The States Where You’re Most Likely to Live Near a Serial Killer, Ranked

The chances of living next door to a serial killer are slim, but never zero—especially if you live in America. The "Land of the Free" also seems to be the land of free-roaming criminals, with the U.S. accounting for an astounding 66.2% of known cases worldwide, totaling 3,615 serial killers to date.

But much like debt, serial killer cases are concentrated more heavily in some states than others. To find out where you might want to check your locks twice at night, PokerTube analyzed serial killer data across all 50 states. The study ranked each state by its number of known serial killers per one million residents and also looked at victim rates to reveal where these cases have taken the greatest toll.

So before you start side-eyeing your neighbors, let’s take a look at the 10 states with the highest serial killer rates—and the places where you’re far less likely to cross paths with a modern-day Dahmer.

The Wild West Claims an Undesirable Crown

Wyoming has the highest concentration of known serial killers in the country, with 13.59 serial killers per one million residents. To put that into perspective, the odds of living near a known serial killer in the Cowboy State (1 in 73,584 people) are higher than the odds of hitting the "Cowboy Draw" jackpot (1 in 1.221 million).

The state's small population plays a large role in its ranking. Wyoming has recorded eight known serial killers, including Mark Allen Hopkinson, who was eventually executed for four murders committed in the 1970s. But because less than 600,000 people live there, those cases translate into a higher per-capita rate than in states with many more killers.

The likelihood of locking eyes with a serial killer in second-place Alaska is roughly 1 in 81,900. Although it's known as the "Land of the Midnight Sun," Alaska has a dark side: the state has the highest victim rate in the country, with 8.67 victims per 100,000 residents—more than double Oregon's rate of 4.09. Alaska's remote terrain has played a role in some of its most infamous cases, including the crimes of Robert Hansen, who killed multiple women during the 1970s and 1980s.

Two more Western states—Oregon and Montana—plus Missouri in the Midwest fill out the top five. Driven by ruthless criminals like Terry Blair, who was convicted of killing at least seven women in Kansas City, Missouri has the highest victim count (350) of the top ten states.

The top 10 states with the highest number of serial killers per one million people include:

The Safer Side of America’s Serial Killer Map

If avoiding serial killers is your MO, Minnesota is your best bet. The "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is also the land of just seven known serial killers, ranking last in the country with a rate of 1.20 per million residents.

Surprisingly, Pennsylvania and New York—home to big cities with big reputations for crime—also landed near the bottom of the ranking. Although both states' total victim tallies (462 and 677) and known killer counts (18 and 39) are frighteningly high, their much larger populations keep their per-capita rates pretty low.

Despite what the many horror movies set in the Midwest may have led you to believe, the region is well represented among the lowest-ranking states. Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan all fall in the bottom 15, with each state reporting a serial killer rate under 2.50 per million people (compared with the national average of 10.55).

Interestingly, the only other non-contiguous state in the country, Hawaii, sits at the opposite end of the ranking from Alaska. The "Paradise of the Pacific" might actually live up to its nickname, with just three known serial killers recorded in the study.

The 10 states with the lowest serial killer rates include:

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