Without seeing the actual data, I would have almost guaranteed that St. Louis and/or Kansas City would have the highest crime indexes in Missouri. I've learned that my perception was very very wrong as the 10 Missouri places with the biggest problems with crime are more than a little surprising.

My favorite aspect of USA.com is it's not a blogger's opinion or someone with a narrative they're trying to impose. It's pure numbers from a database that rank different cities in America on a variety of different issues. I queried their database and asked it to rank the top 10 Missouri places with the highest crime indexes and could not believe my eyes.

It's important to note the USA.com methodology on how they compute these numbers. Here are their exact words:

"The crime index value is calculated based on the data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the crime level in a region. Higher crime index value means more crime."

Here are the raw numbers of Missouri places with the highest crime indexes. Prepare for a bit of a shock:

1. 8,492 Wellston, MO / 2,010
2. 8,156 Kinloch, MO / 234
3. 6,169 Saint Louis, MO / 318,727
4. 5,915 Randolph, MO / 26
5. 5,721 Branson, MO / 10,942
6. 4,662 Jennings, MO / 14,730
7. 4,394 Berkeley, MO / 9,120
8. 4,203 Saint Robert, MO / 4,882
9. 4,185 Bel Ridge, MO / 2,715
10. 4,152 Kansas City, MO / 465,005

Not what you expected, right? St. Louis and Kansas City both make the top 10 which is not unusual, but the fact that they're #3 and #10 respectively isn't what we've been led to believe by the national press.

You can query their database yourself to see what other Missouri information you're curious about without the input of someone who's trying to tell you what they want you to know.

See Inside Late Cardinals Legend Whitey Herzog's Missouri Home

Gallery Credit: Melonie Kimble, ReeceNichols - Cedar Tree Square, ReeceNichols.com

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