Dangerous Neighborhoods Where You May Not Expect Them

When buying a house, don't let neighborhood names like Fountain Park, Sunnyside and Joyland fool you.

At least that seems to be one of the messages that comes from a report about America's most dangerous neighborhoods circulating on many websites, including lolzparade.com.

All three of those pleasant-sounding places in Missouri, Texas and Georgia, respectively, are among the country's most violent neighborhoods, according to the list.

The study—the author of which is unclear—ranks American neighborhoods according to the rate of violent crime per 1,000 residents and the chances an individual has of becoming the victim of a violent crime in one year in each area.

There must be other factors taken into consideration for the rankings, because the final listing doesn't strictly follow those criteria.

For example, the Baltimore neighborhood area of North Avenue and Bel Air Road is ranked 13th on the list, with a violent crime rate of 149.98 per 1,000 residents. The chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in the 21213 ZIP Code is "an astonishing 1 in 7," according to the report.

Yet Northeast Auburn Gresham in Chicago, the No. 1 most violent neighborhood according to the report, has a violent crime rate of 116.56 per 1,000 residents. There is a 1 in 9 chance of becoming a violent crime victim in that area.

NeighborhoodScout.com, in its report of the top 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in the country, compiles crime data from the FBI and 17,000 local law enforcement agencies in the United States, according to a report by ABC News.

The study whittles crime down to 61,000 American neighborhoods based on ZIP code and sells its findings to people looking to buy a house, according to the ABC report.

The most dangerous neighborhood cited by the Neighborhood Scout Reports is West Lake Street in Chicago. The neighborhood has a violent crime rate of 257.72 per 1,000 residents and there is a 1 in 4 chance of becoming a violent crime victim in ZIP code 60612, according to the report.

There are no Baltimore neighborhoods in the Neighborhood Scout report.

The area of L St. SE in the District of Columbia is No. 9 on the list, with a violent crime rate of 111.34 per 1,000 residents, and a 1 in 9 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime.

Georgia is home to four of the report's most violent neighborhoods in the country, and Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada each claim three.

The complete list can be viewed at abcnews.com.