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.
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 Kentucky.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Bluegrass State for 2020:
- Williamsburg (Photos)
- Covington (Photos)
- Corbin (Photos)
- Bowling Green (Photos)
- Frankfort (Photos)
- Elizabethtown (Photos)
- Lexington (Photos)
- Shelbyville (Photos)
- Paducah (Photos)
- Jeffersontown (Photos)
The city with highest murder rate in Kentucky? That would be Williamsburg with 56.6 murders per 100,000 people.
While the city with highest number of murders period? Lexington with 22.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. There were ‘only’ 21 cities in Kentucky where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 52 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Bluegrass State check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Kentucky
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Kentucky
- 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Kentucky
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Kentucky For 2020
Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. The city was founded in 1818 and named after William Whitley. The Cumberland River flows through the city.
Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its north across the Ohio and Newport, Kentucky, to its east across the Licking. Part of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, Covington had a population of 40,640 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census, making it the fifth-most populous city in Kentucky. It is one of its county’s two seats, along with Independence.
Corbin is a home rule-class city in Whitley and Knox counties in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. The urbanized area around Corbin extends into Laurel County; this area is not incorporated into the city limits due to a state law prohibiting cities from being in more than two counties. However, this area is served by some of the city’s public services. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,304, with 21,132 living in the “urban cluster” that includes Corbin and North Corbin.
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. As of 2016, its population of 65,234 made it the third most-populous city in the state after Louisville and Lexington; its metropolitan area had an estimated population of 165,732; and the combined statistical area it shares with Glasgow has an estimated population of 218,870.
Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city in Kentucky; the population was 25,527 at the 2010 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the principal city of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Franklin and Anderson counties.
Elizabethtown is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, and was estimated at 29,906 by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2016, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. It is included in the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Louisville/Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Madison, Kentucky-Indiana Combined Statistical Area.
Lexington, consolidated with Fayette County and often denoted as Lexington-Fayette, is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 60th-largest city in the United States. By land area, Lexington is the 28th largest city in the United States. Known as the “Horse Capital of the World,” it is the heart of the state’s Bluegrass region. With a mayor-alderman form of government, it is one of two cities in Kentucky designated by the state as first-class; the other is the state’s largest city of Louisville. In the 2016 U.S. Census Estimate, the city’s population was 318,449, anchoring a metropolitan area of 506,751 people and a combined statistical area of 723,849 people. Due to constant increases in population, Lexington suffers some of the worst traffic congestion in Kentucky, because two interstates bypass the city to the north and east, resulting in a lack of freeways going through the most populated areas of the city.
Shelbyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,045 at the 2010 census.
Paducah is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio Rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, to the northwest and Nashville, Tennessee, to the southeast. The population was 24,864 in 2015, down from 25,024 during the 2010 U.S. Census. Twenty blocks of the city’s downtown have been designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jeffersontown is a home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 26,595 at the 2010 U.S. census.
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 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 Kentucky for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 21 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. You can download the data here.
We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. It simply states where murders occurred most frequently on an absolute and rate basis.
There You Have It – The Places With The Most Murders In Kentucky For 2020
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.
For more kentucky reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Kentucky
- These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Kentucky
- 10 Safest Places In Kentucky
- 10 Best Cities For Singles In Kentucky
- 10 Worst Places To Live In Kentucky
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In Kentucky For 2020
Rank | City | Murders |
---|---|---|
1 | Williamsburg, KY | 3.0 |
2 | Covington, KY | 5.0 |
3 | Corbin, KY | 3.0 |
4 | Bowling Green, KY | 6.0 |
5 | Frankfort, KY | 3.0 |
6 | Elizabethtown, KY | 3.0 |
7 | Lexington, KY | 22.0 |
8 | Shelbyville, KY | 2.0 |
9 | Paducah, KY | 2.0 |
10 | Jeffersontown, KY | 2.0 |
11 | Henderson, KY | 2.0 |
12 | Hopkinsville, KY | 2.0 |
13 | Somerset, KY | 1.0 |
14 | Owensboro, KY | 2.0 |
15 | Newport, KY | 1.0 |
16 | Shively, KY | 1.0 |
17 | Berea, KY | 1.0 |
18 | Radcliff, KY | 1.0 |
19 | Florence, KY | 1.0 |
20 | Georgetown, KY | 1.0 |
21 | Richmond, KY | 1.0 |