In a study based on 302 cities with populations greater than 100,000 across the United States, one thing quickly grabbed my attention. Where's Florida? Cities like Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa are all top 50 in the US in population, but they're not on this list. "The 15 most dangerous cities in America."
In a study released just before Christmas, crime statistics from the FBI were paired with "societal costs of different types of crimes to estimate the cost of crime for each city." It found that in 2022, the average cost of crime per capita was $2,221. The cost of crime in larger cities, with a population more than 300,000, was much higher, at $3,325. Which shows something most of us already know. Crime is generally higher in the bigger cities.
Where Florida falls on this list.
We're mostly on the other end. Pembroke Pines is actually the 3rd safest city, with a crime cost per capita of $322. Coral Springs is also in that area with a cost of $375. In the Tampa, Florida area, Clearwater has a crime cost per capita of $1,187. St. Petersburg is $1,837. Tampa is $2,149.
The 15 Most Dangerous Cities In America
| City | Crime Cost Per Capita | |
| 1 | Birmingham, AL | $11,392 |
| 2 | New Orleans, LA | $11,094 |
| 3 | St. Louis, MO | $11,055 |
| 4 | Detroit, MI | $9,281 |
| 5 | Memphis, TN | $9,056 |
| 6 | Baltimore, MD | $8,160 |
| 7 | Little Rock, AR | $7,781 |
| 8 | Cleveland, OH | $7,397 |
| 9 | Milwaukee, WI | $7,029 |
| 10 | Kansas City, MO | $6,398 |
| 11 | Pueblo, CO | $5,979 |
| 12 | Oakland, CA | $5,710 |
| 13 | San Bernardino, CA | $5,691 |
| 14 | Philadelphia, PA | $5,570 |
| 15 | Atlanta, GA | $5,502 |
As you can see, Florida is absent from this list. I expected cities like Detroit and St. Louis in the top 5, but I didn't realize Birmingham would be on top.
Is Florida crime free? Absolutely not. But the data shows that crime takes a higher financial toll in the cities listed here. The methodology and full dataset of dangerous cities here.
10 Serial Killers Whose Crimes Were Committed In Florida
The Netflix craze "Dahmer" certainly made a lot of people intrigued by the term serial killer. Sure, we all remember the big names like Gacy, Dahmer and Bundy. But there are so many others who strategically sought out after their victims right here in Florida.
As we all know, Florida is typically thought of as being a vacation destination for families heading to Disney, spring breakers flocking to the beaches all along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and of course the snow birds who make their way down and sometimes never leave. When we think of Florida, aside from the raging home and gas prices, we typically have happy thoughts.
Well, not so fast! Who knew how many serial killers committed their crimes right here in Florida?
You may have heard of a few of these names. Aileen Wuornos who was famously portrayed by Charlize Theron in "Monster", well, who could forget her? Then there's perhaps the most infamous of all, Ted Bundy, known for his massacres at Florida State University, among other crimes.
If you love "True Crime", you'll love this list that Cat McAuliffe at Ranker put together of 10 Serial Killers Whose Crimes Were Committed In Florida.
Here is her of 10 Serial Killers whose crimes were committed in Florida:
Danny Rolling
Daniel Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 – October 25, 2006), known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American serial killer who murdered five students in Gainesville, Florida, over four days in late August 1990. Rolling later confessed to raping several of his victims, committing a triple homicide in his home city of Shreveport, Louisiana, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. In total, Rolling confessed to killing eight people.[1] Rolling was sentenced to death for the five Gainesville murders in 1994. He was executed by lethal injection in 2006.
Source: Wikipedia
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy (born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials he confessed to thirty murders he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. Bundy's true victim total is unknown, and is likely significantly higher.[7]
Source: Wikipedia
David Alan Gore
David Alan Gore (August 21, 1953 – April 12, 2012) was an American serial killer who confessed to, and was convicted of, six murders in Vero Beach and Indian River County, Florida in the 1980s. Gore was executed by lethal injection in 2012, having been on Florida's death row for 28 years.
Source: Wikipedia
Gerard John Schaefer
Gerard John Schaefer Jr. (March 26, 1946 – December 3, 1995) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer known as the Killer Cop who was convicted of the 1972 murder and mutilation of two teenage girls in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He is suspected of committing up to 34 further murders.[1]
Source: Wikipedia
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Carol Wuornos[2] (born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer.[3] In 1989–1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. Wuornos claimed that her clients had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that all of the homicides were committed in self-defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders and on October 9, 2002, after 12 years on Florida's death row,[4] was executed by lethal injection.
Source: Wikipedia
Bobby Joe Long
Robert Joseph "Bobby Joe" Long[1] (October 14, 1953 – May 23, 2019)[2] was an American serial killer and rapist who was executed by the state of Florida for the murder of Michelle Denise Simms.[3] Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least ten women in the Tampa Bay area in Florida during an eight-month period in 1984. He released 17-year-old Lisa McVey after 26 hours. McVey provided critical information to the police that enabled them to arrest Long. Long was also a serial rapist.
Source: Wikipedia
Oscar Ray Bolin
Oscar Ray Bolin Jr. (January 22, 1962 – January 7, 2016)[1] was an American serial killer and convicted rapist who was executed in Florida for murder. In 1986, Bolin kidnapped and murdered three young women in Tampa, Florida. He was later connected to a fourth murder in Texas in 1987. The murders went unsolved for nearly four years, until the husband of his ex-wife called a tip line and implicated him. He maintained his innocence to the end.[2]
Source: Wikipedia
Christine Falling
From February 1980 to July 1982, teenager Christine Falling from Perry, Florida, choked five children, the youngest being an 8-month-old baby.
Source: Ranker
Eddie Lee Mosley
Eddie Lee Mosley (March 31, 1947 – May 28, 2020) was an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least eight women in Fort Lauderdale, Florida between 1973 and 1987. He was arrested in 2001 following the results of a DNA profiling test, after being the prime suspect in several murders for many years.
Source: Wikipedia
The Flat-Tire Murderer
This killer has never been identified.
From February 1975 to July 1975, five young women and teenage girls were killed in South Florida, leading police to suspect the murders were the work of a single perpetrator. The killings were dubbed the "flat-tire murders" because the authorities believed the killer deflated the tires of his victims' vehicles, allowing him to offer his help when they realized they were stranded in a commercial parking lot.
Source: Ranker
