New study names Gonzales most dangerous suburb in the country

GONZALES — When you’re looking for a place to move, you may consider many different things before making a decision.

Those considerations may include the nature of the nearest schools, its proximity to work and commerce, and other factors.

Another crucial factor that is typically taken into account is safety.

SmartAsset, a personal finance website, reviewed 370 suburbs across the 100 largest cities in the U.S. The website analyzed the suburbs based on multiple safety-related metrics, including violent crime rates and property crime rates, which were assessed using FBI data. The analysis also included rates of adults engaging in excessive drinking, as well as deaths related to traffic accidents and drug poisonings from County Health Rankings.

One south Louisiana suburb earned a notable spot in the study.

Gonzales had the worst overall safety rating among the analyzed suburbs ranking it the most dangerous suburb. The suburb registered the second-worst property crime rate at 7,466 incidents per 100,000 residents, coming in second to Pineville, North Carolina, which had a rate of 11,600.

Compared to some of the places ranked as safer, Gonzales had a relatively lower vehicular mortality rate of 16.8. Its drug poisoning rate stood at 33.7 per 100,000, while its violent crime rate was 570, placing it in a tie for the 39th position out of the 370 suburbs.

“We thought it was BS from the beginning but we checked with our law enforcement people to be sure and they assured us everything is in good shape,” said Gonzales Mayor Barney Arceneaux in reference to the study.

In 2019 Gonzales was chosen by the National Chamber of Commerce as one of the Top Five Cities To Live in Louisiana.

MORE: See all of the Louisiana cities ranked

The 10 lowest-ranking suburbs in SmartAsset’s analysis

Gonzales, Louisiana
DeLand, Florida
Treasure Island, Florida
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Washington, Pennsylvania
Granite City, Illinois
Wilmington, Delaware
Largo, Florida
Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Lumberton, North Carolina

Great Falls, Virginia, a suburb located along the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., secured the top spot as the safest suburb. This census-designated location had the second-lowest violent crime rate at 6.81 incidents per 100,000 residents, with Edgerton, Wisconsin having the lowest crime rate of 0. Great Falls also boasted one of the lowest vehicle mortality rates. Moreover, SmartAsset discovered that, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, Great Falls had the highest median household income of any of the suburbs analyzed, surpassing $250,000.