From U.S. News & World Report:

Crime rate can be one of the deciding factors of where families settle down. Based on each city’s murder and property crime rates per 100,000 people, determined by FBI crime reports, these are the most dangerous places to live in the United States. For more information on how we rank, read the Best Places to Live methodology.

#1 – Memphis
#2 – St. Louis
#3 – Detroit
#4 – Birmingham
#5 – Little Rock
#6 – New Orleans
#7 – Cleveland
#8 – Kansas City
#9 – Myrtle Beach
#10- Denver
#11 – Minneapolis
#12 – Milwaukee
#13 – Salt Lake City
#14 – Springfield, MO
#15 – Portland, OR
#16 – Chattanooga
#17 – Philadelphia
#18 – Dayton, OH
#19 – Houston
#20 – San Francisco
#21 – Seattle
#22 – San Antonio
#23 – Nashville
#24 – Vallejo, CA
#25 – Winston-Salem

The magazine describes Memphis this way:

What’s it like to live in Memphis, TN?

Set in the Mississippi Delta, Memphis is a metro area where the energy of urban living melds with the slow rhythms of the rural South. Marked by historic districts, Mississippi River views and memorials to cultural legends like Elvis Presley and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., every corner of Memphis permeates with the culture of the Deep South.

Although it’s one of the largest metro areas in Tennessee, the region’s small-town atmosphere fosters a close-knit community that makes it an attractive place for families to settle. Its rich music scene is a magnet for artists looking to give their career momentum, and as a center of global transit and a crossroads of distribution, the area offers a wealth of job opportunities. 

Nonprofits and faith-based organizations also shape the region. Residents take responsibility for the well-being of their neighborhoods, providing a stronger sense of community and a great way for newcomers to build social connections.

Venues celebrating history, the arts and music abound in the Memphis metro area, which is known as the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll and home of the blues. Music is a mainstay of local entertainment, from listening to a band on iconic Beale Street to seeing a show at the historic Orpheum Theatre Memphis or enjoying a concert on the lawn at the Overton Park Shell amphitheater. Memphis is also where you’ll find Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.

But music is not the region’s only claim to fame. The area also is home to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, the Memphis Zoo and an NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies. 

This area is also known for its Memphis-style barbecue, and it hosts the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest each year as part of the Memphis in May International Festival.

Memphis has a fairly low cost of living for a large metro area. Rent prices and mortgage expenses are considerably lower than the national average. Expenses for food and services are also significantly lower than in other major regions, especially in the more rural areas that spread out beyond the metro region.

With mild winters and sunny days, Memphis residents regularly enjoy outdoor activities like running and biking. Still, the subtropical climate brings high levels of humidity that make summers sweltering. Springtime, though lovely with its magnolia and forsythia blooms, also brings its share of heavy thunderstorms and threat of tornadoes.

Affordable living costs make it easy for families and retirees to call the Memphis region home. And the metro area’s colleges and universities bring in a younger demographic.

The religious community has a strong presence in and around the greater metro area, and there are more than 2,000 established churches here.