FLINT, MI - Violent crime was up nearly 23 percent in Flint last year, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics released Monday.

The 2017 Uniform Crime Report data released Sept. 24 shows Flint was the sixth most violent city in America with a population of at least 50,000.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Flint police officials for comment on Monday.

Flint had the sixth-highest rate of violent crime with nearly 973 violent crimes reported per 50,000 residents in 2017.

St. Louis had the highest violent crime rate for cities with more than 50,000 people, followed by Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis and Camden, New Jersey.

There were 1,879 violent crimes in Flint reported to the FBI in 2017, including 37 homicides, 104 rapes, 272 robberies and 1,466 assaults.

The Vehicle City's murder rate of about 19 killings per 50,000 was seventh highest in the county for city's with more than 50,000 people, according to the FBI.

St. Louis had the highest murder rate at about 33 killings per 50,000.

However, the number of homicides reported to the FBI by Flint for 2017 was less than what the city recorded in its own data.

Flint had 44 homicides in 2017, according to figures released by the Flint Police Department following a Freedom of Information Act request earlier this year.

The city's assault rate was also among the highest in the nation.

A person was more likely to be a victim of a felonious assault in Detroit or Flint than in any other city with more than 50,000 people, the FBI figures show.

There were about 760 assaults per 50,000 people in Detroit - the highest in the U.S. - while in Flint that rate was about 759, statistics show.

Despite a nearly 1 percent drop in population, Flint had 334 more reported incidents of violent crime in 2017 compared to 2016, according to the new FBI statistics.

The data shows Flint's property crime rate, which includes burglary, larceny and vehicle theft, at 1,362 incidents per 50,000 people.

Violent crime across the country is down 0.2 percent in 2016, the FBI said in its annual report based on the figures gathered as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Flint had the ninth-highest rate of violent crime reported per 50,000 residents in 2016.

The Vehicle City reported 1,545 violent crimes to the FBI, including 45 homicides, 96 rapes, 249 robberies, 1,155 assaults in 2016.