Posted in Indiana
August 27, 2017
This City In Indiana Was One Of The Most Dangerous Places In The Nation In The 1990s
The ’90s fashions may be back in style, but not everything from this decade is coming back. That’s fortunate because in the 1990s, Indiana was home to one of the most dangerous places in the nation. In fact, in 1994-1995, it was ranked as the most dangerous place in the entire country.
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Gary, Indiana became notorious in the mid-1990s as a dangerous city. In fact, by 1994, it was known as the murder capital of the world.

In the 1950s, Gary was a bustling city that over 200,000 Hoosiers called home. Over the next few decades, as the country's manufacturing industry declined, Gary's population and popularity began to decline.

This caused Gary's once-thriving businesses to close, one-by-one, leaving a wake of abandoned churches, storefronts, auditoriums, and train stations.

Rick Harris/Flickr
Gary's urban decay continued, with many residents in the area falling beneath the poverty line. All of this economic decline and struggle led to the violence that made Gary the most dangerous city in the U.S. in the 1990s.

In 1995, Gary had a population of 115,269 and over 3,000 reported crimes. That year there were 129 murders, bringing Gary to the top of violent cities in the US, for a high number of murders per capita.

While Gary has improved since the '90s, it's still considered a dangerous city, and it's nowhere near the bustling city it once was.
Did you know Gary was one of the most dangerous places in the country? For a full list of the most dangerous spots in Indiana, read on.