Yeh, I think its mainly that (for reference, I was born in a rough part of a major US city and spent about 6 or 7 years living in 3rd world for work, so I have some reference). I live now in a semi-private community that is very very safe.

No doubt the US has very unsafe areas, but those are fairly localized. I think being a victim of crime can be broken down into a few different areas, like:

Assuming over a 10 year period: You probably have a fair chance of experiencing #1 if you live in a major US city, a medium-low chance of #2, and an almost negligible chance of #3.