What are the top 20 cities for true crime tourism?

What do places like the Lizzie Borden, Villisca Axe Murder, and Amityville Horror houses have in common with places like Alcatraz or the Cecil Hotel? This is sort of a trick question. However, if you said “ghosts” or “hauntings,” you’d be right. But before they were known for their paranormal activity, it was their true crimes that made them infamous.

Are any of these popular haunted American true crime destinations located in the top cities for true crime tourism? Yes. Some of them.

Upgraded Points recently published the findings of a study where they analyzed “true crime-related factors” in 50 U.S. cities. And from that they came with a list of the top 20 cities for true crime tourism. Let’s check it out.

The Factors

The true crime-related factors included:

• Violent crime rate (per 100k)
• Serial killer victims (per 100k)
• Percentage of unsolved murders
• FBI crime rates
• Cold cases.

The travel cost factors included:

• Number of true crime tours
• Average ticket prices for true crime tours
• Number of crime or prison museums
• Average airfare
• Airbnb prices.

Methodology and Scoring the Cities

Upgraded Points used lists about the most dangerous cities in the U.S., the top U.S. cities for true crime tourists, and the most notorious true crime in every state to compile an overall list of 50 cities. They then assigned a score of 0-10 to each factor for every city. Then they tallied everything up, giving each city a score between 0-50. Cities with the highest scores were the ones they deemed best for true crime tourism.

Top 20 Cities for True Crime Tourism

1. New Orleans, LA – Overall City Score: 42.13
2. New York, NY – Overall City Score: 39.51
3. Chicago, IL – Overall City Score: 38.19
4. Seattle, WA – Overall City Score: 36.97
5. Washington, DC – Overall City Score: 36.53
6. San Francisco, CO – Overall City Score: 36.25
7. Los Angeles, CA – Overall City Score: 35.89
8. Philadelphia, PA – Overall City Score: 35.69
9. Savannah, GA – Overall City Score: 34.92
10. St. Louis, MO – Overall City Score: 32.55
11. Kansas City, MO – Overall City Score: 32.43
12. Cincinnati, OH – Overall City Score: 32.16
13. Detroit, MI – Overall City Score: 32.05
14. Austin, TX – Overall City Score: 31.14
15. Indianapolis, IN – Overall City Score: 30.87
16. Portland, OR – Overall City Score: 30.82
17. Dallas, TX – Overall City Score: 30.70
18. Knoxville, TN – Overall City Score: 30.63
19. Little Rock, AR – Overall City Score: 30.60
20. Fall River, MA – Overall City Score: 30.06

Other Interesting Stats

Top 5 Cities with the Most Serial Killer Victims (per 100k)

New Orleans hands down had the most victims per 100,000 people. Surprisingly St. Louis and Kansas City, MO tied for a distant second. (Or am I the only one surprised that these two cities slightly nudged out Chicago?)

1. New Orleans – 7.33
2. St. Louis, MO and Kansas City, MO – TIE with 5.64 each
3. Chicago, IL – 5.31
4.  Indianapolis, IN – 5.08
5. Tulsa, OK– 4.97

Top 5 Cities with the Highest Percentage of Unsolved Murders

I’m not surprised to once again see Chicago on one of these micro lists, but I was stunned their unsolved murders are so high. Not a good list to be such a definitive leader of.

1. Chicago, IL – 64%
2. Detroit, MI – 45.31%
3. Washington, DC – 44.03%
4. Indianapolis, IN – 41.12
5. Birmingham, AL – 39.46%

Top 5 Cities with the Most True Crime Tours

It seems fitting that the top two cities are on each coast, with the third in the middle of the country.

1. Los Angeles, CA – 15
2. New York, NY – 14
3. Chicago, IL – 12
4. San Francisco, CA – 10
5. New Orleans, LA and Savannah, GA – TIED with 9 each

Check-In

Is your city among the top 20 for true crime tourism? Or the top 50? If you visit Upgraded Points, they have an interactive table where you can easily search for your city.