Do you live in one of the murder capitals of New York?
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 New York 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 38 cities in the Empire State with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What city has the highest murder rate in New York? The city with the highest murder rate in New York is Rochester with 22.5 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in New York with highest number of murders? The city in New York with the highest number of murders is New York with 345 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in New York ranked. There were ‘only’ 38 cities in New York where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 162 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Empire State check out:
- Best Places To Live In New York
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The 10 Murder Capitals Of New York For 2025
/10
Population: 208,452
Murders: 47 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.5 (Most)
More on Rochester: Data
2. Ellicott Town
Population: 5,317
Murders: 1 (29th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.8 (2nd Most)
More on Ellicott Town:
3. Washingtonville Village
Population: 5,681
Murders: 1 (29th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 17.6 (3rd Most)
More on Washingtonville Village:
4. Endicott Village
Population: 13,198
Murders: 2 (16th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 15.2 (4th Most)
More on Endicott Village:
/10
Population: 275,922
Murders: 39 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.1 (5th Most)
More on Buffalo: Data
/10
Population: 28,370
Murders: 4 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.1 (6th Most)
More on Newburgh: Data
/10
Population: 101,930
Murders: 14 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.7 (7th Most)
More on Albany: Data
8. Stillwater Town
Population: 7,917
Murders: 1 (29th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.6 (8th Most)
More on Stillwater Town:
/10
Population: 143,295
Murders: 18 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.6 (9th Most)
More on Syracuse: Data
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Population: 8,569
Murders: 1 (29th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.7 (10th Most)
More on Port Jervis: Data
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of New York
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 New York for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 38 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 Rochester. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in New York. We updated the list for 2025.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In New York For 2025
If you’re looking at the places in New York 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 New York are Rochester, Ellicott Town, Washingtonville Village, Endicott Village, Buffalo, Newburgh, Albany, Stillwater Town, Syracuse, and Port Jervis.
For more New York reading, check out:
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Murder Rates By City In New York
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester, NY | 208452 | 47 | 22.55 |
| 2 | Ellicott Town, NY | 5317 | 1 | 18.81 |
| 3 | Washingtonville Village, NY | 5681 | 1 | 17.6 |
| 4 | Endicott Village, NY | 13198 | 2 | 15.15 |
| 5 | Buffalo, NY | 275922 | 39 | 14.13 |
| 6 | Newburgh, NY | 28370 | 4 | 14.1 |
| 7 | Albany, NY | 101930 | 14 | 13.73 |
| 8 | Stillwater Town, NY | 7917 | 1 | 12.63 |
| 9 | Syracuse, NY | 143295 | 18 | 12.56 |
| 10 | Port Jervis, NY | 8569 | 1 | 11.67 |
| 11 | Ogdensburg, NY | 8980 | 1 | 11.14 |
| 12 | Utica, NY | 63548 | 7 | 11.02 |
| 13 | Rensselaer City, NY | 9267 | 1 | 10.79 |
| 14 | Niagara Falls, NY | 47732 | 5 | 10.48 |
| 15 | Massena Village, NY | 10120 | 1 | 9.88 |
| 16 | Kingston, NY | 23864 | 2 | 8.38 |
| 17 | DeWitt Town, NY | 25179 | 2 | 7.94 |
| 18 | Ulster Town, NY | 12693 | 1 | 7.88 |
| 19 | Peekskill, NY | 25613 | 2 | 7.81 |
| 20 | Freeport Village, NY | 43691 | 3 | 6.87 |
| 21 | Binghamton, NY | 46781 | 3 | 6.41 |
| 22 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 32229 | 2 | 6.21 |
| 23 | Cohoes, NY | 17761 | 1 | 5.63 |
| 24 | Amsterdam, NY | 18268 | 1 | 5.47 |
| 25 | Schenectady, NY | 69035 | 3 | 4.35 |
| 26 | Mount Vernon, NY | 70812 | 3 | 4.24 |
| 27 | New York, NY | 8184044 | 345 | 4.22 |
| 28 | Troy, NY | 50676 | 2 | 3.95 |
| 29 | Elmira, NY | 25527 | 1 | 3.92 |
| 30 | Jamestown, NY | 28031 | 1 | 3.57 |
| 31 | Gates Town, NY | 28883 | 1 | 3.46 |
| 32 | Spring Valley Village, NY | 32846 | 1 | 3.04 |
| 33 | Poughkeepsie Town, NY | 41164 | 1 | 2.43 |
| 34 | Yonkers, NY | 206702 | 5 | 2.42 |
| 35 | Hempstead Village, NY | 58071 | 1 | 1.72 |
| 36 | Southampton Town, NY | 59801 | 1 | 1.67 |
| 37 | Cheektowaga Town, NY | 79330 | 1 | 1.26 |
| 38 | Ramapo Town, NY | 108558 | 1 | 0.92 |