It used to be where the only the only thing dangerous in Wisconsin was an angry Cheesehead after a Green Bay Packers loss; sadly, folks, that’s no longer the case.
That’s right, people. Wisconsin has bigger whitefish to fry: the state has some pretty dangerous cities, too. And if you want to know where those places are located, we suggest that you take a look below at RoadSnacks’ list of the most dangerous places in Wisconsin for 2020.
How’d we do it? We consulted the numbers. In total, we analyzed 141 cities. We looked at the FBI’s latest crime report for violent crime and property crime statistics for every place with over 5,000 residents. We discovered that Wisconsin’s overall violent and property crime numbers, while above the national average, the numbers in the state’s most dangerous places could be better. And if you guessed that most of Wisconsin’s crime is centered around the state’s bigger places, you guessed right. Cities like Milwaukee and Madison are being hit pretty hard; surprisingly, however, the most dangerous place in Wisconsin doesn’t even break 10,000 residents.
And while Wisconsin might not be one of the top ten most dangerous states in the country, the state’s most dangerous places do need some work. Maybe more police? Security cameras? Drug programs? We’re not entirely sure. One thing that we are sure about, however, is that you should take a look below at the list of Wisconsin’s most dangerous places before you make any life changing decisions.
People always ask why we produce lists of the most dangerous places in each state. Well, we do it to show the public how to navigate the places that most people don’t want to visit, but still want to know the gossip. And, unfortunately, there always has to be a number one.
So, what city is the number one most dangerous place to live in Wisconsin for 2020? Well according to the FBI data we crunched, Glendale is the most dangerous place to live in America’s Dairyland.
If you want to know where the rest of the most dangerous places in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin.
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 Wisconsin reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Wisconsin
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Wisconsin
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin
Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Wisconsin
The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Wisconsin For 2020
Glendale, a relatively small city outside of Milwaukee, took the 1st spot on our ranking of the most dangerous cities in Wisconsin.
While violent crime isn’t so much of an issue (it ranks 7th out of 141), property crime seems to be pretty prevalent as it ranks 1st overall in that category.
Glendale has a relatively high population density, which might contribute to the above average property crime rate.
Brown Deer earns a 2nd place ranking overall.
Between 2017-2018, violent crime and property crime increased, leaving Brown Deer residents with a 1 in 21.8 chance of being the victim of theft or arson in 2018.
Milwaukee ranks as the 3rd most dangerous city in Wisconsin. And while that’s probably not a major surprise to that many people (big cities are naturally more crime prone for a variety of reasons), it’s how the data plays out.
So that makes this just as good a time as any to say that even though Milwaukee ranks as having the highest violent crime rate in the state, it’s really not all that “dangerous”. You see, your chance of being a victim of a violent crime is only about 1 in 70 and those odds go down further the more common sense you use.
So while there might be some more violent parts of town, overall, the quality of life can be quite high in one of the most dangerous cities in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee has its ups and down, good spots and bad spots; however, overall, Milwaukee is a robust city with a lot to offer, and opportunities for quality experiences throughout.
Perhaps my favorite part is either the Lakefront area with the local Colectivo coffee shop or the historic Third Ward district.
Shawano is the smallest city to make this list, mostly due to the instances of violent crime increasing between 2017-2018, leaving residents a 1 in 262 chance of being the victim of violence in 2018.
Additionally, from 2017-2018 property crime increased, but that fact has a lot less to do with Shawano’s spot on this list than the city’s violent crime rate.
Ashland ranks as the 5th most dangerous city in Wisconsin. It ranks 9th for violent crime and 10th for property crime (both per capita).
Being a port city on Lake Superior, Ashland will get a fair amount of crime as a result of people passing through.
Overall, you had about a 1 in 27.3 chance of being the victim of crime in 2018.
I’ve lived in the greater Chequamegon Bay area for over 13 years. I lived in Ashland 5 of those years as a college student. Northland College is a really sweet little liberal arts school and I loved and value my experience there. My experience as a resident of Ashland is another story. In the 5 years I lived there, my home and vehicle were broken into on separate occasions, my car was egged in the dead of winter during extreme cold, making it impossible to get the egg off in a timely manner. I witnessed or was privy to numerous acts of bigotry and violence, including an attack on a friend on his way home late one night that left him lying half conscious in the street and resulting in multiple surgeries to repair his orbital bone and save his eye. The last thing he remembers hearing was something about how he was just a”dirty hippy”. No one was charged. I worked in the school district and experienced an active shooter lock down due to a domestic dispute between a teacher and her estranged husband. I could go on. This little city on the beautiful shore of Lake Superior is being strangled by drug and poverty issues and racial tensions. This is exacerbated by residents who are resistant to change and who in many case refuse to support their greater community and schools. I chose to move outside the Ashland area, despite the lower cost of living offered there.
The lake shore path is lovely. Great Co-op, coffee house and bakery. Artesian well for fresh water. Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center is definitely worth a stop if you are passing through.
Located in Langlade County., Antigo is the 6th most dangerous city in Wisconsin.
With residents facing a 1 in 308 chance of being the victim of violence in 2018, Antigo it earns a spot on the most dangerous places in Wisconsin.
I live in Antigo. We should be ranked much higher than 9th worst.
The city of over 26,054 ranks as the 7th most dangerous city in Wisconsin and has the 5th highest rate of property crime in the state.
Being both a port town and an intersection of many major highways predisposes the city to rank highly for crime on a rate basis (A steady denominator with a variable numerator).
In this case, Beloit finished as the 8th most dangerous place in the Badger State.
Violent crime is the bigger issue as the city ranks 4th overall for violent crime, but 21st for property crime.
La Crosse ranks as the 9th most dangerous city in Wisconsin according to 2018’s data.
While there’s still a 1 in 27.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime in La Crosse, their crime statistics in both categories have been falling steadily over recent years.
While you might think of college sports when you Madison, all those extra students will increase the rate of crime.
Madison has the 8th highest violent crime rate in Wisconsin and the 22nd highest property crime rate.
I’m not sure how the crime is because I’m not in Madison enough to know. The schools seem to be decent which I only know because I have cousins that live there. There is lots to do in Madison so that’s why I like going there from time to time. The also offer free things to do like go to the zoo which is really nice.
My favorite places to go are the disc golf courses that are around and in the Madison area. My husband and I really enjoy going disc golfing and there is multiple places to choose from which is really nice.
How Is Your Town In ?
How we determined the most dangerous cities in Wisconsin 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 2018 data, specifically the 2018 Crime In The United States Report. We will update the results when data becomes available in September 2020.
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 5,000 in population. That left us with 141 cities in Wisconsin.
We then ranked each city from 1 to 141 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 Wisconsin — Glendale.
Read on for a detailed look at the 10 most dangerous cities in Wisconsin.
Locking It All Up In Wisconsin
The latest FBI crime data shows that Glendale ranks as the most dangerous city in Wisconsin for 2020.
We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Glendale 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 Wisconsin:
- Mukwonago Town (Pop. 8,146)
- Geneva Town (Pop. 5,032)
- Oconomowoc Town (Pop. 8,692)
For more Wisconsin reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Wisconsin
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Wisconsin
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Wisconsin
- 10 Safest Places In Wisconsin
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Wisconsin
Where Are The Most Dangerous Cities In Wisconsin?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | 12,710 |
| 2 | Brown Deer | 11,963 |
| 3 | Milwaukee | 595,619 |
| 4 | Shawano | 8,936 |
| 5 | Ashland | 7,770 |
| 6 | Antigo | 7,720 |
| 7 | Superior | 26,054 |
| 8 | Beloit | 36,746 |
| 9 | La Crosse | 51,901 |
| 10 | Madison | 258,455 |
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