15 Cities with the Highest Domestic Violence Rates in the US

While all the other articles you have read so far are only about domestic violence statistics by state, we narrowed the topic even more and determined 15 cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US. To clear things from the start, you should know our domestic violence statistics by a city aren’t based on the number of women homicides per state (which has too often been quoted as the most reliable indicator).

The reason why we decided to deal with such an alarming and pressing issue isn’t to cause some decrease in city tourism, but to raise the awareness about domestic level on several levels. Domestic violence is one of the worst and most disturbing experiences a person can have, particularly due to the  “domestic” attribute. A family is supposed to make you feel safe and protected, not the other way around. Secondly, while one would never put up with such behavior and abuse if it came from a friend, it is a completely different story when it comes to a family member. A parent or a partner is someone you have a strong emotional bond with, and it is hard to break, no matter how simple and straightforward it may seem. To a neutral observer, everything seems obvious, and the warning signs are more than transparent. But a victim’s vision is usually blurred by strong emotions coming from mutual past.

Nevertheless, after a certain amount of time, even the most optimistic sufferers realize it’s time to run for your life, (and life of the children, too). This breaking point usually comes too late. That’s why we have that unfortunate domestic violence statistics nowadays. As we are told by the Huffington Post, every minute there are 20 people who are becoming victims of partner violence. A woman has 70% more chance to be murdered after leaving her intimate partner. From 2003 to 2014, a total of 10,018 were murdered, and more than half of those murders were intimate partner violence-related. Sadly, black women population is more vulnerable than the others. Why is this all happening? One of the culprits is the feeling of great shame. How can one admit to herself what horror she is going through? Then again, it’s not as if the awareness of how horrible domestic abuse is has always been on this level. Domestic violence 1950s statistics are hilarious. What else could be said when proper spanking was highly recommendable to keep the “peace” at home.

In order to determine the highest rates of domestic violence in the US cities, we read a report by Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) in which we found an interesting relation between homelessness and domestic violence. Namely, according to different studies, more than 80% of mothers with children became homeless in order to run away from domestic abuse. Bearing in mind that most victims of domestic violence are women, and having this huge number of homeless women and children, the connection was clear. American cities with the biggest number of homeless people are also the cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US. Along with the facts, it’s actually pretty logical. The majority of victims have a problem that they don’t have anyone to turn to. Most of them lose friends and family in the process hiding and denying their torture. Shockingly, in just one day in 2015, there were over 30,000 people and children begging for shelter and running away from abuse. Over 12,000 appeals couldn’t be solved. Where do you think those poor people ended up? Probably in the streets.

Once we concluded homelessness was the best indicator, it was time to put together our original domestic violence statistics for the US. For that reason, we took the numbers of homeless people from the Washington Post, Daily Forest, The Sacramento Bee, ABC30, Pacific Standard and American Council on Science and Health. However, simply ranking them from the lowest to the highest figure wasn’t good enough since we’re talking about domestic violence rates. Therefore, we divided the number of the homeless and the population number to see what percentage of the city population lives on the streets (the population numbers were obtained from World Population Review and Moving).

To see how this problem has escalated globally, and learn more about highest domestic violence rates in the world read 15 Countries with Highest Rates of Domestic Violence in the World in 2018.

Finally, here are 15 cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US. Ironically, they are all wonderful touristy places (so much different from Alaska, the state which has the highest domestic violence rates).

15. Fresno

Fresno County had 6,000 calls to 911 in 2016, which is worrying. What is an even bigger problem is how many cases aren’t reported at all. This is probably just a tip of the iceberg, just as is the case with all the other cities. As we have mentioned before, victims are usually too embarrassed, petrified or desperate to officially report the abuse.

14. Philadelphia

In the period between 2005-2015, there has been an average of 24 homicides per year. Around 12,000 Protection From Abuse Orders is processed every year on the court. One of the main issues isn’t just physical and emotional abuse, but the financial, too. That is why so many victims feel helpless. The city poverty rate is 27%, and the struggling majorities are African Americans and Hispanics. 50% of them are single mothers.

13. Portland

The statistics aren’t that great in Portland, either. Multnomah County is notorious for domestic violence cases. 21,000 children were exposed to violence, and half of them were less than five years old when they first witnessed the horror.

12. San Diego

The latest news about domestic violence in San Diego, which ranks 12th on our list of cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US, is the case of a Fire-Rescue captain who is accused of throwing his girlfriend against the wall. Apparently, this is not his first violent outburst, and he has a drinking problem. A typical scenario.

11. San Jose

The situation in San Jose and Santa Clara has improved greatly since 2003 (over 20 deaths), but it can be much better. It should be noted that women aren’t always victims. They can be on the other side, too. Men are even more ashamed to report any kind of abuse due to the traditional roles in society. In 2016 a woman killed her husband with a dumbbell.

10. Phoenix

In 2016 there were 29 deaths caused by domestic violence, and domestic violence gun statistics show owning a gun at home greatly increases the chances of murder (five times higher chances). Guns were used in 76% of cases in 2016.

9. Sacramento

Last summer everybody was shocked by the cases of domestic violence in this city. A Sacramento County Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney even admitted he had never remembered so many child victims.

8. San Francisco

The San Francisco Chronicle also reports on the deadly combination of guns and violence as the main reasons for this city’s position in our list of  15 cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US.

7. New York

New York ranks 7th on our list of cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US. It is usually associated with some other crimes, but it’s a sad fact the Big Apple is among the top ten on this topic. The city spends around $107 a year on domestic violence programs.

6. Boston

Let’s talk laws a little bit. What is absolutely great about Massachusetts domestic violence penalties is that once you file a domestic violence charge, it can’t be dropped.

5. Las Vegas

Probably nobody had domestic violence in mind when they say “Sin City,” but that’s the sad truth. Most of the victims are murdered when they finally try to abandon the abuser for real.

4. Los Angeles

The City of Angels ranks is far from that. Unless you would say, those poor souls are angels. LA Police deals with 48,000 urgent calls every year and makes over 6,000 arrests. The crimes have been on the rise since 2015. Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has around 200 new cases to deal with every week.

And now, let’s see the top three cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US.

3. Washington DC

There are lots of shelters in the District of Columbia, but not enough for all of those who are seeking protection. If you start searching for the cases of domestic violence in the capital, you will see a lot of domestic violence lawyers advertisements. The situation is similar to the one in the Big Apple.

2. Seattle

The most recent 2018 news tell us about the police taking away a dozen of guns from a man who threatened his (ex) girlfriend and threw a flask at her. The incident occurred when she said she was leaving him. It could be said she was very lucky to get away.

1. Honolulu

Who would’ve thought it would be Honolulu as the first among 15 cities with the highest domestic violence rates in the US? This is definitely not what you have in mind when you think of Hawaii, but the truth is harsh, as usual. There were over 1,538 cases of domestic violence in 2016, preceded by similar figures. However, the total number in 2003 was only 253. Admittedly, there was a change in the law which could be said to be one of the causes, but, nevertheless, the number of reported cases increased four times.