Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Georgia?
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 Georgia 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 69 cities in the Peach State with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Georgia
What city has the highest murder rate in Georgia? The city with the highest murder rate in Georgia is College Park with 79.0 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Georgia with highest number of murders? The city in Georgia with the highest number of murders is Atlanta with 168 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Georgia ranked. There were ‘only’ 69 cities in Georgia where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 44 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Peach State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Georgia For 2024
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Population: 13,917
Murders: 11 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 79.0 (Most)
More on College Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 8,946
Murders: 5 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 55.9 (2nd Most)
More on Fort Valley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 13,630
Murders: 6 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 44.0 (3rd Most)
More on Waycross: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
4. Baxley
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Population: 5,016
Murders: 2 (38th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 39.9 (4th Most)
More on Baxley: Crime
/10
Population: 14,112
Murders: 5 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 35.4 (5th Most)
More on Bainbridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 495,707
Murders: 168 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 33.9 (6th Most)
More on Atlanta: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 9,681
Murders: 3 (24th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 31.0 (7th Most)
More on Thomaston: Data | Cost Of Living
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Population: 6,493
Murders: 2 (38th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 30.8 (8th Most)
More on Morrow: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 9,929
Murders: 3 (24th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 30.2 (9th Most)
More on Cordele: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 23,862
Murders: 7 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 29.3 (10th Most)
More on Griffin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Georgia
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 Georgia for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 69 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 College Park. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Georgia. We updated the list for 2024.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Georgia For 2024
If you’re looking at the places in Georgia 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 Georgia are College Park, Fort Valley, Waycross, Baxley, Bainbridge, Atlanta, Thomaston, Morrow, Cordele, and Griffin.
For more Georgia reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Georgia
- Fastest Growing Cities In Georgia
- Safest Places In Georgia
- Best Cities For Singles In Georgia
- Worst Places To Live In Georgia
Murder Rates By City In Georgia
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College Park, GA | 13917 | 11 | 79.04 |
| 2 | Fort Valley, GA | 8946 | 5 | 55.89 |
| 3 | Waycross, GA | 13630 | 6 | 44.02 |
| 4 | Baxley, GA | 5016 | 2 | 39.87 |
| 5 | Bainbridge, GA | 14112 | 5 | 35.43 |
| 6 | Atlanta, GA | 495707 | 168 | 33.89 |
| 7 | Thomaston, GA | 9681 | 3 | 30.99 |
| 8 | Morrow, GA | 6493 | 2 | 30.8 |
| 9 | Cordele, GA | 9929 | 3 | 30.21 |
| 10 | Griffin, GA | 23862 | 7 | 29.34 |
| 11 | Cedartown, GA | 10397 | 3 | 28.85 |
| 12 | Vidalia, GA | 10656 | 3 | 28.15 |
| 13 | Valdosta, GA | 55666 | 14 | 25.15 |
| 14 | Albany, GA | 68613 | 16 | 23.32 |
| 15 | Clarkston, GA | 14368 | 3 | 20.88 |
| 16 | Brunswick, GA | 14650 | 3 | 20.48 |
| 17 | South Fulton, GA | 110102 | 22 | 19.98 |
| 18 | Cochran, GA | 5077 | 1 | 19.7 |
| 19 | Garden City, GA | 10248 | 2 | 19.52 |
| 20 | Blakely, GA | 5139 | 1 | 19.46 |
| 21 | Snellville, GA | 20988 | 4 | 19.06 |
| 22 | LaGrange, GA | 32146 | 6 | 18.66 |
| 23 | Jackson, GA | 5361 | 1 | 18.65 |
| 24 | Eastman, GA | 5538 | 1 | 18.06 |
| 25 | Waynesboro, GA | 5576 | 1 | 17.93 |
| 26 | Byron, GA | 5953 | 1 | 16.8 |
| 27 | Port Wentworth, GA | 12684 | 2 | 15.77 |
| 28 | Warner Robins, GA | 82409 | 12 | 14.56 |
| 29 | Moultrie, GA | 14454 | 2 | 13.84 |
| 30 | Covington, GA | 14549 | 2 | 13.75 |
| 31 | Swainsboro, GA | 7517 | 1 | 13.3 |
| 32 | Rome, GA | 37778 | 5 | 13.24 |
| 33 | Americus, GA | 15808 | 2 | 12.65 |
| 34 | Brookhaven, GA | 55614 | 7 | 12.59 |
| 35 | Norcross, GA | 17731 | 2 | 11.28 |
| 36 | Fitzgerald, GA | 8960 | 1 | 11.16 |
| 37 | Richmond Hill, GA | 18421 | 2 | 10.86 |
| 38 | Forest Park, GA | 19605 | 2 | 10.2 |
| 39 | Cairo, GA | 9864 | 1 | 10.14 |
| 40 | Locust Grove, GA | 10394 | 1 | 9.62 |
| 41 | McDonough, GA | 31292 | 3 | 9.59 |
| 42 | Columbus, GA | 204986 | 19 | 9.27 |
| 43 | Acworth, GA | 22170 | 2 | 9.02 |
| 44 | Doraville, GA | 11185 | 1 | 8.94 |
| 45 | Douglasville, GA | 36331 | 3 | 8.26 |
| 46 | Gainesville, GA | 44314 | 3 | 6.77 |
| 47 | Dallas, GA | 14801 | 1 | 6.76 |
| 48 | Loganville, GA | 15250 | 1 | 6.56 |
| 49 | Roswell, GA | 92550 | 6 | 6.48 |
| 50 | Monroe, GA | 15569 | 1 | 6.42 |
| 51 | Dunwoody, GA | 49687 | 3 | 6.04 |
| 52 | Dunwoody, GA | 50271 | 3 | 5.97 |
| 53 | Statesboro, GA | 33590 | 2 | 5.95 |
| 54 | Villa Rica, GA | 17094 | 1 | 5.85 |
| 55 | Dalton, GA | 34276 | 2 | 5.83 |
| 56 | Thomasville, GA | 18836 | 1 | 5.31 |
| 57 | Kingsland, GA | 19650 | 1 | 5.09 |
| 58 | Peachtree City, GA | 39301 | 2 | 5.09 |
| 59 | Marietta, GA | 62059 | 3 | 4.83 |
| 60 | Perry, GA | 23213 | 1 | 4.31 |
| 61 | Cartersville, GA | 23293 | 1 | 4.29 |
| 62 | Decatur, GA | 24259 | 1 | 4.12 |
| 63 | Sandy Springs, GA | 106747 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 64 | Smyrna, GA | 55735 | 2 | 3.59 |
| 65 | Chamblee, GA | 29393 | 1 | 3.4 |
| 66 | Lawrenceville, GA | 30618 | 1 | 3.27 |
| 67 | Athens-Clarke County, GA | 128177 | 4 | 3.12 |
| 68 | Hinesville, GA | 35443 | 1 | 2.82 |
| 69 | Johns Creek, GA | 81964 | 1 | 1.22 |
How do you know the murder rates for 2020? Even the FBI is not that good. How did Macon escape your attention? They had 24 or more this year (2019).
I agree with the other comment. Columbus Ga had 46. How did escape the list. Need to go back and redo this list