Cities With The Highest And Lowest Murder Rates In The United States For 2023


The cities with the highest murder rate in the US are St. Louis and Baltimore for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: November 7, 2023

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 2023. 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 302 cities over 100,000 people.

  • The city with the highest murder rate in the United States is St. Louis, MO. It has 64.0 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 771 murders.

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

  • The state with the highest murder rate in the United States is louisiana with 16.0 murders per 100,000 people.

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. St. Louis, MO
  2. Baltimore, MD
  3. New Orleans, LA
  4. Memphis, TN
  5. Mobile, AL
  6. Detroit, MI
  7. Jackson, MS
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Baton Rouge, LA
  10. Richmond, VA

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

  1. Provo, UT
  2. Daly City, CA
  3. Murrieta, CA
  4. Temecula, CA
  5. Clearwater, FL
  6. Meridian, ID
  7. McAllen, TX
  8. Irvine, CA
  9. Overland Park, KS
  10. Cape Coral, FL

The city with the highest murder rate according to the most recent FBI Data? That would be St. Louis with 0.0006 murders per capita — or about 1 for every 1,563 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 2023

1. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, MO

Source: Flickr User Arch_Sam | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 295,536
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Murders: 189
Murders Per Capita: 0.0006
More on St. Louis: Data | Crime

2. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 597,239
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 354
Murders Per Capita: 0.0006
More on Baltimore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

3. New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, LA

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

4
/10

Population: 393,779
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Murders: 201
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
More on New Orleans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

4. Memphis, TN

Memphis, TN

Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 649,444
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Murders: 306
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
More on Memphis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

5. Mobile, AL

Mobile, AL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 242,894
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 111
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
More on Mobile: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

6. Detroit, MI

Detroit, MI

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

3
/10

Population: 673,708
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Murders: 303
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Detroit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

7. Jackson, MS

Jackson, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 163,297
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 72
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Jackson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

8. Cleveland, OH

Cleveland, OH

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

3
/10

Population: 379,313
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Murders: 165
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Cleveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

9. Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 218,060
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Murders: 88
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Baton Rouge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

10. Richmond, VA

Richmond, VA

Source: Wikipedia User CoredesatChikai | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 234,928
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 5)
Murders: 89
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Richmond: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Determined The Murder Capitals Of America For 2023

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 302 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 2023.”

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 2023. This report is our tenth time ranking the murder capitals of America.

Most Dangerous States In The US

Summary: Locking Up Murders Row For 2023

There you have it — a look at the cities with the highest murder rates in America for 2023 with St. Louis at the top of the list.

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

For more reading around America:

Murder Rate Per Capita By City In The US For 2023

Rank City Population Murders Murder/100k
1 St. Louis, MO 295,536 189 64.0
2 Baltimore, MD 597,239 354 59.3
3 New Orleans, LA 393,779 201 51.0
4 Memphis, TN 649,444 306 47.1
5 Mobile, AL 242,894 111 45.7
6 Detroit, MI 673,708 303 45.0
7 Jackson, MS 163,297 72 44.1
8 Cleveland, OH 379,313 165 43.5
9 Baton Rouge, LA 218,060 88 40.4
10 Richmond, VA 234,928 89 37.9
11 Shreveport, LA 185,588 69 37.2
12 Milwaukee, WI 593,337 195 32.9
13 San Bernardino, CA 216,365 68 31.4
14 Little Rock, AR 198,260 62 31.3
15 Kansas City, MO 500,965 156 31.1
16 Atlanta, GA 521,274 159 30.5
17 Cincinnati, OH 305,308 90 29.5
18 North Charleston, SC 121,060 35 28.9
19 Chicago, IL 2,693,598 771 28.6
20 Hartford, CT 121,160 34 28.1
21 Washington, DC 712,816 198 27.8
22 South Bend, IN 102,119 28 27.4
23 Indianapolis, IN 895,826 239 26.7
24 Buffalo, NY 253,809 65 25.6
25 Norfolk, VA 242,488 62 25.6
26 Toledo, OH 269,941 66 24.4
27 Pueblo, CO 113,371 27 23.8
28 Rochester, NY 205,199 48 23.4
29 Oakland, CA 437,923 102 23.3
30 Syracuse, NY 142,011 32 22.5
31 Fayetteville, NC 212,047 47 22.2
32 Columbus, OH 916,001 203 22.2
33 Vallejo, CA 122,326 27 22.1
34 Dayton, OH 139,671 30 21.5
35 Minneapolis, MN 438,463 94 21.4
36 Albuquerque, NM 564,147 120 21.3
37 Lansing, MI 117,865 25 21.2
38 Yuma, AZ 100,710 21 20.9
39 Newark, NJ 295,039 60 20.3
40 Fort Lauderdale, FL 184,347 37 20.1
41 Hampton, VA 135,107 27 20.0
42 Houston, TX 2,339,252 464 19.8
43 New Haven, CT 130,903 25 19.1
44 Paterson, NJ 144,947 27 18.6
45 Akron, OH 195,701 36 18.4
46 Knoxville, TN 191,463 35 18.3
47 Richmond, CA 111,367 20 18.0
48 Stockton, CA 314,981 56 17.8
49 Chattanooga, TN 186,222 33 17.7
50 Columbia, SC 132,255 23 17.4
51 Greensboro, NC 300,865 51 17.0
52 Joliet, IL 148,155 25 16.9
53 Pompano Beach, FL 113,545 19 16.7
54 High Point, NC 114,492 19 16.6
55 Miami Gardens, FL 110,284 18 16.3
56 Newport News, VA 178,662 29 16.2
57 Durham, NC 291,962 47 16.1
58 Evansville, IN 118,240 19 16.1
59 West Palm Beach, FL 113,268 18 15.9
60 Dallas, TX 1,349,185 212 15.7
61 Victorville, CA 123,085 19 15.4
62 Jacksonville, FL 920,508 140 15.2
63 Winston-Salem, NC 249,998 38 15.2
64 Fort Wayne, IN 274,295 41 14.9
65 Beaumont, TX 115,290 17 14.7
66 Tulsa, OK 404,255 59 14.6
67 Fresno, CA 535,472 77 14.4
68 Bridgeport, CT 143,394 20 13.9
69 Denver, CO 740,209 100 13.5
70 Tacoma, WA 222,235 30 13.5
71 Rockford, IL 144,027 19 13.2
72 Inglewood, CA 107,986 14 13.0
73 Miami, FL 476,102 61 12.8
74 Peoria, IL 109,924 14 12.7
75 Gresham, OR 110,448 14 12.7
76 Portland, OR 664,350 83 12.5
77 Fort Worth, TX 947,862 118 12.4
78 St. Paul, MN 309,957 38 12.3
79 Tallahassee, FL 196,012 24 12.2
80 Oklahoma City, OK 670,872 82 12.2
81 Charleston, SC 141,768 17 12.0
82 Providence, RI 185,868 22 11.8
83 Springfield, MA 154,098 18 11.7
84 Killeen, TX 156,741 18 11.5
85 Bakersfield, CA 388,265 44 11.3
86 Springfield, MO 168,988 19 11.2
87 Tucson, AZ 550,448 61 11.1
88 Lafayette, LA 126,679 14 11.1
89 Wilmington, NC 126,759 14 11.0
90 Phoenix, AZ 1,708,960 187 10.9
91 Aurora, CO 393,897 42 10.7
92 Orlando, FL 293,363 31 10.6
93 San Antonio, TX 1,592,693 168 10.5
94 Lakeland, FL 113,876 12 10.5
95 Waco, TX 143,089 15 10.5
96 Amarillo, TX 200,515 21 10.5
97 Wichita Falls, TX 105,468 11 10.4
98 Westminster, CO 115,942 12 10.4
99 Hollywood, FL 156,434 16 10.2
100 North Las Vegas, NV 264,877 27 10.2

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 2023”

  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

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