Florida Holds The Claim For One Of The Most Dangerous American Cities

The name Palm Beach, Florida probably conjures up images of sunny beaches and fun in the sun. Those images may hold true for the town, but no so much the county with the same name in which it's located. The sprawling area encompassing nearly 2,000 square miles includes a small inland city south of Okeechobee with a violent reputation. It's called Belle Glade, and its a community of around 17,000 residents with a sky-high crime rate almost three times the national average in 2024, according to Sirix. 

With all the wild "Florida Man" news that often involves bizarre crimes — like the discovery of jars of human tongues found under the floorboards of a Gainesville house in 2020 — you might think Florida would be one of the most dangerous states. It's actually ranked near the bottom, at 38, by World Population Review. Belle Glade, on the other hand, has a violent crime rate nearly four times the average of the state as a whole (a rate of 11.16 per 1000 residents vs. 2.9), per Neighborhood Scout. And that doesn't even include property crimes. There, you have a one in 33 chance of being a victim of this type of crime, which involves things like burglary and car theft.

There were numerous shootings in Belle Glade in 2024, and the trend has continued into 2025. Many them have been fatal. They run the gamut and include an alleged gang-related shooting in spring 2024 that one of the perpetrators later rapped about on social media. Then there was the November 2024 attack at a gas station, when one victim died from gunshot wounds and two others were injured. Just days later, a woman was targeted by four gunmen, who blasted away at her car, unloading nearly 60 rounds as they attempted to kill her. Thankfully, she escaped unharmed.

"Things like that happen all the time," a Belle Glade resident told WFLX at the time. The most high-profile of these violent incidents took place in February 2025 with the targeted murder of an off-duty  corrections officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office outside of his home. Violent crime in Belle Glade has been a long-term problem — in 2003, the city had the second-highest violent crime rate in the country. And although it remains higher than both the state and national average, the city has seen some improvements since then. 

Belle Glade's crime rate has wavered over the years — in 2021 it even dropped precipitously, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it has started to rise again since. There have been law enforcement initiatives to try to stem the city's violence, including a National Night Out event in October 2023 meant to build relationships between the community and the police. The event came just a day after the still unsolved murders of two local men.

The reasons for such a high crime rate in Belle Glade — where in 2010 the sheriff's office estimated that around half the men there between the ages 18 and 25 had felony convictions — may be due to economics and related issues. According to U.S. Census data, nearly 30% of residents live at or below the poverty line. And while Belle Glade is far from one of the most violent cities in the world (places like Acapulco, Mexico, or Manilla, in the Philippines), if you're heading there, proceed with caution.