Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Delaware?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Delaware with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 8 cities in the First State with over 2,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Delaware
- Bridgeville
- Laurel
- Elsmere
- Wilmington
- Georgetown
- Seaford
- Dover
- Smyrna
What city has the highest murder rate in Delaware? The city with the highest murder rate in Delaware is Bridgeville with 70.3 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Delaware with highest number of murders? The city in Delaware with the highest number of murders is Wilmington with 14 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Delaware ranked. There were ‘only’ 8 cities in Delaware where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 15 places had no murder.
For more reading on the First State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Delaware
- Cheapest Places To Live In Delaware
- Most Dangerous Cities In Delaware
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Delaware For 2025
1. Bridgeville
/10
Population: 2,846
Murders: 2 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 70.3 (Most)
More on Bridgeville:
2. Laurel
/10
Population: 4,300
Murders: 3 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 69.8 (2nd Most)
More on Laurel:
/10
Population: 6,130
Murders: 3 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 48.9 (3rd Most)
More on Elsmere: Data
/10
Population: 71,934
Murders: 14 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.5 (4th Most)
More on Wilmington: Data
5. Georgetown
Population: 7,916
Murders: 1 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.6 (5th Most)
More on Georgetown:
/10
Population: 8,792
Murders: 1 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.4 (6th Most)
More on Seaford: Data
/10
Population: 38,209
Murders: 3 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.9 (7th Most)
More on Dover: Data
/10
Population: 13,468
Murders: 1 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.4 (8th Most)
More on Smyrna: Data
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Delaware
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 used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Delaware for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 8 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Bridgeville. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Delaware. We updated the list for 2025.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Delaware For 2025
If you’re looking at the places in Delaware with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Delaware are Bridgeville, Laurel, Elsmere, Wilmington, Georgetown, Seaford, Dover, and Smyrna.
For more Delaware reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Delaware
- Fastest Growing Cities In Delaware
- Safest Places In Delaware
- Best Cities For Singles In Delaware
- Worst Places To Live In Delaware
Murder Rates By City In Delaware
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridgeville, DE | 2846 | 2 | 70.27 |
| 2 | Laurel, DE | 4300 | 3 | 69.77 |
| 3 | Elsmere, DE | 6130 | 3 | 48.94 |
| 4 | Wilmington, DE | 71934 | 14 | 19.46 |
| 5 | Georgetown, DE | 7916 | 1 | 12.63 |
| 6 | Seaford, DE | 8792 | 1 | 11.37 |
| 7 | Dover, DE | 38209 | 3 | 7.85 |
| 8 | Smyrna, DE | 13468 | 1 | 7.43 |
These are false results. In the first two months of 2020. There are already 4 murders in Dover. These crimes go largely uninvestigated by Dover PD. State Troopers do full investigations.
Once again…more lies from Dover. There have been many more murders in Dover that the police will not even investigate. State Troppers investigate. Dover detectives investigate stolen candy from the gas stations. There are multiple shootings in Dover that go unreported every day.