Morgan Quitno Press
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing, Research |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Lawrence , United States |
| Products | State Rankings, Health Care State Rankings, Education State Rankings, Crime State Rankings, City Crime Rankings, State Trends |
| Parent | Sage Publications (via CQ Press and Congressional Quarterly Inc.) |
Morgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing firm established in 1989 and headquartered in Lawrence, Kansas. The company produced annual statistical reference publications covering US states and cities, with prominent titles such as State Rankings, Health Care State Rankings, Education State Rankings, Crime State Rankings, City Crime Rankings, and State Trends. In 2007, Morgan Quitno Press was purchased by CQ Press, a subsidiary of Congressional Quarterly Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Sage Publications. Sage later incorporated Morgan Quitno's statistical data into its Sage Stats platform.
Products
- State Rankings – offers extensive livability assessments for each state and awards the yearly Most Livable State distinction.
- Health Care State Ranking – presents in-depth health care statistics; the leading state is honored with the Healthiest State Award.
- Crime State Rankings – concentrates on crime statistics; the top and bottom states receive the titles Safest State and Most Dangerous State, respectively.
- Education State Rankings – provides detailed K-12 educational data; the highest-ranked state earns the Smartest State award.
- City Crime Rankings – assesses crime levels in cities and metropolitan areas; designates Safest City, Safest Metro, Most Dangerous City, and Most Dangerous Metro rankings.
- State Trends – monitors changes in state data over time; identifies the Most Improved State. Its last edition was published in 2007.
Evaluated cities and metropolitan areas
- Cities with populations exceeding 75,000
- All metropolitan areas as defined by the US Census Bureau
Crimes analyzed
- murder
- rape
- robbery
- assault
- burglary
- vehicle theft
Methodology
- Determine crime rates per 100,000 residents for each offense using FBI data from the previous year.
- Compare these rates against national averages.
- Calculate a Crime Index based on Morgan Quitno’s proprietary formula.
- Rank cities and metropolitan regions according to their Crime Index scores.
Criticism
The FBI discourages direct comparisons of its crime statistics across cities as conducted by Morgan Quitno, noting that variables such as population density, urban development, economic factors, and local crime reporting attitudes can significantly influence outcomes.
Cities in Illinois are omitted due to inconsistencies between state police and FBI rape case reports; additional exclusions result from incomplete datasets.
In 2007, organizations including the American Society of Criminology, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the FBI called on Morgan Quitno to cease issuing rankings labeling cities as "safest" or "most dangerous," describing these labels as "unfounded and harmful." The ASC passed a resolution condemning such rankings as an irresponsible use of data that damages communities and misleads public perception about crime.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors criticized the ranking approach for misrepresenting city reputations and pointed out methodological issues such as assigning equal weight to murder and auto theft. They also noted distortions caused by varying municipal boundary sizes—large-boundary cities like Houston show diluted crime figures compared to smaller-boundary cities such as St. Louis or Atlanta. Including surrounding suburbs in metropolitan area evaluations provides a more accurate portrayal of regional crime patterns.