Suburbs or Cities: Which Has More Crime?

A Brookings Institute report shows that the difference between crime in the suburbs and cities has drastically decreased, and argues that the current drop in crime rates weakens the correlation between ethnic groups and crime.

1 minute read

July 6, 2011, 9:00 AM PDT

By Kristopher Fortin


In the 100 largest metro areas, violent and property crime between 1990 and 2008 decreased the most in cities.

"The gap between city and suburban violent crime rates declined in nearly two-thirds of metro areas. In 90 of the 100 largest metro areas, the gap between city and suburban property crime rates narrowed from 1990 to 2008. In most metro areas, city and suburban crime rates rose or fell together."

"Within metropolitan areas, older, more urbanized, poorer, and more minority communities have benefited the most from these trends, narrowing the disparities between cities and suburbs and underscoring that crime is not a uniquely urban issue, but a metropolitan one."

Thursday, May 26, 2011 in The Brookings Institution

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