
St Louis has topped the FBI's list of most dangerous cities across the Unites States.

More than 88 violent crimes took place for every 10,000 residents in the Missouri city during the first half of 2015 - compared to an average rate of 36.6 across the US in 2014, FBI data reveals.

Those crimes can include robbery, aggravated assault, rape and even murder.

The top ten most dangerous cities across the Unites States: St Louis is number one, followed by Memphis is second and Detroit in third

The South and West of the country have higher violent crime rates and property crime rates than the North and East

The listing places St Louis above the notoriously dangerous Detroit which has topped the list in previous years thanks to the city's high gun crime rate.

Detroit is now listed as third after Memphis, Tennessee which had 84.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

Birmingham, Alabama comes in fourth place with 82.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents while Rockford, Illinois was fifth with a rate of 76.3.

TOP TEN MOST VIOLENT AMERICAN CITIES 1. St. Louis, Missouri: 88.1 2. Memphis, Tennessee: 84.2 3. Detroit, Michigan: 83.4 4. Birmingham, Alabama: 82.8 5. Rockford, Illinois: 76.3 6. Baltimore, Maryland: 67.7 7. Stockton, California: 67.4 8. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 65.3 9. Cleveland, Ohio: 61.5 10. Hartford, Connecticut: 55.8 Advertisement

The FBI had compiled data on the most violent cities in each state in the first six months of 2015.

A city is classed as an urban center with a minimum population of 100,000.

The sparsely populated states of Delaware, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming were not included as they do not have cities of significant enough size.

The FBI data also failed to include Little Rock, Arkansas, which has just under 200,000 people, and the state of Minnesota, where cities Minneapolis, St Paul, and Rochester all register above the 100,000 population threshold.

Joining St Louis in the top ten most violent cities in America are Baltimore in Maryland, Stockton in California, Milwaukee in Wisconsin, Cleveland in Ohio and Hartford, Connecticut.

The top five slots of the list largely follow similar patterns in reports published in previous years, although Oakland, California, which previously ranked as the third most dangerous city in the country, was excluded from this year's list.

1. St. Louis, Missouri: 88.1 violent crimes per 10,000 people

Number 1: St. Louis, Missouri: 88.1 violent crimes per 10,000 people: St Louis's violent crime rate soared between 2014 and 2015, jumping by more than 300 crimes to 2,806 incidents last year -pushing it to the top of the list

St Louis's violent crime rate soared between 2014 and 2015, jumping by more than 300 crimes to 2,806 incidents pushing it to the top of the list. The murder rate also climbed significantly from 58 to 92 people killed last year.

FBI Director James B. Comey suggested that the increase in crime may be down to the 'Ferguson effect'.

He said that crime rates may have been influenced by the turmoil after a white police officer shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August 2014.

The Missouri shooting sparked mass riots and unrest, increasing the likelihood of violent crime, and may also deter police from acting to stop suspects in case it sparks another incident.

However, Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St Louis debunked the idea.

He told Forbes: 'Homicides were going up in 2014 quite a bit before Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson. So it's hard to attribute it to a so-called Ferguson effect because we began to see those increases before August 9.'

Rosenfeld also pointed out that the figures do not track drug use or the crimes committed in subsequent turf wars.

2. Memphis, Tennessee: 84.2 violent crimes per 10,000 people

2. Memphis, Tennessee: 84.2: Memphis moved up from third worst for violent crime last year into second behind St Louis,

Memphis moved up from third worst for violent crime last year into second behind St Louis, mostly thanks to Oakland, California being cut from this year's dangerous cities list.

The city had almost a third of residents living under the poverty line in 2015, 29.8 per cent, while the city's murder rate has been rising so fast that it overtook Chicago this year with 64 per cent more homicide cases.

Between 2014 and 2015, reports of violent crime went up from 10,888 to 10,969.

3. Detroit, Michigan: 83.4 violent crimes per 10,000 people

3. Detroit, Michigan: 83.4 violent crimes per 10,000 people: Detroit has come in third after two consecutive years as the nation's most dangerous city in 2013 and 2014

Detroit has come in third after two consecutive years as the nation's most dangerous city in 2013 and 2014, according to a study of FBI crime statistics.

Falling crime rates in the city have seen the city murder rate drop from 135 to 107 people between 2014 and 2015.

Meanwhile the overall violent crime rate also decreased from 6,292 to 5,711 last year.

Detroit, once nicknamed 'Murder City' after 714 homicides were committed in 1974 still has among one of the highest crime rates in the country.

The falling crime rate comes after Mayor Mike Duggan's promises to attack crime as Detroit works to regrow its population, which at around 680,000 is barely a third of what it was in the 1950s.

Last year's 295 homicides were four fewer than in 2014 and down 37 from two years ago. Both numbers were the city's lowest since 1967, when 281 homicides were committed.

Most other violent crime and property offenses also decreased last year.

Duggan told the AP earlier this year that the city still has 'a lot of work to do' to reduce crime. 'The work has only started,' he said. 'This city remains much too violent. This isn't a feeling we're satisfied with what we've accomplished.'

4. Birmingham, Alabama: 82.8 violent crimes per 10,000 people

4. Birmingham, Alabama: 82.8 violent crimes per 10,000 people: The city shoots straight into the top five after not even hitting the top ten last year

Birmingham, Alabama shoots straight into number four after not even hitting the top five last year following a steady increase in violent crime, from 1,619 to 1,756.

The city had previously prided itself on its declining murder rate and revitalization after fatal stabbings in 2007 and 2009 led to calls for nightclubs to be shut down, while the notorious murder and sexual mutilation of a waitress in 1987 which had heralded an exodus from the city.

But it appears the murder rate is on the rise again, climbing to 23 in 2014 and again in 2015 to 30.

5. Rockford, Illinois: 76.3 violent crimes per 10,000 people

5. Rockford, Illinois: 76.3 violent crimes per 10,000 people: The murder rate dropped slightly in Rockford last year, from ten in 2014 to nine. Sadly the number of other serious violent crimes soared from 927 to 1142

The murder rate dropped slightly in Rockford last year, from ten in 2014 to nine. Sadly the number of other serious violent crimes soared from 927 to 1142.

Rape reports in particular increased from 69 to 78, while assault and property crime has also climbed.

Rockford, which has a relatively small population of 150,000, has an average homicide rate of 19 per year.

The 2015 figure represents the first dip below double digits since 2004 when just eight people were killed, as the mid-90's gang related violence finally appeared to be subsiding.

But it had risen again slowly, securing Rockford's place on the country's most dangerous lists for years.

6. Baltimore, Maryland: 67.7 violent crimes per 10,000 people

6. Baltimore, Maryland: 67.7 violent crimes per 10,000 people

Baltimore saw its deadliest year ever with an unprecedented number of young, black men shot to death.

The year's total tally of 344 homicides was second only to the record 353 in 1993, when Baltimore had about 100,000 more residents.

The killing skyrocketed after the unrest and rioting of late April, hitting 30 or 40 homicides a month for the rest of the year.

The overwhelming majority of victims were young black men - 90 per cent - with most being killed by guns.

Shootings overall were also up, with 75 per cent more than 2014 and a total of 900 people shot.

7. Stockton, California: 67.4 violent crimes per 10,000 people

8. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 65.3 violent crimes per 10,000 people

9. Cleveland, Ohio: 61.5 violent crimes per 10,000 people

10. Hartford, Connecticut: 55.8 violent crimes per 10,000 people

11. Atlanta, Georgia had 55.7 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

11. Atlanta, Georgia had 55.7 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

12. Springfield, Massachusetts had 54.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

13. Anchorage, Alaska had 53.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

14. Tallahassee, Florida had 52.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

15. Odessa, Texas had 51.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

16. Newark, New Jersey had 50.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

16. Newark, New Jersey had 50.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

17. Buffalo, New York had 50.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

18. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had 49.1 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

19. Albuquerque, New Mexico had 48.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

20. Wichita, Kansas had 45.5 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

21. North Las Vegas, Nevada had 43.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

21. North Las Vegas, Nevada had 43.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

22. Jackson, Mississippi had 43.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

23. Durham, North Carolina had 42.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

24. New Orleans, Louisiana had 42.7 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

25. Tulsa, Oklahoma had 41.5 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

26. Pueblo, Colorado had 41.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

26. Pueblo, Colorado had 41.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents.

27. Des Moines, Iowa had 38.7 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

28. Salt Lake City, Utah had 38.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

29. Tacoma, Washington had 36.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

30. North Charleston, South Carolina had 34.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

31. Tucson, Arizona had 32.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

31. Tucson, Arizona had 32.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents (pictured is the Tuscon skyline)

32. South Bend, Indiana had 32.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

33. Louisville, Kentucky had 30.2 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

34. Manchester, New Hampshire had 28.9 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

35. Providence, Rhode Island had 26.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

36. Norfolk, Virginia had 24.5 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

36. Norfolk, Virginia had 24.5 violent crimes per 10,000 residents (pictured is the Norfolk, Virginia skyline)

37. Billings, Montana had 21.1 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

38. Sioux Falls, South Dakota had 20.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

39. Lincoln, Nebraska had 17.4 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

40. Eugene, Oregon had 15.3 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

41. Fargo, North Dakota had 14.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

42. Boise, Idaho had 13.5 violent crimes per 10,000 residents

43. Honolulu, Hawaii had 11.6 violent crimes per 10,000 residents