Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Kansas?
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 Kansas 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 21 cities in the Sunflower State with over 7,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Kansas
What city has the highest murder rate in Kansas? The city with the highest murder rate in Kansas is Leavenworth with 24.3 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Kansas with highest number of murders? The city in Kansas with the highest number of murders is Wichita with 31 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Kansas ranked. There were ‘only’ 21 cities in Kansas where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 39 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Sunflower State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Kansas For 2024
/10
Population: 37,004
Murders: 9 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.3 (Most)
More on Leavenworth: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 8,788
Murders: 2 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.8 (2nd Most)
More on Coffeyville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 9,787
Murders: 2 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.4 (3rd Most)
More on Mission: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 20,774
Murders: 4 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.3 (4th Most)
More on Pittsburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 10,928
Murders: 2 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.3 (5th Most)
More on Merriam: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 7,641
Murders: 1 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.1 (6th Most)
More on Wellington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 125,658
Murders: 13 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.3 (7th Most)
More on Topeka: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 21,927
Murders: 2 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 9.1 (8th Most)
More on Junction City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 394,286
Murders: 31 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.9 (9th Most)
More on Wichita: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 12,821
Murders: 1 (19th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.8 (10th Most)
More on El Dorado: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Kansas
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 Kansas for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 21 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 Leavenworth. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Kansas. We updated the list for 2024.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Kansas For 2024
If you’re looking at the places in Kansas 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 Kansas are Leavenworth, Coffeyville, Mission, Pittsburg, Merriam, Wellington, Topeka, Junction City, Wichita, and El Dorado.
For more Kansas reading, check out:
Murder Rates By City In Kansas
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leavenworth, KS | 37004 | 9 | 24.32 |
| 2 | Coffeyville, KS | 8788 | 2 | 22.76 |
| 3 | Mission, KS | 9787 | 2 | 20.44 |
| 4 | Pittsburg, KS | 20774 | 4 | 19.25 |
| 5 | Merriam, KS | 10928 | 2 | 18.3 |
| 6 | Wellington, KS | 7641 | 1 | 13.09 |
| 7 | Topeka, KS | 125658 | 13 | 10.35 |
| 8 | Junction City, KS | 21927 | 2 | 9.12 |
| 9 | Wichita, KS | 394286 | 31 | 7.86 |
| 10 | El Dorado, KS | 12821 | 1 | 7.8 |
| 11 | Derby, KS | 25907 | 2 | 7.72 |
| 12 | Lawrence, KS | 95580 | 7 | 7.32 |
| 13 | Garden City, KS | 27701 | 2 | 7.22 |
| 14 | Salina, KS | 46161 | 3 | 6.5 |
| 15 | Andover, KS | 15842 | 1 | 6.31 |
| 16 | Hays, KS | 20861 | 1 | 4.79 |
| 17 | Shawnee, KS | 67617 | 3 | 4.44 |
| 18 | Dodge City, KS | 27641 | 1 | 3.62 |
| 19 | Lenexa, KS | 59289 | 2 | 3.37 |
| 20 | Overland Park, KS | 196626 | 5 | 2.54 |
| 21 | Olathe, KS | 144646 | 2 | 1.38 |