Cities With The Highest And Lowest Murder Rates In The United States For 2024


The cities with the highest murder rate in the US are Birmingham and New Orleans for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About RoadSnacks
Last Updated: January 19, 2024

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 2024. 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 312 cities over 100,000 people.

  • The city with the highest murder rate in the United States is Birmingham, AL. It has 72.8 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 604 murders.

  • The city with the lowest murder rate in the United States is Cary, NC. 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.

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. New Orleans, LA
  3. St. Louis, MO
  4. Baltimore, MD
  5. Detroit, MI
  6. Jackson, MS
  7. Memphis, TN
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Little Rock, AR
  10. Milwaukee, WI

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

  1. Cary, NC
  2. Carlsbad, CA
  3. Glendale, CA
  4. Frisco, TX
  5. Sugar Land, TX
  6. Sunnyvale, CA
  7. El Cajon, CA
  8. Provo, UT
  9. Meridian, ID
  10. Santa Clarita, CA

The city with the highest murder rate according to the most recent FBI Data? That would be Birmingham with 0.0007 murders per capita — or about 1 for every 1,373 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 2024

1. Birmingham, AL

Birmingham Location In Alabama

Birmingham, AL

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

6
/10

Population: 195,050
Murders: 142
Murders Per Capita: 0.0007
More on Birmingham: Data | Cost Of Living

2. New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Location In Louisiana

New Orleans, LA

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

4
/10

Population: 370,128
Murders: 266
Murders Per Capita: 0.0007
More on New Orleans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

3. 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: 286,053
Murders: 200
Murders Per Capita: 0.0007
More on St. Louis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

4. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore Location In Maryland

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 570,546
Murders: 287
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
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: 626,757
Murders: 308
Murders Per Capita: 0.0005
More on Detroit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

6. Jackson, MS

Jackson Location In Mississippi

Jackson, MS

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

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

7. Memphis, TN

Memphis Location In Tennessee

Memphis, TN

Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 624,944
Murders: 269
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Memphis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

8. Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Location In Ohio

Cleveland, OH

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

3
/10

Population: 363,764
Murders: 145
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Cleveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

9. Little Rock, AR

Little Rock Location In Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Source: Wikipedia User xnatedawgx | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 201,513
Murders: 79
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Little Rock: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

10. Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Location In Wisconsin

Milwaukee, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Dori | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 561,743
Murders: 214
Murders Per Capita: 0.0004
More on Milwaukee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Determined The Murder Capitals Of America For 2024

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 312 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 2024.”

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 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the murder capitals of America.

Most Dangerous States In The US

Summary: Locking Up Murders Row For 2024

There you have it — a look at the cities with the highest murder rates in America for 2024 with Birmingham at the top of the list.

The cities with the highest murder rate in the United States are Birmingham, AL, New Orleans, LA, St. Louis, MO, Baltimore, MD, Detroit, MI, Jackson, MS, Memphis, TN, Cleveland, OH, Little Rock, AR, and Milwaukee, WI.

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

For more reading around America:

Murder Rate Per Capita By City In The US For 2024

Rank City Population Murders Murder/100k
1 Birmingham, AL 195,050 142 72.8
2 New Orleans, LA 370,128 266 71.9
3 St. Louis, MO 286,053 200 69.9
4 Baltimore, MD 570,546 287 50.3
5 Detroit, MI 626,757 308 49.1
6 Jackson, MS 163,297 72 44.1
7 Memphis, TN 624,944 269 43.0
8 Cleveland, OH 363,764 145 39.9
9 Little Rock, AR 201,513 79 39.2
10 Milwaukee, WI 561,743 214 38.1
11 Atlanta, GA 495,707 168 33.9
12 Philadelphia, PA 1,555,812 514 33.0
13 Kansas City, MO 508,856 166 32.6
14 San Bernardino, CA 222,623 72 32.3
15 Rochester, NY 210,270 66 31.4
16 Hartford, CT 120,196 37 30.8
17 Washington, DC 671,803 197 29.3
18 Baton Rouge, LA 219,913 64 29.1
19 Oakland, CA 428,374 121 28.2
20 North Charleston, SC 119,198 33 27.7
21 South Bend, IN 102,119 28 27.4
22 Norfolk, VA 233,419 63 27.0
23 Shreveport, LA 180,763 47 26.0
24 Richmond, VA 227,323 59 26.0
25 Pueblo, CO 112,618 29 25.8
26 Dayton, OH 137,084 34 24.8
27 Buffalo, NY 275,710 67 24.3
28 Cincinnati, OH 307,761 73 23.7
29 Indianapolis, IN 886,455 208 23.5
30 Toledo, OH 266,984 61 22.8
31 Chicago, IL 2,652,124 604 22.8
32 Albuquerque, NM 560,557 125 22.3
33 Peoria, IL 110,551 24 21.7
34 Evansville, IN 115,719 25 21.6
35 Akron, OH 188,534 38 20.2
36 Fort Lauderdale, FL 184,347 37 20.1
37 Houston, TX 2,276,533 433 19.0
38 Minneapolis, MN 421,690 79 18.7
39 Tacoma, WA 219,027 41 18.7
40 Paterson, NJ 144,947 27 18.6
41 Lafayette, LA 121,546 22 18.1
42 Vallejo, CA 123,940 22 17.8
43 Newark, NJ 304,311 53 17.4
44 Mobile, AL 239,323 41 17.1
45 Newport News, VA 183,903 31 16.9
46 Fayetteville, NC 208,980 35 16.7
47 Pompano Beach, FL 113,545 19 16.7
48 Inglewood, CA 102,879 17 16.5
49 Knoxville, TN 194,724 32 16.4
50 Miami Gardens, FL 110,284 18 16.3
51 Beaumont, TX 110,898 18 16.2
52 West Palm Beach, FL 113,268 18 15.9
53 San Antonio, TX 1,465,608 230 15.7
54 Jacksonville, FL 920,508 140 15.2
55 Hampton, VA 138,843 21 15.1
56 Portland, OR 630,129 94 14.9
57 Stockton, CA 323,501 48 14.8
58 Richmond, CA 115,043 17 14.8
59 Durham, NC 286,377 42 14.7
60 Waterbury, CT 113,464 16 14.1
61 Columbus, OH 907,196 127 14.0
62 Tulsa, OK 410,135 57 13.9
63 Aurora, CO 392,134 54 13.8
64 Wichita Falls, TX 103,337 14 13.5
65 Greensboro, NC 298,719 40 13.4
66 Lansing, MI 112,567 15 13.3
67 Phoenix, AZ 1,637,902 217 13.2
68 Chattanooga, TN 182,603 24 13.1
69 High Point, NC 114,280 15 13.1
70 Corpus Christi, TX 317,694 41 12.9
71 Miami, FL 476,102 61 12.8
72 Denver, CO 705,264 90 12.8
73 Victorville, CA 137,169 17 12.4
74 St. Paul, MN 277,533 34 12.3
75 Tallahassee, FL 196,012 24 12.2
76 Dallas, TX 1,286,121 157 12.2
77 Winston-Salem, NC 251,295 30 11.9
78 Killeen, TX 159,546 19 11.9
79 Tuscaloosa, AL 101,280 12 11.8
80 Syracuse, NY 145,179 17 11.7
81 Amarillo, TX 201,572 23 11.4
82 Fresno, CA 546,871 61 11.2
83 Palmdale, CA 162,316 18 11.1
84 Tucson, AZ 550,448 61 11.1
85 Billings, MT 117,866 13 11.0
86 Tampa, FL 390,145 43 11.0
87 New Haven, CT 136,205 15 11.0
88 Rockford, IL 146,710 16 10.9
89 Everett, WA 110,694 12 10.8
90 Fort Worth, TX 948,605 100 10.5
91 Lakeland, FL 113,876 12 10.5
92 Topeka, KS 125,658 13 10.3
93 Orlando, FL 310,713 32 10.3
94 Lexington, KY 320,983 33 10.3
95 Sacramento, CA 526,671 54 10.3
96 Hollywood, FL 156,434 16 10.2
97 Los Angeles, CA 3,809,182 387 10.2
98 Anchorage, AK 285,821 29 10.1
99 Tyler, TX 108,422 11 10.1
100 Bridgeport, CT 148,395 15 10.1

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 2024”

  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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