Historic town, where thousands once flocked to the famous wine festival, is named America's most dangerous suburb

A historic Southwest city once known for its wine festival and spectacular sunsets has been named America's most dangerous suburb in a new study.

Bernalillo, New Mexico, founded during the Spanish colonial period as a center for trade and agriculture, was given this undesirable title by SmartAsset because the city struggles with extremely high crime rates and excessive alcohol consumption.

The personal finance website has created a ranking of 360 satellite cities to help property seekers find the best neighborhood, as safety is a crucial factor for many families looking for their dream home in the suburbs.

Bernalillo, about 15 miles north of Albuquerque, performed particularly poorly in violent crime and property crime rates.

Using data from the FBI and neighborhoodscout.com, SmartAsset found that the violent crime rate in the city of about 9,000 residents is more than three times higher than in all other 360 suburbs included in the study.

The city of Bernalillo, located in front of the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico, is the most dangerous suburb in the USA, according to a new study by the financial website SmartAsset.

In addition, the property crime rate per capita was almost twice as high as the next worst neighborhood, Capitola, California.

According to County Health Rankings, the ranking also included traffic fatalities, excessive alcohol consumption among adults and drug poisoning.

The report defined a suburb as a community with at least 5,000 residents located within 15 to 45 minutes' drive of one of America's 100 largest cities.

According to SmartAsset's analysis, the safest suburbs were primarily in the Mountain West, Midwest and East Coast, while the most dangerous areas were predominantly in the South.

The five worst suburbs were: Lumberton, North Carolina; Scottsburg, Indiana; Petersburg, Virginia and Asheboro, North Carolina.

New Mexico has long struggled with high crime. In 2022, the rate of reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents was 781, according to FBI data, compared to the U.S. average of 381.

The situation is similar with property crimes: there are an average of almost 3,000 cases in the state, while the national average is around 2,000.

The city of Albuquerque has recognized the problem and increased its police department budget by $13 million this year.

However, a recent report by the Finance Committee of the New Mexico Legislature found that the city's police force was “not effective in preventing or solving crime.”

The problem also seems to have spread to the suburbs: crime has increased in neighborhoods like Bernalillo.

Bernalillo is the historic center of New Mexico, with settlement dating back nearly a thousand years. Its historic railroad depot is an outstanding cultural landmark

WorldAtlas.com named the city one of the state's seven “most charming river towns” this year, citing the “iconic” Church of Our Lady of Sorrows as its main attraction.

Real estate prices in Bernalillo have fallen by a quarter in the last year, to under $300,000. But its history and character still attract affluent homebuyers. This luxurious 3-bed estate is currently on the market for nearly $2 million.

But the city may still feel it has something to offer because of its history and spectacular surroundings.

Bernalillo is located on the northwest slope of the Sandia Mountains and nestles on the banks of the state's largest river, the Rio Grande.

It is the historic center of New Mexico and its settlement dates back almost a thousand years.

This year, it was named one of the state's seven “most charming river towns” by WorldAtlas.com, with the “iconic” Our Lady of Sorrows Church and historic railroad depot mentioned as outstanding cultural landmarks.

For 27 years it was the venue for the famous New Mexico Wine Festival on Labor Day weekend.

However, due to declining visitor numbers, the event was cancelled in 2014.

Las Fiestas de San Lorenzo, a celebration of the Mexican Matachines dance, still takes place every year in August.

Despite the cultural attractions, high crime rates appear to have taken their toll on the local housing market.

According to real estate website RedFin, the median sales price of a home fell below $300,000 last month, nearly a quarter less than the same period last year.

The FBI's crime data for Bernalillo only goes through 2020, although SmartAsset relies on current data from neighborhoodscout.com for its report.

Lumberton, NC is the second most dangerous suburb in the US according to SmartAsset

The rankings took into account violent crime and property crime rates as well as traffic fatalities and drug poisonings from the county health rankings. Petersburg, Virginia (pictured) was ranked the fourth most dangerous

The website, which analyzes crime and safety data in communities across the U.S., found that Bernalillo is among the 10 percent most dangerous cities in the country.

It states that the probability of becoming a victim of violent or property crime in Bernalillo is 1 in 33 – one of the highest in the country.

Even in crime-ridden New Mexico, the crime rate is higher than 87 percent of the state's other cities and towns.

DailyMail.com has contacted the city's mayor, Jack Torres, and police chief Chris Stoyell for comment.

SmartAsset has named Lehi, Utah, the safest suburb in the United States. Located about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, the suburb has the lowest rates of excessive drinking, as well as the lowest rates of violent and property crimes.

The other safest suburbs were: Bethesda, Maryland; Layton, Utah; Rockville, Maryland and Great Falls, Virginia.