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Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024

Does Arlington have one of the top 10 worst violent crime rates among Texas’ largest cities?

Drew Shaw, Fort Worth Report
yes

Arlington’s violent crime rate, the number of violent crimes per 1,000 people, is 5.78. This is the seventh highest among Texas’ 17 cities with populations over 200,000, according to 2022 data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The statewide violent crime rate is 4.32.

Chances of being a violent crime victim in Arlington are one in 173, compared to the Texas average of one in 232. Most crimes occur around the entertainment district and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Violent crime in Arlington has declined recently, seeing a 17% decline between 2022 and 2023, according to the police department’s annual report. The year’s reported 15 homicides is the lowest since 2018.

When compared to similarly sized cities nationally, studies using other metrics suggest Arlington is one of the country’s safest large cities. 

A 2024 MoneyGeek.com study using FBI data to estimate the cost of crime in cities nationwide found Arlington had the 10th lowest crime cost per capita in cities with populations over 300,000.

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