Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Florida?
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.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in Florida.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Sunshine State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in Florida? The city with the highest murder rate in Florida is Opa Locka with 72.7 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Florida with highest number of murders? The city in Florida with the highest number of murders is Jacksonville with 140 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Florida ranked. There were ‘only’ 109 cities in Florida where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 98 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Sunshine State check out:
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Florida For 2023
/10
Population: 35,798
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 16 (10th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 44.7 (3rd Most)
More on Riviera Beach: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Population: 16,501
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 12 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 72.7 (Most)
More on Opa Locka: Data | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 184,347
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 37 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.1 (12th Most)
More on Fort Lauderdale: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 40,153
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 10 (16th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.9 (8th Most)
More on Hallandale Beach: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 113,545
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 19 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.7 (18th Most)
More on Pompano Beach: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 70,084
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 14 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.0 (13th Most)
More on Daytona Beach: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 920,508
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 140 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 15.2 (26th Most)
More on Jacksonville: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 110,284
Rank Last Year: 7
Murders: 18 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.3 (19th Most)
More on Miami Gardens: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 10,436
Rank Last Year: 8
Murders: 6 (27th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 57.5 (2nd Most)
More on Palatka: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
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Population: 32,557
Rank Last Year: 9
Murders: 8 (2Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.6 (9th Most)
More on Dania Beach: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Florida
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at 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 that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in Florida for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 109 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Florida and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Florida For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Florida 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.
For more Florida reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Florida
- Fastest Growing Cities In Florida
- Safest Places In Florida
- Best Cities For Singles In Florida
- Worst Places To Live In Florida
Like your info . I only like to visit Florida cocoa beach Lauderdale by the sea, Tampa . A lot of dangerous places too. I am a cautious US NAVY VETERAN, THANKS!