Where in the U.S. Is Murder Most Common? The Latest Homicide Statistics

Key Findings

• Murders fell nearly 15% in 2024, the most significant drop in a decade. The national murder rate declined to 5.0 per 100,000 people, matching pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
• Despite the overall decline, gun violence is a persistent problem. Firearms were used in 74% of homicides.
• Homicide victims are overwhelmingly male and young. Men made up 77% of victims, and nearly 40% of victims were between 20 and 34 years old.
• Black Americans remain disproportionately affected by homicide. 52% of homicide victims in 2024 were Black or African American, 43% were white, and 18% Hispanic or Latino.
• The South has the most murders per capita. Eight of the ten states with the highest rate of homicide are in the South, with Louisiana taking the top spot.
• America’s murder rate remains moderate globally, but far above its peers. The U.S. homicide rate in 2024 was five to ten times higher than most Western European countries.

Forty-seven percent of Americans worry ‘a great deal’ about violent crime, and 27 percent say they frequently or occasionally think about the possibility of being murdered. It’s a concern that crosses many people’s minds at some point–but is the worry warranted?

Though violence–particularly murder–seems to dominate the headlines amid heightened debate about public safety and policing, the hard numbers tell a more positive story. Murders fell 15 percent in America between 2023 and 2024, representing the sharpest decline in over a decade. Yet, despite the downward national trend, some cities still struggle with a persistently high number of murders.

We pored over the latest FBI data on homicide in the U.S. to find out where murder is the most common, where rates are changing fastest, who’s most likely to become a victim, and how the country’s murder rate stacks up against the rest of the world.

Murder in the U.S. Over Time

Let’s start by taking a look at the nation’s overall murder rate, which is on a decidedly downward path.

Over the last two decades, the rate has fluctuated between a low of 4.4 murders per 100,000 residents in 2014 and a high of 6.7 per 100,000 residents in 2020. The rate has been steadily declining over the last four years, with 2024’s numbers marking a 23 percent drop from pandemic-level highs.

Year	Murders and nonnegligent manslaughters	Murder rate per 100,000 people
2005	17,598	5.9
2006	17,190	5.7
2007	17,264	5.7
2008	16,382	5.4
2009	15,426	5
2010	14,713	4.8
2011	14,720	4.7
2012	14,994	4.8
2013	14,280	4.5
2014	14,177	4.4
2015	15,857	4.9
2016	17,352	5.4
2017	18,139	5.6
2018	16,664	5.1
2019	16,862	5.1
2020	21,984	6.7
2021	21,463	6.5
2022	21,939	6.6
2023	19,907	5.9
2024	16,935	5.0

Source: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 1

Recent years have shown a significant decline from the peak crime levels of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The murder rate in 1980, the highest year on record, was more than double what it is today. Targeted policing, violence prevention, and economic improvements have all played a role in the multi-decade decline in homicides.

Though we’ve returned to pre-pandemic murder rates, we haven’t quite achieved the lows of the mid-2010s. Between 2010 and 2014, the yearly murder rate was just 4.6 per 100,000 residents–the lowest five-year average in all of recorded U.S. history.

Murder in the U.S. Compared to Other Countries

Looking back over the last six-plus decades of data, it’s clear we’re living in some of the safest times in our nation’s history. But are we in the safest place? To find out, let’s take a look at how the U.S. compares to other countries when it comes to homicide.

Country	2023 Murder Rate per 100k	Country	2023 Murder Rate per 100k	Country	2023 Murder Rate per 100k
Saint Kitts and Nevis	64.2	Argentina	4.5	Germany	0.9
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	51.3	Bolivia	4.4	Austria	0.9
Jamaica	49.4	Philippines	4.3	Australia	0.9
Ecuador	45.7	Pakistan	4.3	Denmark	0.8
Haiti	41.2	Turkey	3.2	Greece	0.8
Saint Lucia	39.0	Lithuania	2.6	Cyprus	0.8
Honduras	31.4	Myanmar	2.6	Poland	0.8
Dominica	27.1	Moldova	2.5	Montenegro	0.8
Colombia	24.9	Latvia	2.5	Czechia	0.8
Mexico	24.9	Armenia	2.2	Malaysia	0.7
Guatemala	23.4	Azerbaijan	2.2	Norway	0.7
Brazil	19.3	Fiji	2.1	Hungary	0.7
Guyana	19.1	Canada	2.0	Netherlands	0.7
Costa Rica	17.7	Morocco	1.7	Spain	0.7
Nigeria	15.7	Estonia	1.5	Croatia	0.7
Puerto Rico	14.6	North Macedonia	1.5	Ireland	0.7
Grenada	13.7	Albania	1.4	Switzerland	0.6
Panama	11.7	France	1.3	Italy	0.6
Uruguay	11.2	Serbia	1.3	Slovenia	0.6
Dominican Republic	10.9	Iceland	1.3	Malta	0.6
Antigua and Barbuda	10.7	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.2	Macao (China)	0.6
Uganda	9.0	Algeria	1.2	Northern Ireland	0.5
Barbados	7.4	Sweden	1.1	Republic of Korea	0.5
Paraguay	6.8	Slovakia	1.1	Hong Kong  (China)	0.4
Suriname	6.5	Romania	1.1	Japan	0.2
Chile	6.3	Bulgaria	1.1	Oman	0.1
Bermuda	6.2	Scotland	1.0	Singapore	0.1
Mongolia	5.9	Jordan	1.0	Holy See	0.0
United States of America	5.8	Finland	1.0

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Victims of Intentional Homicide, 2023

Of the 86 countries for which data is available from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 28 of them–mainly in the Caribbean and Latin America–report higher murder rates than the U.S. That puts the U.S. within the top third of countries in the world for murder and among the top handful of developed nations.

Why is America’s murder rate so much higher than that of other countries with similar cultures, economies, levels of education, and wealth? Experts believe there’s a clear answer: guns.

The U.S. has many, many more civilian-owned firearms per person than any other nation. Prior to the pandemic, the likelihood of being killed with a knife or blunt weapon in America was about the same as in comparable countries like the United Kingdom. However, according to Brookings, Americans were 80 times more likely to be killed with a gun than citizens of countries like the United Kingdom or Germany.

It’s worth noting that some of the most violent places have murder rates many times higher than America’s. Jamaica, for example, sees 49.4 murders per 100,000 people—almost 10 times more than the U.S. By contrast, 57 countries have lower murder rates than the U.S. Twenty-eight of them, most of which are in Europe, have less than one murder per 100,000 residents per year.

How Murder in the U.S. Compares to Other Crimes

Murder is the least common of all major crimes the FBI tracks, accounting for under 0.4% of violent crimes. Aggravated assault, by comparison, happens 50 times more frequently, with a rate of 256.1 incidents per 100,000 people. Theft is by far the most common crime in the U.S.

Murder Victim Demographics

Unfortunately, some demographic groups are more likely to be victims of murder. The data skews heavily toward men; in 2014, roughly 77 percent of all homicide victims were male and 22 percent were female, and fewer than one percent were unknown. To look at it another way, the male-to-female ratio of victims was 3.4 to 1.

Racial distribution of murder victims in the U.S.

Race	Number of victims	Percent of victims
White	6,753	43%
Black or African American	8,158	52%
Another race	464	3%
Unknown	420	3%

Source: FBI Expanded Homicide Data, Table 2, 2024

Black Americans are disproportionately affected by homicide. This group accounts for more than half of the people murdered in 2024–52 percent–despite representing about 14 percent of the total population. Hispanic or Latino people made up 18 of murder victims in 2024, and those who are not Hispanic or Latino made up 71 percent (the other 11 percent had unknown ethnicity).

Age breakdown of murder victims in 2024

Age group	Percentage of murder victims
Under 1 year	1%
1 to 4	1%
5 to 8	1%
9 to 12	1%
13 to 16	4%
17 to 19	8%
20 to 24	13%
25 to 29	12%
30 to 34	12%
35 to 39	11%
40 to 44	9%
45 to 49	7%
50 to 54	5%
55 to 59	4%
60 to 64	3%
65 to 69	2%
70 to 74	2%
75 and over	2%
Unknown age	1%

Source: FBI Expanded Homicide Data, Table 2, 2024

Young adults between the ages of 20 and 34 are the most at-risk age group. Together, people in this age range make up about 38 percent of all murders.

Taken together, the demographic data show that young Black men are the most likely people to become victims of murder. Research has shown that members of this group are more likely to experience poverty, racism, limited educational and occupational opportunities, and other social and economic disparities, all of which correlate with higher exposure to violence.

How People are Murdered in the U.S.

Not surprisingly, firearms are far and away the most frequently used murder weapon in the U.S. They’re used in three out of four homicides. Knives are a distant second, used as the weapon in just 10 percent of murders.

Weapons used in U.S. murders	Percentage of victims in 2024
Firearms	74%
Knives or cutting instruments	10%
Body parts (hands, fists, feet,  etc.)	4%
Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.)	2%
Narcotics	1%
Asphyxiation	1%
Fire	1%
Poison, strangling, explosives, drowning, or pushing from a height	0.10%
Other weapons	7%

Source: FBI Expanded Homicide Data, Table 11, 2024

Victims’ Relationships with Killers

If you watch a lot of Dateline, you might assume murders are committed primarily by husbands who discover an affair or wives looking to make off with a hefty insurance payout. When you examine the data, though, that’s far from the truth.

How killer knew their  victim	Percentage of victims 2024
Unknown	46%
Acquaintance	21%
Stranger	10%
Girlfriend	4%
Wife	3%
Friend	3%
Other family	3%
Father	2%
Son	2%
Mother	1%
Boyfriend	1%
Daughter	1%
Neighbor	1%
Brother	1%
Husband	1%
Sister	0.3%
Employer	0.1%
Employee	0.03%

Source: FBI Expanded Homicide Data, Table 10, 2024

Of the roughly 8,500 murders where the relationship between the killer and the victim was known, about eight percent were committed by the victim’s spouse. It’s much more common for a victim to be killed by someone with whom they’re loosely tied, like a colleague, acquaintance, or service provider.

Stranger killings account for about 19 percent of cases where the police have determined the killer-victim relationship. Most murders occur between people who know each other, whether they’re family members, intimate partners, or acquaintances.

Worst U.S. Cities for Murder

While the majority of municipalities in the U.S. have few, if any, murders in a given year, some cities often have murder rates many times higher than the national average. This has been a trend for decades; the higher population density, concentrated areas of poverty, and greater level of opportunity found in cities create an environment where murder (and also crime in general) is more likely to occur.

Among cities with more than 100,000 people, Birmingham, Alabama has the highest rate of murder at 58.8 per capita. That’s more than 10 times the national average and nearly seven times higher than Alabama as a whole.

The city, for its part, has taken action to address the staggering numbers. In early 2025, the Birmingham Police Department introduced an eight-point strategy aimed at reducing violent crime, which includes measures such as increasing police presence in high-risk neighborhoods and addressing outstanding warrants for violent offenders. Early numbers suggest that it’s working; by July 2025, homicides were down by more than 50 percent from the same time the previous year.

Large Cities With Highest Murder Rates

Among Cities with 100,000 or More People

City	State	Rate of murder per 100,000	Total murders in 2024
Birmingham	Alabama	58.8	115
St. Louis	Missouri	54.1	150
Memphis	Tennessee	40.6	249
Baltimore	Maryland	34.8	197
Detroit	Michigan	31.2	203
Cleveland	Ohio	30	109
Dayton	Ohio	29.7	40
Kansas City	Missouri	27.6	141
Shreveport	Louisiana	26.8	47
Washington	District Of Columbia	25.5	179
Richmond	Virginia	24.2	56
Milwaukee	Wisconsin	23.9	134
South Fulton	Georgia	22.2	25
Cincinnati	Ohio	21.8	68
Louisville Metro	Kentucky	21.7	147
Indianapolis	Indiana	20	178
Oakland	California	18.6	81
Albuquerque	New Mexico	18.4	103
Montgomery	Alabama	18.1	35
Minneapolis	Minnesota	18	76
Lancaster	California	17.7	29
Little Rock	Arkansas	17.6	36
Hartford	Connecticut	17.6	21
Chicago	Illinois	17.5	461
Pueblo	Colorado	17.1	19
North Charleston	South Carolina	17	21
Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	16.9	262
Mobile	Alabama	16.4	39
Vallejo	California	16.4	20
Norfolk	Virginia	16.1	37

Source: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 8, 2024

Our research revealed a noteworthy trend that has emerged in recent years: a growing number of small- and medium-sized cities have murder rates significantly higher than their more heavily populated peers.

East Point, Georgia–an Atlanta suburb that’s comparable in population size to Atlantic City, New Jersey or Dover, Delaware–leads the nation in homicide with a murder rate of 78.5 per 100,000 people. Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina all have two cities in the top 10, and every city on the list has a rate that’s at least 10 times the national average.

So what’s behind spiking murder rates in smaller cities? A recent study may shed light on the trend. Researchers found that homicides in the U.S. increase when resources are scarce and unequally distributed. At a time when more Americans are struggling to make ends meet and income inequality is growing, economic conditions may be a driving factor of suburban homicides.

Small Cities and Towns With Highest Murder Rates

Among Cities with 10,000-99,999 People

City	State	Rate of murder per 100,000	Total murders/homicides in 2024
East Point	Georgia	79	30
West Memphis	Arkansas	72	17
Riverdale	Illinois	70	7
College Park	Georgia	65	9
Florida City	Florida	64	8
Laurinburg	North Carolina	60	9
Chester	Pennsylvania	59	20
Prichard	Alabama	59	11
Eufaula	Alabama	57	7
Lumberton	North Carolina	52	10

Source: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 8, 2024

Cities with Lowest Murder Rates

The good news is that most cities and towns in the U.S. have murder rates lower than the national average. Dozens of them are below 1.0 per 100,000 people, and some are so low they’re statistically insignificant or zero. For comparison purposes, we’ve omitted places with 0 murders from our lists.

Two Arizona cities, Gilbert and Scottsdale, tie for the lowest rate of murders in the nation at 0.4 per 100,000 residents. This aligns with our expectations based on crime trends, as more affluent areas tend to experience less violent crime than their poorer counterparts. Gilbert and Scottsdale have some of the highest average incomes in the state.

Smaller cities in California also fare very well in terms of homicide rates. Ten of the 30 cities with the lowest rates are in the Golden State.

Cities With Lowest Murder Rates

City	State	Rate of murder per 100,000	Total murders in 2024
Gilbert	Arizona	0.4	1
Scottsdale	Arizona	0.4	1
Aurora	Illinois	0.6	1
Garden Grove	California	0.6	1
Bellevue	Washington	0.7	1
Sunnyvale	California	0.7	1
Naperville	Illinois	0.7	1
Chandler	Arizona	0.7	2
Meridian	Idaho	0.7	1
Fullerton	California	0.7	1
Stamford	Connecticut	0.7	1
Cedar Rapids	Iowa	0.7	1
Carrollton	Texas	0.7	1
Sterling Heights	Michigan	0.8	1
Pasadena	California	0.8	1
Norman	Oklahoma	0.8	1
Fairfield	California	0.8	1
Menifee	California	0.9	1
Conroe	Texas	0.9	1
Carlsbad	California	0.9	1
Murrieta	California	0.9	1
Santa Clarita	California	0.9	2
Ramapo Town	New York	0.9	1
Spokane Valley	Washington	0.9	1
Edison Township	New Jersey	0.9	1
Fontana	California	0.9	2
Sugar Land	Texas	0.9	1
St. George	Utah	0.9	1
Fishers	Indiana	0.9	1
Sandy Springs	Georgia	0.9	1

Source: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 8, 2024, excludes cities with 0 murders in 2024

Another interesting trend our research uncovered is that some traditionally “high crime” cities have made great strides in homicide reduction over time.

In the first half of 2025, St. Louis’s homicide rate fell 22 percent to its lowest level in a decade. In Baltimore, the former “murder capital of the U.S.”, homicide is down 40 percent since 2020. Washington D.C. murder rates dropped 33 percent following a twenty-year high.

Aggressive firearm tracking, close relationships with prosecutors, tighter new crime legislation, and deterrent measures targeting high-risk individuals are some of the measures these cities credit for their success in curbing murders.

Murder Rates by State

Now let’s zoom out and look at murders by state. Many states experience very few murders, but in some places the murder rate is more than twice the national average. According to FBI data, most states experienced a year-over-year decline in the number of reported murder incidents, except South Dakota, Delaware, Vermont, Utah, and Mississippi.

State	Rate of murder per 100,000	Total murders in 2024	2023-2024 change in murder incidents
Louisiana	10.8	495	-26%
New Mexico	10.5	224	-10%
Alabama	8.7	450	-16%
Tennessee	7.9	571	-21%
Missouri	7.8	486	-16%
North Carolina	7.5	832	-5%
South Carolina	7.5	409	-15%
Mississippi	7.4	217	2%
Arkansas	7.3	226	-23%
Maryland	7.2	448	-17%
Alaska	6.9	51	-14%
Georgia	6.9	770	-7%
Oklahoma	6.3	256	0%
Nevada	6.1	199	-15%
Kentucky	6.1	279	-5%
Illinois	5.8	732	-12%
Delaware	5.7	60	30%
Indiana	5.5	381	-3%
West Virginia	5.3	94	-11%
Michigan	5.2	529	-11%
Texas	5.2	1,616	-14%
Ohio	5.0	598	-16%
Pennsylvania	5.0	652	-25%
Arizona	4.9	374	-23%
Virginia	4.8	421	-22%
South Dakota	4.7	43	65%
Colorado	4.5	270	-15%
California	4.5	1,782	-8%
Wisconsin	4.2	251	-15%
Florida	3.9	900	-19%
Kansas	3.8	114	-27%
Washington	3.8	303	-20%
Oregon	3.7	158	-17%
Vermont	3.4	22	29%
Minnesota	2.9	169	-8%
Montana	2.7	31	-14%
New York	2.7	541	-17%
North Dakota	2.6	21	-25%
Utah	2.6	91	15%
Connecticut	2.4	90	-35%
Wyoming	2.4	14	-26%
Maine	2.3	33	-45%
New Jersey	2.3	223	-18%
Iowa	2.1	69	-13%
Nebraska	2.1	42	-39%
Rhode Island	2.1	23	-21%
Massachusetts	1.8	127	-15%
Idaho	1.6	32	-36%
Hawaii	1.6	23	-36%
New Hampshire	1.0	14	-44%

Source: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 5, 2024

Louisiana had the highest per-capita murder rate in 2024 at 10.8, followed closely by New Mexico at 10.5. Eight of the ten states with the highest murder rates are in the South.

Historically, the South has consistently had some of the highest murder rates in the country. This phenomenon has been the subject of much research, and while no single factor is to blame, experts believe a combination of higher poverty levels, less restrictive gun laws, and social norms surrounding conflict resolution all play a part.

Murder is least common in New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Idaho. In these states, only 1-2 people per 100,000 residents are victims of homicide each year. Five of the ten states with the lowest murder rates–Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maine, and New Hampshire–are in the northeast.

Change in murder rates between 2000 and 2024

State name	Change in murder rate 2000-2024
South Dakota	417%
North Dakota	339%
Vermont	126%
West Virginia	112%
Maine	96%
Oregon	85%
Delaware	78%
Alaska	60%
Montana	51%
Colorado	46%
New Mexico	42%
Utah	37%
Ohio	36%
Idaho	33%
Iowa	33%
Wisconsin	32%
South Carolina	29%
Kentucky	27%
Missouri	26%
Oklahoma	18%
Alabama	18%
Arkansas	16%
Washington	15%
Tennessee	10%
North Carolina	8%
Pennsylvania	2%
Wyoming	-1%
Indiana	-5%
Minnesota	-6%
Nevada	-6%
Massachusetts	-11%
Maryland	-12%
Texas	-13%
Louisiana	-14%
Georgia	-14%
Connecticut	-16%
Virginia	-16%
Mississippi	-18%
Illinois	-20%
Michigan	-22%
California	-26%
Arizona	-30%
New Jersey	-31%
Florida	-31%
Kansas	-39%
Nebraska	-43%
New Hampshire	-45%
Hawaii	-45%
New York	-46%
Rhode Island	-52%

Sources: FBI Crime in the U.S., Table 5, 2024, 2000 Uniform Crime Report

Geographically, murder rates have shifted quite a bit since the start of the millennium. Twenty-four states, led by Rhode Island, New York, and Hawaii, have reduced their murder rates, while other states, like South Dakota and North Dakota, have seen an exponential increase in homicides. Officials point out that the use and trade of illicit substances, particularly methamphetamine, have exploded in the Dakotas during that same time frame, which is likely correlated with increased violence.

Vermont is another noteworthy mover on the list. The Green Mountain State is traditionally known for being low-crime, but homicide rates have soared in the last five years to levels not seen since the early 90’s. State leaders working to unlock what’s behind the increase say housing challenges, an increase in the prevalence of firearms, and the state’s hospitable drug culture have contributed to the spike.

Conclusion

For the average American, the likelihood of being murdered is relatively low–about one in 285 (assuming an average lifespan of 70 years).  For comparison, your odds of dying in a car crash are about one in 95, and one in 91 of dying from an accidental fall. The wide availability of firearms and the prevalence of gun-related deaths pose an ongoing challenge in the U.S., but recent trends provide some hope: Murder rates are declining from their highs during the 1970s, 1980s, and more recently during the COVID-19 pandemic.