
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In West Virginia
- 10 Safest Places In West Virginia
- 10 Worst Places To Live In West Virginia
Where Are The Most Dangerous Cities In West Virginia?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beckley | 16,234 |
| 2 | Charleston | 47,470 |
| 3 | Dunbar | 7,262 |
| 4 | South Charleston | 12,357 |
| 5 | Moorefield | 2,417 |
| 6 | Nitro | 6,509 |
| 7 | Martinsburg | 17,428 |
| 8 | Vienna | 10,306 |
| 9 | Bluefield | 9,789 |
| 10 | Wheeling | 26,855 |
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