Gone are the days of keeping your front door unlocked or lending sugar to your neighbor; in today's America most of us have grown more cautious, and there's a reason why.

According to the FBI's latest statewide statistics, which offer a quick overview of the states where violent crime is most likely to occur, Tennessee took the highest ranking.

What states made the top ten on the list for the most dangerous states? Second on the list was Nevada, followed by Alaska, New Mexico, South Carolina, Delaware, Louisiana, Florida, Maryland and Oklahoma.

What does the FBI consider a "violent crime?"

Violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

24/7 Wall St took a closer look at why the state that is home to the country music mecca, Nashville, would be on the top of the list.

Tennessee:

Violent crimes per 100,000: 643.6
Poverty rate: 17.9%
Pct. of population with bachelor's degree or higher: 24.3%
Property crimes per 100,000: 3,371.4 (10th highest)

Tennessee has the dubious distinction of having the worst violent crime rate in the country. The state was among the top 10 in the country for murders and robberies and was first for aggravated assaults, with an estimated 479.6 for every 100,000 residents. Tennessee's 41,550 violent crimes in 2012 were up 6.8% from 2011 but down 10% from 2007, when there were 46,380 violent crimes. There were 388 murders in the state in 2012, up for a second straight year. To be fair, Tennessee's violent streak is concentrated in some of the major metropolitan areas. Memphis's violent crime rate was the nation's fifth worst, while Nashville's was the 18th worst. Like many states with high violent crime, poverty in Tennessee is acute, and high school and college graduation rates are lower than most of the country.

These FBI statistics highlight a few states where the Latino population could be affected.

Nevada is ranked second on the list.

Violent crimes per 100,000: 607.6
Poverty rate: 16.4%
Pct. of population with bachelor's degree or higher: 22.4%
Property crimes per 100,000: 2,809.4 (23rd highest)

Nevada ranks among the worst in the country for its robbery rate, motor-vehicle theft rate and aggravated assault rate. It also ranks high in categories like burglaries and forcible rape. Much of the crime, state officials maintain, comes from the swarms of tourists who visit Las Vegas, Reno and other cities with casinos and related entertainment. Factor out the casino traffic in Reno, and local crime rates are similar to the rest of the nation, Emmanuel Barthe, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nevada Reno, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. Nevada also has among the lowest high school and college graduation rates.

New Mexico is ranked fourth on the list.

Violent crimes per 100,000: 559.1
Poverty rate: 20.8%
Pct. of population with bachelor's degree or higher: 26.1%
Property crimes per 100,000: 3,600.7 (4th highest)

For many Americans, New Mexico is Taos, Santa Fe and the big nuclear laboratory at Los Alamos. It is also a poor state. Its violent crime rate is the fourth worst in the country; its forcible rape rate is also fourth worst. It has among the highest rates of drug use in the country, which is known to encourage criminal activity. Its burglary rate is second worst. "We dare not pretend this does not have an effect on our economy or our overall quality of life," former New Mexico legislator Dennis Kintigh wrote in the Albuquerque Journal earlier this year about the levels of violence in the state.

Florida is ranked eighth on the list.

Violent crimes per 100,000: 487.1
Poverty rate: 17.1%
Pct. of population with bachelor's degree or higher: 26.8%
Property crimes per 100,000: 3,276.7 (15th highest)

Supporters of the state's controversial "stand your ground" law, passed in 2005, believe it is the reason crime in Florida has been falling. But crime rates have fallen steadily for 20 years, dropping 43% since peaking in 1993. Reported rapes have fallen 28.5% since 1993, to levels last seen in 1979. There were just over 1,000 murders in 2012, up 2.5% from 2011, but the total is down 28% from a 1989 peak. High-school graduation rates have risen sharply as crime has dropped, hitting 74.5% in the 2011/2012 school year, up from 56.5% in 2003, according to the Orlando Sentinel. But it is still a laggard nationally, ahead of only a handful of states.

"While violent crime rose just under 1% nationally in 2012, the trend for the past 20 years has been steady decline. Crime peaked in the late 1980s, fueled by the crack cocaine epidemic. Beginning in the early 1990s, crime began to decline. Although the exact cause remains unclear, experts have pointed to factors such as better policing, demographic changes, higher incarceration rates, a drop in cocaine use and the introduction of a variety of social programs," according to 24/7 Wall St.

"Urban Institute senior fellow John Roman pointed out to 24/7 Wall St, that the crime decline has not been uniform. It has improved markedly in some large cities, like New York, Dallas and Washington, D.C. However, the decline has been less impressive in cities like Baltimore and Detroit, where economic and racial segregation limit the ability of the poor to move into the middle class."