Instagram ranking of Springfield as a “most dangerous college town” uses citywide crime data
A Missouri State safety official says putting the university’s logo next to the number gives the wrong impression
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The number in an Instagram post ranking Springfield 12th among America’s “most dangerous college towns” is real. But it counts crime across the entire city, not just at Missouri State University, where the school’s logo appears beside the ranking.
The post ranks cities with colleges in them. It doesn’t measure a student’s risk on campus. The No. 12 ranking doesn’t mean Missouri State is the 12th most dangerous college campus in America.
The number behind the post
FBI data backs up the post’s number. Springfield reported just over 2,000 violent crimes last year, or about 12 per 1,000 residents.
That rate covers the entire city. It doesn’t tell us how many of those crimes happened at Missouri State.
What the university says
Todd Revell, the university’s associate director of safety, said putting the school’s logo next to that number gives the wrong impression.
“It may be reporting crime in the city, but it’s not specifically reporting about crime on our campus, which I think is the misleading part,” Revell said. “And so if you look at a crime map around our campus, there is a lot of crime around our campus, but on our campus, there’s very little crime.”
What the campus report shows
Missouri State’s own report lists four rapes and one aggravated assault on campus in 2025, and no murders or robberies.
Those are serious crimes, but the university’s report covers a different area than the Springfield figure used in the post.
What a student says
Sophomore Victoria Snyder said she feels safe on campus, though she takes precautions when she walks at night.
“I do feel safe, but I do go ahead and call a trusted adult, just like when I’m walking around at night, just to be safe, because it is a pretty large city,” Snyder said.
After seeing the ranking, Snyder was careful not to speak for every student.
“I’ve not been here long enough to have, like, a strong judgment, but honestly, I feel pretty safe given what I’ve heard about college campuses,” she said.
The FBI published the city crime data. The Instagram page made the college-town ranking. Missouri State also publishes its campus crime report.
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