Lauderhill Named Eighth Most Dangerous Small City

Just a couple of weeks ago, we told you about two surveys that came to the conclusion that Fort Lauderdale is not only in the top ten among the best downtowns but also in the top ten among most exciting midsized cities. For both rankings, Fort Laudy landed the seventh...

By Chris Joseph

March 31, 2014

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Just a couple of weeks ago, we told you about two surveys that came to the conclusion that Fort Lauderdale is not only in the top ten among the best downtowns but also in the top ten among most exciting midsized cities. For both rankings, Fort Laudy landed the seventh spot, which isn't great but isn't bad either.

But because the universe can be an illusory place that needs balance, there's now some not-so-great news, as the same survey has found that Lauderdhill is the eighth most dangerous small city in the U.S.

Real estate blog Movoto studied more than 200 small cities, deciding first on places between 50,000 and 75,000 residents and then digging deeper into only places with available data from the FBI uniform crime report. They then settled in on 234 cities and got cracking.

Breaking down seven categories, including burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, robbery, assault, and the big ones like rape, and murder, into smaller categories (violent crimes, etc.), Motovo calculated the number of crimes per 100,000 residents for 2012.

They then came up with their list, and Lauderhill falls into the top ten -- though some may not be entirely shocked by this outcome.

They did name Lauderhill the safest place on this list in terms of property crimes. So, there's that.

From Motovo:

Located just west of Fort Lauderdale, FL, the small city of Lauderhill is the safest place in our top 10 as far as property crimes go. It placed 32nd overall in that criterion, with 4,070 property crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012. For total crimes, it ranked 20th.

Things look worse for the city when violent crimes are considered. Lauderhill saw 814 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2012, a number large enough for it to rank 12th overall. In terms of murders, things weren't much better; Lauderhill had 12 per 100,000, a 16th-place finish.

The other good news is that at least Lauderhill isn't the the only dangerous small city in Florida to make the list. Pensacola came in at number 6, Daytona Beach at 7, and Homestead at 9.

Send your story tips to the author, Chris Joseph.

Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter

Follow @NewTimesBroward

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.