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 result is the Murder Capitals of the Empire State for 2023:
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Niagara Falls
- Albany
- Troy
- Poughkeepsie
- Newburgh
- Mount Vernon
- Newburgh Town
What city has the highest murder rate in New York? The city with the highest murder rate in New York is Buffalo with 25.6 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 468 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in New York ranked. There were ‘only’ 47 cities in New York where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 164 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
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of New York For 2023
/10
Population: 253,809
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 65 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 25.6 (Most)
More on Buffalo: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 205,199
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 48 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.4 (2nd Most)
More on Rochester: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 142,011
Rank Last Year: 3
Murders: 32 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 22.5 (3rd Most)
More on Syracuse: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 47,139
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 9 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.1 (6th Most)
More on Niagara Falls: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 96,318
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 16 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.6 (9th Most)
More on Albany: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 49,052
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 9 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.3 (8th Most)
More on Troy: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 30,480
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 6 (10th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.7 (5th Most)
More on Poughkeepsie: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 28,095
Rank Last Year: 10
Murders: 4 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.2 (10th Most)
More on Newburgh: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 67,339
Rank Last Year: 9
Murders: 7 (9th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 10.4 (15th Most)
More on Mount Vernon: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
10. Newburgh Town
Population: 31,691
Rank Last Year: 11
Murders: 4 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.6 (12th Most)
More on Newburgh Town:
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 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 47 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.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in New York and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In New York For 2023
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 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo, NY | 65 |
| 2 | Rochester, NY | 48 |
| 3 | Syracuse, NY | 32 |
| 4 | Niagara Falls, NY | 9 |
| 5 | Albany, NY | 16 |
| 6 | Troy, NY | 9 |
| 7 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 6 |
| 8 | Newburgh, NY | 4 |
| 9 | Mount Vernon, NY | 7 |
| 10 | Newburgh Town, NY | 4 |
| 11 | Kingston, NY | 3 |
| 12 | Amityville Village, NY | 2 |
| 13 | Peekskill, NY | 3 |
| 14 | Tonawanda Town, NY | 5 |
| 15 | Utica, NY | 5 |
| 16 | New York, NY | 468 |
| 17 | Spring Valley Village, NY | 3 |
| 18 | Cohoes, NY | 2 |
| 19 | Yonkers, NY | 8 |
| 20 | Salamanca, NY | 1 |
| 21 | Binghamton, NY | 3 |
| 22 | Watertown, NY | 2 |
| 23 | Irondequoit Town, NY | 3 |
| 24 | Elmira, NY | 2 |
| 25 | Hempstead Village, NY | 3 |
| 26 | Jamestown, NY | 2 |
| 27 | Massena Village, NY | 1 |
| 28 | Canandaigua, NY | 1 |
| 29 | Corning, NY | 1 |
| 30 | New Rochelle, NY | 3 |
| 31 | Oneida, NY | 1 |
| 32 | Haverstraw Town, NY | 2 |
| 33 | Ulster Town, NY | 1 |
| 34 | Johnson City Village, NY | 1 |
| 35 | Batavia, NY | 1 |
| 36 | Schenectady, NY | 2 |
| 37 | Gloversville, NY | 1 |
| 38 | Tonawanda, NY | 1 |
| 39 | Ogden Town, NY | 1 |
| 40 | Auburn, NY | 1 |
| 41 | Saratoga Springs, NY | 1 |
| 42 | Bethlehem Town, NY | 1 |
| 43 | Brighton Town, NY | 1 |
| 44 | Orangetown Town, NY | 1 |
| 45 | Southampton Town, NY | 1 |
| 46 | Cheektowaga Town, NY | 1 |
| 47 | Colonie Town, NY | 1 |
