Article Table Of Contents
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.
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 New York.
The city with highest murder rate in New York? That would be Pleasantville Village with 41.3 murders per 100,000 people.
While the city with highest number of murders period? New York with 319.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. There were 'only' 42 cities in New York where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 154 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Empire State check out:
- Best Places To Live In New York
- Cheapest Places To Live In New York
- Most Dangerous Places In New York
The 10 Murder Capitals Of New York For 2021
4. Hempstead Village
Population: 55,404
Rank Last Year: 54
Murders: 7 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.6 (5th Most)
More on Hempstead Village:
5. Pleasantville Village
Population: 7,261
Rank Last Year: 169
Murders: 3 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 41.3 (Most)
More on Pleasantville Village:
/10
Population: 27,801
Rank Last Year: 37
Murders: 3 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.8 (8th Most)
More on Middletown: Data
10. Tonawanda Town
Population: 56,717
Rank Last Year: 76
Murders: 4 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.1 (17th Most)
More on Tonawanda Town:
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 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 New York for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 42 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 New York For 2021
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.
For more new york reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New York
- Fastest Growing Cities In New York
- Safest Places In New York According To Science
- Best Cities For Singles In New York
- Worst Places To Live In New York State
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In New York For 2021
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo, NY | 47 |
| 2 | Rochester, NY | 33 |
| 3 | Syracuse, NY | 19 |
| 4 | Hempstead Village, NY | 7 |
| 5 | Pleasantville Village, NY | 3 |
| 6 | Utica, NY | 6 |
| 7 | Middletown, NY | 3 |
| 8 | Newburgh, NY | 3 |
| 9 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 3 |
| 10 | Tonawanda Town, NY | 4 |
| 11 | Cohoes, NY | 2 |
| 12 | New York, NY | 319 |
| 13 | Troy, NY | 3 |
| 14 | Kingston, NY | 2 |
| 15 | Albany, NY | 4 |
| 16 | Schenectady, NY | 3 |
| 17 | New Windsor Town, NY | 2 |
| 18 | Port Jervis, NY | 1 |
| 19 | Yonkers, NY | 6 |
| 20 | Poughkeepsie Town, NY | 2 |
| 21 | Amityville Village, NY | 1 |
| 22 | Binghamton, NY | 2 |
| 23 | Hamburg Town, NY | 2 |
| 24 | Niagara Falls, NY | 2 |
| 25 | Dunkirk, NY | 1 |
| 26 | Ulster Town, NY | 1 |
| 27 | Johnson City Village, NY | 1 |
| 28 | Beacon, NY | 1 |
| 29 | Amsterdam, NY | 1 |
| 30 | Ogden Town, NY | 1 |
| 31 | Mount Vernon, NY | 2 |
| 32 | Cheektowaga Town, NY | 2 |
| 33 | Amherst Town, NY | 2 |
| 34 | Ossining Village, NY | 1 |
| 35 | Elmira, NY | 1 |
| 36 | Port Chester Village, NY | 1 |
| 37 | Ithaca, NY | 1 |
| 38 | Rome, NY | 1 |
| 39 | Spring Valley Village, NY | 1 |
| 40 | Riverhead Town, NY | 1 |
| 41 | West Seneca Town, NY | 1 |
| 42 | Ramapo Town, NY | 1 |
