5 Most Expensive Southern Cities With High Crime Rates

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The South is known for a lot of things that make it a desirable location to live. Many of the states enjoy nice weather, a slower pace of life and lower costs of living compared with their northern neighbors. 

According to Ramsey Solutions, places like Georgia and Mississippi are among the states with the lowest costs of living.

While many cities in the South can offer families a more affordable lifestyle in a safe community, there are plenty of exceptions. In fact, some Southern cities are expensive and have high crime rates. Some of these are located even in states that are typically among the ones with the lowest costs of living, such as Alabama and Tennessee.

GOBankingRates analyzed 100 of the biggest Southern cities by population size and looked at the safety, livability and average monthly cost of living in each. Here are five Southern cities that have higher costs of living and higher crime rates than other areas in the South.

Lehigh Acres, Florida

• Monthly expenditures: $2,021
• Violent crimes per 1,000 residents: 5.0
• Livability score: 57

You’re going to find it pricey to live in Lehigh Acres, but that’s probably no surprise given that living in the Sunshine State can be much more expensive than living in other states. The livability score of 57 also leaves much to be desired.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

• Monthly expenditures: $1,821
• Violent crimes per 1,000 residents: 10.0
• Livability score: 68

Let’s move over to Louisiana, where you’ll find a livability score of only 68 for Baton Rouge. Along with being expensive, the crime rate is also on the higher end of the cities in the South with bigger populations. New Orleans, on the other hand, has a higher livability score at 74 but a slightly higher crime rate and a bit lower monthly expenditures.

Birmingham, Alabama

• Monthly expenditures: $1,836
• Violent crimes per 1,000 residents: 16.2
• Livability score: 65

Also far from the best in terms of its livability score at 65, Birmingham is also pretty pricey and the crime rate is not the best. You could also check out Montgomery, Alabama — where you’ll find similar monthly expenditures but a lower violent crime rate.

Washington, D.C.

• Monthly expenditures: $2,155
• Violent crimes per 1,000 residents: 7.3
• Livability score: 73

While Washington’s crime rate is lower than some other cities on this list, its monthly expenditures are much higher. However, the nation’s capital has a livability score that’s higher than those of the other cities on this list.

Memphis, Tennessee

• Monthly expenditures: $1,734
• Violent crimes per 1,000 residents: 23.9
• Livability score: 69

Memphis has quite a high crime rate compared with the other cities in the South on this list. At more than 23 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, it tops many other Southern cities. The monthly expenditures are pretty much in line with some of the other expensive cities on this list.

Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the Southern city “gems” that could be perfect for retirees by compiling a list of the 100 biggest Southern cities by population size, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of the South region of the United States. Each city was scored across multiple factors; [1] Property crime rate and [2] Violent crime rate (total crimes per 1,000 residents), sourced from FBI’s Crime Data Explorer and missing data supplemented with crime reports from NeighborhoodScout; [3] Percentage of seniors, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Consumer Survey, [4] Livability scores, sourced from AreaVibes; [5] Annual expenditures of a person 65 years and over, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 Consumer Expenditure Survey, which was multiplied by the [6] cities grocery, transportation, utilities, healthcare cost of living, sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces. The livability index was scored and weighted at 1.00, the property crime rate was scored and weighted at 1.25, the violent crime rate was scored and weighted at 1.25, and the monthly expenditure costs were scored and weighted at 1.75. All scores were combined and sorted to show the best Southern gems for a person to retire. All data compiled and is up to date as of June 24, 2024.

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