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 57 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
- East Point
- College Park
- Vidalia
- Americus
- Forest Park
- Albany
- South Fulton
- Toccoa
- Thomaston
- Cairo
What city has the highest murder rate in Georgia? The city with the highest murder rate in Georgia is East Point with 78.5 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 East Point with 30 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Georgia ranked. There were ‘only’ 57 cities in Georgia where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 46 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Peach State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Georgia For 2026
/10
Population: 38,222
Murders: 30 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 78.5 (Most)
More on East Point: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 13,916
Murders: 9 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 64.7 (2nd Most)
More on College Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 10,724
Murders: 4 (15th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 37.3 (3rd Most)
More on Vidalia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 15,541
Murders: 5 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 32.2 (4th Most)
More on Americus: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 19,232
Murders: 6 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 31.2 (5th Most)
More on Forest Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 66,169
Murders: 17 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 25.7 (6th Most)
More on Albany: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
7. South Fulton
Population: 112,441
Murders: 25 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.2 (7th Most)
More on South Fulton: Movers
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Population: 9,348
Murders: 2 (28th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.4 (8th Most)
More on Toccoa: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 9,893
Murders: 2 (28th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.2 (9th Most)
More on Thomaston: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 9,953
Murders: 2 (28th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.1 (10th Most)
More on Cairo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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 57 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 East Point. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Georgia. We updated the list for 2026.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Georgia For 2026
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 East Point, College Park, Vidalia, Americus, Forest Park, Albany, South Fulton, Toccoa, Thomaston, and Cairo.
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 | East Point, GA | 38222 | 30 | 78.49 |
| 2 | College Park, GA | 13916 | 9 | 64.67 |
| 3 | Vidalia, GA | 10724 | 4 | 37.3 |
| 4 | Americus, GA | 15541 | 5 | 32.17 |
| 5 | Forest Park, GA | 19232 | 6 | 31.2 |
| 6 | Albany, GA | 66169 | 17 | 25.69 |
| 7 | South Fulton, GA | 112441 | 25 | 22.23 |
| 8 | Toccoa, GA | 9348 | 2 | 21.39 |
| 9 | Thomaston, GA | 9893 | 2 | 20.22 |
| 10 | Cairo, GA | 9953 | 2 | 20.09 |
| 11 | Blakely, GA | 5178 | 1 | 19.31 |
| 12 | Sylvester, GA | 5379 | 1 | 18.59 |
| 13 | Monroe, GA | 16241 | 3 | 18.47 |
| 14 | Oakwood, GA | 7029 | 1 | 14.23 |
| 15 | Bainbridge, GA | 14402 | 2 | 13.89 |
| 16 | Moultrie, GA | 14546 | 2 | 13.75 |
| 17 | Columbus, GA | 201061 | 26 | 12.93 |
| 18 | Griffin, GA | 24238 | 3 | 12.38 |
| 19 | Chamblee, GA | 32423 | 4 | 12.34 |
| 20 | Gainesville, GA | 48944 | 6 | 12.26 |
| 21 | Fitzgerald, GA | 8922 | 1 | 11.21 |
| 22 | Norcross, GA | 18213 | 2 | 10.98 |
| 23 | Cordele, GA | 9762 | 1 | 10.24 |
| 24 | Fayetteville, GA | 20451 | 2 | 9.78 |
| 25 | Lawrenceville, GA | 31160 | 3 | 9.63 |
| 26 | Savannah, GA | 241780 | 23 | 9.51 |
| 27 | Marietta, GA | 63354 | 6 | 9.47 |
| 28 | Statesboro, GA | 34788 | 3 | 8.62 |
| 29 | Brookhaven, GA | 58329 | 5 | 8.57 |
| 30 | Warner Robins, GA | 85900 | 7 | 8.15 |
| 31 | Rome, GA | 38257 | 3 | 7.84 |
| 32 | Douglasville, GA | 40595 | 3 | 7.39 |
| 33 | Waycross, GA | 13644 | 1 | 7.33 |
| 34 | Valdosta, GA | 54896 | 4 | 7.29 |
| 35 | Covington, GA | 14825 | 1 | 6.75 |
| 36 | Newnan, GA | 45655 | 3 | 6.57 |
| 37 | Port Wentworth, GA | 15911 | 1 | 6.28 |
| 38 | Braselton, GA | 16240 | 1 | 6.16 |
| 39 | Lilburn, GA | 16426 | 1 | 6.09 |
| 40 | Fairburn, GA | 16784 | 1 | 5.96 |
| 41 | Kennesaw, GA | 35138 | 2 | 5.69 |
| 42 | Thomasville, GA | 18457 | 1 | 5.42 |
| 43 | St. Marys, GA | 19882 | 1 | 5.03 |
| 44 | Kingsland, GA | 21064 | 1 | 4.75 |
| 45 | Snellville, GA | 22586 | 1 | 4.43 |
| 46 | Suwanee, GA | 23585 | 1 | 4.24 |
| 47 | Cartersville, GA | 25543 | 1 | 3.91 |
| 48 | Athens-Clarke County, GA | 129765 | 5 | 3.85 |
| 49 | Smyrna, GA | 56700 | 2 | 3.53 |
| 50 | LaGrange, GA | 32833 | 1 | 3.05 |
| 51 | McDonough, GA | 33140 | 1 | 3.02 |
| 52 | Hinesville, GA | 36562 | 1 | 2.74 |
| 53 | Woodstock, GA | 39613 | 1 | 2.52 |
| 54 | Roswell, GA | 91789 | 2 | 2.18 |
| 55 | Dunwoody, GA | 51752 | 1 | 1.93 |
| 56 | Alpharetta, GA | 67788 | 1 | 1.48 |
| 57 | Sandy Springs, GA | 105580 | 1 | 0.95 |
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