Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Texas?
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 Texas.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Lone Star State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in Texas? The city with the highest murder rate in Texas is Texarkana with 55.2 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Texas with highest number of murders? The city in Texas with the highest number of murders is Houston with 464 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Texas ranked. There were ‘only’ 163 cities in Texas where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 197 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Lone Star State check out:
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Texas For 2023
/10
Population: 36,208
Rank Last Year: –
Murders: 20 (11th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 55.2 (Most)
More on Texarkana: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 2,339,252
Rank Last Year: 2
Murders: 464 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.8 (19th Most)
More on Houston: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 23,529
Rank Last Year: 183
Murders: 8 (26th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 34.0 (7th Most)
More on Benbrook: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 24,850
Rank Last Year: 133
Murders: 8 (26th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 32.2 (8th Most)
More on Kingsville: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 1,349,185
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 212 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 15.7 (33rd Most)
More on Dallas: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
6. Killeen,
Population: 154,417
Rank Last Year: 6
Murders: 26 (7th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.8 (28th Most)
More on Killeen,:
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Population: 947,862
Rank Last Year: 7
Murders: 118 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.4 (47th Most)
More on Fort Worth: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 28,166
Rank Last Year: 81
Murders: 6 (34th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.3 (17th Most)
More on Big Spring: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 18,196
Rank Last Year: 129
Murders: 5 (42nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 27.5 (10th Most)
More on Taylor: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 115,290
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 17 (15th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 14.7 (39th Most)
More on Beaumont: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Texas
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 Texas for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 163 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 Texas and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Texas For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Texas 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 Texas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Texas
- Fastest Growing Cities In Texas
- Safest Places In Texas
- Best Cities For Singles In Texas
- Worst Places To Live In Texas
