Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Mississippi?
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 Mississippi 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 27 cities in the Magnolia State with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In Mississippi
What city has the highest murder rate in Mississippi? The city with the highest murder rate in Mississippi is Jackson with 44.1 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Mississippi with highest number of murders? The city in Mississippi with the highest number of murders is Jackson with 72 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Mississippi ranked. There were ‘only’ 27 cities in Mississippi where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 20 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Magnolia State check out:
- Best Places To Live In Mississippi
- Cheapest Places To Live In Mississippi
- Most Dangerous Cities In Mississippi
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Mississippi For 2024
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Population: 163,297
Murders: 72 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 44.1 (Most)
More on Jackson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 36,878
Murders: 13 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 35.3 (2nd Most)
More on Meridian: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 14,497
Murders: 5 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 34.5 (3rd Most)
More on Natchez: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 11,901
Murders: 4 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 33.6 (4th Most)
More on Brookhaven: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 6,488
Murders: 2 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 30.8 (5th Most)
More on Holly Springs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 17,066
Murders: 5 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 29.3 (6th Most)
More on Laurel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 14,216
Murders: 4 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.1 (7th Most)
More on Corinth: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 10,687
Murders: 3 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 28.1 (8th Most)
More on Cleveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 26,729
Murders: 6 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.4 (9th Most)
More on Horn Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 71,803
Murders: 15 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.9 (10th Most)
More on Gulfport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Mississippi
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 Mississippi for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 27 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 Jackson. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Mississippi. We updated the list for 2024.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Mississippi For 2024
If you’re looking at the places in Mississippi 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 Mississippi are Jackson, Meridian, Natchez, Brookhaven, Holly Springs, Laurel, Corinth, Cleveland, Horn Lake, and Gulfport.
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Mississippi
- Fastest Growing Cities In Mississippi
- Safest Places In Mississippi
- Best Cities For Singles In Mississippi
- Worst Places To Live In Mississippi
Murder Rates By City In Mississippi
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson, MS | 163297 | 72 | 44.09 |
| 2 | Meridian, MS | 36878 | 13 | 35.25 |
| 3 | Natchez, MS | 14497 | 5 | 34.49 |
| 4 | Brookhaven, MS | 11901 | 4 | 33.61 |
| 5 | Holly Springs, MS | 6488 | 2 | 30.83 |
| 6 | Laurel, MS | 17066 | 5 | 29.3 |
| 7 | Corinth, MS | 14216 | 4 | 28.14 |
| 8 | Cleveland, MS | 10687 | 3 | 28.07 |
| 9 | Horn Lake, MS | 26729 | 6 | 22.45 |
| 10 | Gulfport, MS | 71803 | 15 | 20.89 |
| 11 | Forest, MS | 5262 | 1 | 19.0 |
| 12 | Bay St. Louis, MS | 10591 | 2 | 18.88 |
| 13 | Laurel,, MS | 18317 | 3 | 16.38 |
| 14 | Gautier, MS | 18992 | 3 | 15.8 |
| 15 | Vicksburg, MS | 20381 | 3 | 14.72 |
| 16 | Kosciusko, MS | 6955 | 1 | 14.38 |
| 17 | Biloxi, MS | 46317 | 5 | 10.8 |
| 18 | West Point, MS | 9893 | 1 | 10.11 |
| 19 | Pascagoula, MS | 21736 | 2 | 9.2 |
| 20 | Tupelo, MS | 37534 | 3 | 7.99 |
| 21 | Oxford, MS | 26975 | 2 | 7.41 |
| 22 | Hattiesburg, MS | 46862 | 3 | 6.4 |
| 23 | Long Beach, MS | 16944 | 1 | 5.9 |
| 24 | Ocean Springs, MS | 18361 | 1 | 5.45 |
| 25 | Olive Branch, MS | 40651 | 2 | 4.92 |
| 26 | Ridgeland, MS | 23896 | 1 | 4.18 |
| 27 | Clinton, MS | 27001 | 1 | 3.7 |
Natchez, MS? With a population of 15,000 residents and 12 murders in 2018, it is leading the nation statistically at 79 murders per 100,000 residents. Murder capitol of Mississippi, The South and the United States of America.
Just curious as to how these numbers are calculated and what cities are looked at. As mentioned, Natchez, MS had 12 murders in 2018 with a population at around 14,000. Port Gibson had 11 murders by May in 2016 with a population of around 5,000…
That picture of gautier is inaccurate. Why not leave something like this to someone from Mississippi? I live in the #7 murder town, Ocean Springs. It’s basically Fallujah.
How is is Hatteisburg not on here at all?? I’ve lost count of the murders since the end of Dec. 2019 til now. Can you see how many there has been?