Cities With The Highest And Lowest Murder Rates In The United States For 2026


The cities with the highest murder rate in the US are Birmingham and St. Louis for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About RoadSnacks
Last Updated: April 25, 2026

Murder rates by city in the United States research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities with the highest murder rates in the US for 2026. The data comes from the FBI Crimes trend which breaks down crime rates, including murder, for cities over 100,000 people every quarter. Our analysis reviews the reported murder rates in the 296 cities over 100,000 people.

  • The city with the highest murder rate in the United States is Birmingham, AL. It has 58.8 murders per 100,000 people (Equivalent to per capita, but multiplied by 100,000).

  • The city in the United States with the most murders is Chicago, IL with 461 murders.

  • The city with the lowest murder rate in the United States is Torrance, CA. It is 0.0 murders per 100,000 people.

  • The state with the highest murder rate in the United States is Louisiana with 11 murders per 100,000 people.

Cities With The Most Murder Per Capita In The United States Map

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

Murder has increased since George Floyd’s death in 2020.

While there are many possible reasons for the increase, murder rates are still low by historical standards.

But “the why” is not the subject of our analysis today. Instead, we’re reporting on the facts using Saturday Night Science to show the cities with the highest and lowest murder rates in the United States.

Using the most recent data from the FBI, we’ll analyze the cities with the highest rates of murder on a per capita basis.

The ten cities in The United States with the highest murder rates per capita:

  1. Birmingham, AL
  2. St. Louis, MO
  3. Memphis, TN
  4. Baltimore, MD
  5. Detroit, MI
  6. Cleveland, OH
  7. Dayton, OH
  8. Kansas City, MO
  9. Shreveport, LA
  10. Washington, DC

The ten cities in The United States with the lowest murder rates per capita:

  1. Torrance, CA
  2. Joliet, IL
  3. Goodyear, AZ
  4. Arvada, CO
  5. Boulder, CO
  6. Orange, CA
  7. Centennial, CO
  8. West Jordan, UT
  9. Allen, TX
  10. Carmel, IN

The city with the highest murder rate according to the most recent FBI Data? That would be Birmingham with 0.0006 murders per capita — or about 1 for every 1,699 people, which is relatively low compared to historical norms and isn’t THAT dangerous.

So, while murder might be a problem in these cities, we have a feeling that the top offenders will get their murder rates under control in the coming years.

Read on for more information on how we calculated these numbers, or feel free to check out something a little less dreary:

The 10 Cities With The Highest Murder Rate In America For 2026

1. Birmingham, AL

Birmingham Location In Alabama

Birmingham, AL

Source: Flickr User argusfoto | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 195,418
Murders: 115
Murders Per Capita: 0.0006
More on Birmingham: Data | Cost Of Living

2. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis Location In Missouri

St. Louis, MO

Source: Flickr User Arch_Sam | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 277,294
Murders: 150
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
More on St. Louis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

3. Memphis, TN

Memphis Location In Tennessee

Memphis, TN

Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 613,207
Murders: 249
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Memphis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

4. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore Location In Maryland

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 566,632
Murders: 197
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Baltimore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

5. Detroit, MI

Detroit Location In Michigan

Detroit, MI

Source: Wikipedia User User:AE at Quicken Loans | CC BY-SA 1.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 651,171
Murders: 203
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Detroit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

6. Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Location In Ohio

Cleveland, OH

Source: Flickr User Tim Evanson | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 362,762
Murders: 109
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Cleveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

7. Dayton, OH

Dayton Location In Ohio

Dayton, OH

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 134,857
Murders: 40
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Dayton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

8. Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Location In Missouri

Kansas City, MO

Source: Wikipedia User | CC-BY-SA-3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 511,535
Murders: 141
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Kansas City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

9. Shreveport, LA

Shreveport Location In Louisiana

Shreveport, LA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 175,092
Murders: 47
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Shreveport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

10. Washington, DC

Washington, DC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 702,250
Murders: 179
Murders Per Capita: 0.0003
More on Washington:

Methodology: How We Determined The Murder Capitals Of America For 2026

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked to Saturday Night Science and the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, which summarizes the number of murders that happen in each city per year.

We only looked at cities in America with over 100,000 people — that left us with 296 cities in America to analyze.

We then calculated the number of murders per capita for these cities to make an apples-to-apples comparison. This ranking created a “Murder Index.”

The cities with a higher Murder Index were deemed the “Murder Capitals of America For 2026.”

We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. It simply states where murders occurred.

We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the murder capitals of America.

Most Dangerous States In The US

Summary: Locking Up Murders Row For 2026

There you have it — a look at the cities with the highest murder rates in America for 2026 with Birmingham at the top of the list.

The cities with the highest murder rate in the United States are Birmingham, AL, St. Louis, MO, Memphis, TN, Baltimore, MD, Detroit, MI, Cleveland, OH, Dayton, OH, Kansas City, MO, Shreveport, LA, and Washington, DC.

If you’re looking for the safest cities in America when it comes to murder rates, check out Torrance and Joliet.

For more reading around America:

Murder Rate Per Capita By City In The US For 2026

Rank City Population Murders Murder/100k
1 Birmingham, AL 195,418 115 58.8
2 St. Louis, MO 277,294 150 54.1
3 Memphis, TN 613,207 249 40.6
4 Baltimore, MD 566,632 197 34.8
5 Detroit, MI 651,171 203 31.2
6 Cleveland, OH 362,762 109 30.0
7 Dayton, OH 134,857 40 29.7
8 Kansas City, MO 511,535 141 27.6
9 Shreveport, LA 175,092 47 26.8
10 Washington, DC 702,250 179 25.5
11 Richmond, VA 231,805 56 24.2
12 Milwaukee, WI 560,416 134 23.9
13 Cincinnati, OH 311,599 68 21.8
14 Indianapolis, IN 890,685 178 20.0
15 Oakland, CA 435,042 81 18.6
16 Albuquerque, NM 558,745 103 18.4
17 Montgomery, AL 193,728 35 18.1
18 Lancaster, CA 164,012 29 17.7
19 Little Rock, AR 204,247 36 17.6
20 Hartford, CT 119,626 21 17.6
21 Chicago, IL 2,638,698 461 17.5
22 Pueblo, CO 110,805 19 17.1
23 North Charleston, SC 123,511 21 17.0
24 Philadelphia, PA 1,549,259 262 16.9
25 Mobile, AL 237,092 39 16.4
26 Vallejo, CA 121,795 20 16.4
27 Norfolk, VA 230,460 37 16.1
28 Stockton, CA 319,069 51 16.0
29 Topeka, KS 125,156 20 16.0
30 Tuscaloosa, AL 113,834 18 15.8
31 Syracuse, NY 145,175 22 15.2
32 Lafayette, LA 121,471 18 14.8
33 Greensboro, NC 304,306 43 14.1
34 Houston, TX 2,319,160 320 13.8
35 Dallas, TX 1,321,502 180 13.6
36 Antioch, CA 117,675 16 13.6
37 Rochester, NY 206,093 27 13.1
38 Rockford, IL 145,280 19 13.1
39 Columbus, GA 201,061 26 12.9
40 Peoria, IL 109,677 14 12.8
41 Akron, OH 188,223 24 12.8
42 Chattanooga, TN 188,894 24 12.7
43 Newark, NJ 309,708 39 12.6
44 Beaumont, TX 111,320 14 12.6
45 Buffalo, NY 273,728 34 12.4
46 Kansas City, KS 153,363 19 12.4
47 Fayetteville, NC 209,945 26 12.4
48 Killeen, TX 161,667 20 12.4
49 Durham, NC 300,208 37 12.3
50 Columbus, OH 915,447 112 12.2
51 Toledo, OH 263,668 32 12.1
52 Las Cruces, NM 115,977 14 12.1
53 Newport News, VA 183,563 22 12.0
54 North Las Vegas, NV 293,100 35 11.9
55 Miami Gardens, FL 110,466 13 11.8
56 Winston-Salem, NC 254,041 29 11.4
57 Pittsburgh, PA 317,177 36 11.4
58 San Bernardino, CA 224,283 25 11.1
59 Fort Wayne, IN 271,892 30 11.0
60 Knoxville, TN 200,457 22 11.0
61 Springfield, MA 155,491 17 10.9
62 New Haven, CT 137,243 15 10.9
63 Hampton, VA 138,100 15 10.9
64 Portland, OR 623,066 67 10.8
65 Suffolk, VA 103,506 11 10.6
66 Evansville, IN 114,660 12 10.5
67 Aurora, CO 397,852 41 10.3
68 Oklahoma City, OK 709,456 73 10.3
69 Columbia, MO 130,354 13 10.0
70 Denver, CO 722,031 71 9.8
71 Lansing, MI 111,965 11 9.8
72 Tacoma, WA 223,980 22 9.8
73 Columbia, SC 144,559 14 9.7
74 Savannah, GA 241,780 23 9.5
75 Tulsa, OK 411,310 39 9.5
76 Anchorage, AK 286,958 27 9.4
77 Independence, MO 120,271 11 9.1
78 Albany, NY 102,095 9 8.8
79 Tampa, FL 408,646 36 8.8
80 Wichita Falls, TX 102,762 9 8.8
81 Sacramento, CA 526,670 45 8.5
82 Corpus Christi, TX 316,108 27 8.5
83 San Antonio, TX 1,514,458 127 8.4
84 Amarillo, TX 203,039 17 8.4
85 Phoenix, AZ 1,662,809 139 8.4
86 Pomona, CA 143,726 12 8.3
87 Wichita, KS 395,486 33 8.3
88 Long Beach, CA 444,232 37 8.3
89 Huntsville, AL 228,697 19 8.3
90 Reno, NV 278,313 23 8.3
91 Bridgeport, CT 148,132 12 8.1
92 Tyler, TX 111,714 9 8.1
93 Springfield, IL 111,965 9 8.0
94 Richmond, CA 113,418 9 7.9
95 Hesperia, CA 100,850 8 7.9
96 West Palm Beach, FL 126,427 10 7.9
97 Victorville, CA 140,309 11 7.8
98 Glendale, AZ 255,512 20 7.8
99 Hayward, CA 153,419 12 7.8
100 Palm Bay, FL 141,137 11 7.8

Murder Places By State

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Murder, Rankings

One thought on “Cities With The Highest And Lowest Murder Rates In The United States For 2026”

  1. Your racist comment about black people in Baltimore sickens me. You clearly do not live in this city, because you would be aware of its many positive aspects.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *