Miamians don't keep the peace. Miami-Dade is the fourth most violent area in the Institute for Economics & Peace's Peace Index. Meanwhile, Florida is the fourth most violent state, with two other metro areas in the bottom ten for peace.
"The USPI measures peacefulness according to five indicators: the number of homicides, number of violent crimes, the incarceration rate, number of police employees and the availability of small arms," says the institute's website.
"It is the only statistical analysis of crime, and the cost of crime, in all 50 states and, for the first time this year, the 61 most populous metropolitan areas."
The analysis ranks each factor on a scale of one to five, with one representing the most peaceful.
Here's Florida's state-wide breakdown:
Florida has a slightly lower prevalence of small arms than the rest of the nation, but we're below the curve in the rest of the factors, most notably in that the state has a much higher rates of incarceration and number of police employees.
Here's the breakdown for Miami:
The metro-area breakdowns do not include small arms. The number of homicides and police employees are actually on the lower end, but our high rate of violent crime and incarceration pushes us to the bottom.
Jacksonville joins Miami in the bottom ten by placing at seventh.
Meanwhile, the index finds that Maine is the most peaceful state, while Louisiana is the least. Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the most peaceful city, while Detroit is the overall least.
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