The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Connecticut

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Connecticut For 2024

The numbers do not lie when it comes to the dangers of New Haven. The area can thank its criminals for helping it earn the title of most dangerous city in Connecticut for 2024 after the community ranked lowest in 2023.

Property crime seems to have been their specialty — a staggering 4,224 property crimes were recorded in 2022. If that is not enough to keep you up at night maybe the thought of the 395 burglaries that occurred will. Fingers crossed the Yale University Art Gallery was not the victim of one.

People making off with the possessions of others was not all the New Haven Police Department dealt with. Their community was also rattled by a whopping 756 violent crimes. And as the number 2 city in the state for total crime, the officers here had their work cut out for them.

Built at the conjunction of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, Derby has a history that dates back to at least to 1642. The town provided the home for a serial killer — Lydia Sherman, “The Derby Poisoner,” who murdered three husbands and eight children during the 1860s and 1870s.

Even with this gruesome past, murder really isn’t a huge problem in Derby these days. Rather, property crime represents a bigger danger. The town suffered 373 of these violations last year, all in a community of just 12,243 residents. This gives it the number 4 highest rate of property crime in the state.

Sticky fingers are abundant in Waterbury. Just ask the area’s 2,302 victims of larceny in 2022. That number is almost as shocking as the fact that there is a one in 34 chance that a property crime will happen to you while in this city.

Those startling odds are not the only reason you should be concerned. Violent crime is an issue in Waterbury as well. Though not as many were committed here as in other Connecticut cities, 442 reports are nothing to laugh at.

The city’s criminal activity may be hard to overlook, but you can at least try and get your mind off it by visiting Fulton Park.

Not just the home of The Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford is also known as the “Insurance Capital of the World.” However, “Murder Capital of Connecticut” would be a more fitting nickname. This city ranks highest in the state for it.

Along with the 37 people that lost their lives in 2022, plenty of others were hurt during the 498 aggravated assaults that happened in Hartford.

With this tally, it comes as no surprise that the violent crime rate here is higher than that of Connecticut. If you thought things couldn’t get worse, think again. The state capital also ranks as a leader in the number of cases of arson. Residents can blame that on the 36 that occurred in 2022.

Let’s just say you do not live in Hamden if you like feeling so safe you would leave your doors unlocked. Considering that the town ranks seventh highest for violent crime, it is more like the kind of place that makes you want to get a guard dog. If you do, at least you can enjoy walks on the Farmington Canal State Park Trail together.

We should probably mention that the community ranks ninth highest in the state for total crime too. If you did not already believe things were amok, consider the fact that Hamden used to be the fifth most dangerous city in Connecticut but is now the fifth.

Hartford is the capital city of Connecticut — also known as the “Insurance Capital of the World.” Head a little east and you can really put that insurance to good use. That’s because East Hartford represents the number 6 most dangerous spot in Connecticut.

As you’re filling out those forms and pricing brokers, concentrate on securing car insurance first. Park in East Hartford and you may not see your vehicle again. In a city of 50,579 residents, the area reported 198 car thefts in a year. To put it in perspective, that figure gave the community the number 6.0 highest rate of car thefts in the state.

East Haven, located in New Haven County, Connecticut, ranks as the seventh most dangerous place to live in the state for 2023. The town has a population of 27,725 and is situated just three miles east of New Haven. East Haven’s dangerous reputation is primarily due to its crime statistics. In terms of violent crime, the town recorded 48 incidents, including 1 murder cases, 6 rapes, 13 robberies, and 28 aggravated assaults. Additionally, property crime is also a concern, with 721 reported cases, including 34 burglaries.

You will find Meriden located between New Haven and Hartford. A population of 60,332 residents makes up this city.

And a decent number of people in this community are comfortable with the idea of theft. Criminals carried out 1,042 larcenies in 2022.

Sadly, things may not improve any time soon. The fact that the city went from being the tenth most dangerous in Connecticut in 2023 to the eighth in 2024 does not bode well for its future. We just hope you can still find a way to enjoy an event at the Meriden Green while you are there.

You could argue that life in New Britain is looking up. The town has moved several pots from its previous ranking in 2023. However, 2022 was not all sunshine and rainbows for this community in central Connecticut. The crime rate there is quite a bit higher than the national average after all.

When it came to violent crime, 175 aggravated assaults made up most of the 267 incidents that were recorded.

If you managed to avoid bodily harm in New Britain, it might have been your car that criminals got to — thieves made off with 237 of them. That is a real bummer if you were planning to use one of those sets of wheels to visit sights like Little Poland.

Located in Hartford County, this town also moved up significantly on our list. The community ended up as the tenth most dangerous city in the state for 2024 but in 2023 it was in ninth lowest place.

The change is partly due to the 1,533 property crimes that occurred. Those also help explain its 11th highest place ranking for property crime in Connecticut. Based on these statistics, it seems like people here would prefer to keep the books they borrow from the Manchester Public Library than return them, but that is just a hunch.

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