By Elisha Fieldstadt
/ CBS NEWS
In America, an estimated 16,425 people were murdered in 2019. This was a 0.3% increase from the 2018 estimate.
Here are murder rates in 65 major U.S. cities (cities with greater than 100,000 residents) for 2019. These rates are calculated using the latest statistics available — theFBI's 2019 Crime in the United States data, as well as data culled directly from city police officials and the U.S. Census Bureau.
65. Hampton, Virginia
The murder rate in Hampton is 11.26 per 100,000.
64. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The murder rate in Fort Lauderdale is 11.37 per 100,000.
63. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The murder rate in Oklahoma City is 11.40 per 100,000.
62. Knoxville, Tennessee
The murder rate in Knoxville is 11.66 per 100,000.
In 2015, Zaevion Dobson, 15, was shot and killed while shielding three friends from gunfire.
61. Bridgeport, Connecticut
In 2019, the murder rate in Bridgeport was 11.73 per 100,000.
59 (TIE). Nashville, Tennessee
The murder rate in Nashville is 12.08 per 100,000.
59 (TIE). Charlotte, North Carolina
The murder rate in Charlotte is 12.08 per 100,000.
58. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The murder rate in Pittsburgh is 12.32 per 100,000.
57. Toledo, Ohio
The murder rate in Toledo is 12.43 per 100,000.
In 2018, James Worley was sentenced to death for murdering 20-year-old University of Toledo student Sierah Joughin. Police discovered a hidden room outfitted with restraints inside a barn on Worley's property.
56. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The murder rate in Winston-Salem is 12.5 per 100,000.
55. Fayetteville, North Carolina
The murder rate in Fayetteville is 12.76 per 100,000.
54. Springfield, Massachusetts
The murder rate in Springfield is 12.96 per 100,000.
53. Paterson, New Jersey
In 2019, the murder rate in Paterson was 13.08 per 100,000.
52. Durham, North Carolina
The murder rate in Durham is 13.20 per 100,000.
51. Syracuse, New York
The murder rate in Syracuse is 13.34 per 100,000.
In 2016, Ryan Lawrence, seen here,pleaded guiltyto beating to death his 21-month-old daughter Maddox before burning her body and dumping her ashes in the Onondaga Creek.
50. Newport News, Virginia
The murder rate in Newport News is 13.53 per 100,000.
49. Akron, Ohio
The murder rate in Akron is 13.64 per 100,000. The murder rate dropped in the city — by 5.5 per 100,000 residents — from 2018 to 2019.
48. Tulsa, Oklahoma
The murder rate in Tulsa is 13.69 per 100,000.
Josh Mills, pictured here, sits outside of the Tulsa home where friend Jeremy Lake was killed in 2014. Shannon Kepler, a white police officer, fatally shot Lake, who was Black, while Lake was visiting his girlfriend, Kepler's daughter. Kepler is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for first-degree manslaughter.
47. South Bend, Indiana
The murder rate in South Bend is 13.72 per 100,000.
46. Louisville, Kentucky
The murder rate in Louisville is 13.92 per 100,000.
45. Jacksonville, Florida
The murder rate in Jacksonville is 14.19 per 100,000. Jacksonville's murder rate increased by 1.99 per 100,000 from 2018 to 2019.
Michael Dunn was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting a teenagerat a Jacksonville gas station.
44. Greensboro, North Carolina
The murder rate in Greensboro is 14.43 per 100,000.
43. Norfolk, Virginia
The murder rate in Norfolk is 14.83 per 100,000.
42. Dallas, Texas
In 2019, the murder rate in Dallas was 14.89 per 100,000.
41. Albuquerque, New Mexico
The murder rate in Albuquerque is 14.95 per 100,000.
40. West Palm Beach, Florida
The murder rate in West Palm Beach is 15.07 per 100,000. The murder rate plummeted in the city from 2018 to 2019, dropping by more than 9 per 100,000 residents.
39. Richmond, California
The murder rate in Richmond is 15.38 per 100,000.
38. Beaumont, Texas
The murder rate in Beaumont is 16.03 per 100,000.
37. Rochester, New York
The murder rate in Rochester is 16.04 per 100,000.
36. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The murder rate in Milwaukee is 16.41 per 100,000.
35. Savannah, Georgia
The murder rate in Savannah is 16.61 per 100,000.
Barbara O'Neal started the group Mothers of Murdered Sons in Savannah after her 20-year-old son, Alan, was fatally shot during an attempted robbery in 2011.
34. High Point, North Carolina
The murder rate in High Point is 16.77 per 100,000.
33. Hartford, Connecticut
The murder rate in Hartford is 17.18 per 100,000.
Denise Moreno speaks at the sentencing of her son, Tony Moreno, after he was convicted of throwing his 7-month-old son to his death from the Arrigoni Bridge.
32. Augusta, Georgia
The murder rate in Augusta is 17.69 per 100,000.
31. Oakland, California
The murder rate in Oakland is 17.97 per 100,000.
30. Newark, New Jersey
In 2019, the murder rate in Newark was 18.08 per 100,000.
29. Chattanooga, Tennessee
The murder rate in Chattanooga is 18.15 per 100,000.
28. Chicago, Illinois
The murder rate in Chicago is 18.26 per 100,000.
Here, Shomari Legghette enters a Chicago courtroom to receive his sentence — life in prison —after he was convicted of murder in the 2018 death of Police Commander Paul Bauer.
27. Buffalo, New York
The murder rate in Buffalo is 18.38 per 100,000.
26. Montgomery, Alabama
The murder rate in Montgomery is 18.54 per 100,000.
25. Shreveport, Louisiana
The murder rate in Shreveport is 18.66 per 100,000.
24. Little Rock, Arkansas
The murder rate in Little Rock is 19.15 per 100,000.
23. Indianapolis, Indiana
In 2019, the murder rate in Indianapolis was 19.51 per 100,000.
22. Atlanta, Georgia
The murder rate in Atlanta is 19.53 per 100,000.
A gunman shot and killed eight people at three Atlanta spa locations on March 17, 2021. Six of the eight victims were of Asian heritage.
21. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The murder rate in Tuscaloosa is 20.77 per 100,000.
20. Columbus, Georgia
The murder rate in Columbus is 20.94 per 100,000.
19. Cincinnati, Ohio
The murder rate in Cincinnati is 21.1 per 100,000. The murder rate increased in the city by 2.2 per 100,000 from 2018 to 2019.
18. San Bernardino, California
The murder rate in San Bernardino is 21.23 per 100,000.
17. Columbia, South Carolina
The murder rate in Columbia is 21.68 per 100,000.
16. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The murder rate in Philadelphia is 22.47 per 100,000.
15. Peoria, Illinois
The murder rate in Peoria is 22.53 per 100,000.
14. North Charleston, South Carolina
The murder rate in North Charleston is 22.55 per 100,000.
13. Washington, D.C.
The murder rate in Washington, D.C., is 23.52 per 100,000.
12. Miami Gardens, Florida
In Miami Gardens, the murder rate is 23.64 per 100,000.
11. Richmond, Virginia
The murder rate in Richmond is 23.84 per 100,000.
10. Cleveland, Ohio
The murder rate in Cleveland is 24.09 per 100,000.
9. Memphis, Tennessee
The murder rate in Memphis is 29.21 per 100,000.
8. Kansas City, Missouri
The murder rate in Kansas City is 29.88 per 100,000.
7. New Orleans, Louisiana
The murder rate in New Orleans is 30.67 per 100,000.
6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The murder rate in Baton Rouge is 31.72 per 100,000.
5. Dayton, Ohio
The murder rate in Dayton is 34.18 per 100,000. That number spiked nearly 7.8 per 100,000 residents from 2018 to 2019.
4. Detroit, Michigan
The murder rate in Detroit is 41.45 per 100,000 residents.
In 2019, 275 people were murdered in that city.
3. Birmingham, Alabama
In 2019, the murder rate in Birmingham was 50.62 per 100,000.
2. Baltimore, Maryland
The murder rate in Baltimore is 58.27 per 100,000.
1. St. Louis, Missouri
With 64.54 murders per 100,000 residents, St. Louis had the highest murder rate for any major American city in 2019.
FAQs
What city in the us has the highest Murders? ›
| Ranking | City | Homicides for Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson | 133 |
| 2 | New Orleans | 280 |
| 3 | Birmingham | 144 |
| 4 | St. Louis | 200 |
According to FBI data, the St. Louis metro area has the highest murder rate in the U.S., with 61 murders per 100,000 residents.
What state has the highest murder rate right now? ›...
Total number of homicides in the United States in 2021, by state.
| Characteristic | Number of murder victims |
|---|---|
| Texas | 2,064 |
| North Carolina | 928 |
| Ohio | 824 |
| Michigan | 747 |
The city of New Orleans has been declared the murder capital of the United States for the first half of 2022, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission. The MCC said when comparing the number of homicides with the population, the homicide rate in New Orleans is significantly higher than in any other American city.
What are the top 10 states with the most murders? ›- South Carolina – 17.4.
- Arkansas – 16.1.
- Tennessee – 14.
- Alaska – 12.3.
- Maryland – 11.9.
- Oklahoma – 11.9.
- Mississippi – 11.8.
- North Carolina – 11.4.
The latest dangerous list by 2023, The top 10 most dangerous cities in the US are Memphis, Detroit, Little Rock, Tacoma, Pueblo, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Springfield and Rockford. As per FBI Crime data, Most dangerous cities in US List Updated in Jan, 2023.
What is the murder capital of the world? ›| Rank | City | Homicides per 100,000 per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 134.24 |
| 2 | Juárez | 104.54 |
| 3 | Uruapan | 85.54 |
| 4 | Irapuato | 80.74 |
| Location | Property Crime Rate (2020) | Violent Crime Rate (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,958.2 | 398.5 |
| Alabama | 2,136.8 | 453.6 |
| Alaska | 2,260.5 | 837.8 |
| Arizona | 2,227.7 | 484.8 |
Vermont is the safest state in the United States, according to a new report from WalletHub. The ranking is based on 53 different indicators ranging from unemployment rates to assaults per capita. Vermont is followed by Maine, New Hampshire, Utah, and Hawaii, respectively.
What is the safest state to live in? ›The safest state in the USA is Vermont. It has the lowest violent crime rate in America, with only 1.46 per 1,000 people out of a population of 647,064. In 2022, there were only 15 murders, 64 robberies, and 790 assaults in Vermont. Residents have a 1 in 595 chance of becoming victims of a violent crime.
Which US State has the lowest murder rate? ›
Maine has the lowest murder rate in the United States with less than 1 murder per 100,000 residents.
What state has the most serial killer cases? ›1. Alaska. Proportional to its population, Alaska is, without a doubt, the most popular state among serial killers, with 15.65 serial killings per one million inhabitants.
What are the top 10 cities for murders? ›...
Cities with Most Murders 2023
- St. Louis, MO (69.4)
- Baltimore, MD (51.1)
- New Orleans, LA (40.6)
- Detroit, MI (39.7)
- Cleveland, OH (33.7)
- Las Vegas, NV (31.4)
- Kansas City, MO (31.2)
- Memphis, TN (27.1)
1. United States — 3,204. When it comes to serial killers, the United States leads the way, and the race isn't even close. Not only did the US write the book on serial killers there are also about a billion books covering the more than 3,000 serial killers from the US.
What city has the highest crime rate? ›The most dangerous city in the US is Memphis, Tennessee. With a population of 628,127, Memphis has a crime rate that is 237% higher than the national average. Memphis has 7,913 crimes per 100,000 people, with an exceptionally high violent crime rate.
What are the top 5 states for crime in America? ›- 10 Most Dangerous States in the US: 2022.
- Alaska.
- New Mexico.
- Tennessee.
- Arkansas.
- Arizona.
- Louisiana.
- Missouri.
- Population: 124,339.
- Violent crime rate: 1.
- Property crime rate: 7.
- Median household income: $50,071.
- Median home price: $211,692.
Coming in at the top of the list as the safest city in America is Columbia, Maryland.
What state has the highest crime rate 2022? ›- South Carolina - 5,972.84 per 100,000 people.
- Arkansas - 5,898.75 per 100,000 people.
- Oklahoma - 5,869.82 per 100,000 people.
- Washington - 5,758.57 per 100,000 people.
- Tennessee - 5,658.30 per 100,000 people.
- Oregon - 5,609.89 per 100,000 people.
The world's biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 16% of the world's total deaths.
What is the biggest murder in the world? ›
But both Hitler and Stalin were outdone by Mao Zedong. From 1958 to 1962, his Great Leap Forward policy led to the deaths of up to 45 million people—easily making it the biggest episode of mass murder ever recorded.
Where is the highest murder rate in the world? ›| # | Country | Murder Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaica | 44.95 per 100k |
| 2 | Honduras | 36.33 per 100k |
| 3 | South Africa | 33.46 per 100k |
| 4 | Mexico | 28.37 per 100k |
| U.S. Murder/Homicide Rate - Historical Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Per 100K Population | Annual % Change |
| 2020 | 6.52 | 28.64% |
| 2019 | 5.07 | 1.19% |
| 2018 | 5.01 | -5.90% |