Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Kentucky?
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 Kentucky 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 22 cities in the Bluegrass State with over 8,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Kentucky
- Shively
- Louisville Metro
- Shepherdsville
- Frankfort
- Oak Grove
- Maysville
- Madisonville
- Hopkinsville
- Covington
- Newport
What city has the highest murder rate in Kentucky? The city with the highest murder rate in Kentucky is Shively with 26.0 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Kentucky with highest number of murders? The city in Kentucky with the highest number of murders is Louisville Metro with 153 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Kentucky ranked. There were ‘only’ 22 cities in Kentucky where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 54 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Bluegrass State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Kentucky
- Cheapest Places To Live In Kentucky
- Most Dangerous Cities In Kentucky
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Kentucky For 2025
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Population: 15,404
Murders: 4 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 26.0 (Most)
More on Shively: Data
2. Louisville Metro
Population: 669,468
Murders: 153 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.9 (2nd Most)
More on Louisville Metro:
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Population: 14,620
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.5 (3rd Most)
More on Shepherdsville: Data
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Population: 28,282
Murders: 4 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.1 (4th Most)
More on Frankfort: Data
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Population: 8,027
Murders: 1 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.5 (5th Most)
More on Oak Grove: Data
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Population: 8,677
Murders: 1 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.5 (6th Most)
More on Maysville: Data
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Population: 19,057
Murders: 2 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.5 (7th Most)
More on Madisonville: Data
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Population: 30,804
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 9.7 (8th Most)
More on Hopkinsville: Data
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Population: 40,967
Murders: 3 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.3 (9th Most)
More on Covington: Data
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Population: 13,780
Murders: 1 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.3 (10th Most)
More on Newport: Data
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Kentucky
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 Kentucky for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 22 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 Shively. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Kentucky. We updated the list for 2025.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Kentucky For 2025
If you’re looking at the places in Kentucky 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 Kentucky are Shively, Louisville Metro, Shepherdsville, Frankfort, Oak Grove, Maysville, Madisonville, Hopkinsville, Covington, and Newport.
For more Kentucky reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Kentucky
- Fastest Growing Cities In Kentucky
- Safest Places In Kentucky
- Best Cities For Singles In Kentucky
- Worst Places To Live In Kentucky
Murder Rates By City In Kentucky
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shively, KY | 15404 | 4 | 25.97 |
| 2 | Louisville Metro, KY | 669468 | 153 | 22.85 |
| 3 | Shepherdsville, KY | 14620 | 3 | 20.52 |
| 4 | Frankfort, KY | 28282 | 4 | 14.14 |
| 5 | Oak Grove, KY | 8027 | 1 | 12.46 |
| 6 | Maysville, KY | 8677 | 1 | 11.52 |
| 7 | Madisonville, KY | 19057 | 2 | 10.49 |
| 8 | Hopkinsville, KY | 30804 | 3 | 9.74 |
| 9 | Covington, KY | 40967 | 3 | 7.32 |
| 10 | Newport, KY | 13780 | 1 | 7.26 |
| 11 | Glasgow, KY | 15417 | 1 | 6.49 |
| 12 | Elizabethtown, KY | 32145 | 2 | 6.22 |
| 13 | Florence, KY | 32899 | 2 | 6.08 |
| 14 | Murray, KY | 17622 | 1 | 5.67 |
| 15 | Richmond, KY | 36851 | 2 | 5.43 |
| 16 | Ashland, KY | 21220 | 1 | 4.71 |
| 17 | Lexington, KY | 319994 | 14 | 4.38 |
| 18 | Radcliff, KY | 22916 | 1 | 4.36 |
| 19 | Bowling Green, KY | 76194 | 3 | 3.94 |
| 20 | Paducah, KY | 26692 | 1 | 3.75 |
| 21 | Independence, KY | 29603 | 1 | 3.38 |
| 22 | Owensboro, KY | 59937 | 2 | 3.34 |
Your data is incorrect, Louisville had 90 murders in 2019, and has had more than 100, several times in the past decade.
Very few murders get reported to the FBI, this is skewed.
Ranking murder rates this way is very skewed. That is like saying N.Y.C.is less dangerous than Williamsburg KY because there is a larger percentage of the population that was murdered even though the number of people murdered in Williamsburg KY doesn’t come close to the number of people murdered in New York City.
Louisville is the biggest city in Kentucky and has had 79 murdered this year.