Crime in America has been slowly but steadily dropping for the past several decades.
And despite a small, recent uptick, it’s basically as safe as it’s ever been.
However, much like how some parts of a city are more dangerous than others, there are parts of America that still haven’t got the memo that were in a more peaceful time. These are the cities in America were murder is relatively common — yet, we must stress, still very uncommon.
In an effort to you make you better aware of these potential danger zones, we dug into the most recent FBI data to determine where the murder rates are the highest amongst America’s largest cities.
In a surprise to no one that’s looked at the data before, Chicago isn’t in the top ten — it’s such a huge city that even high absolute numbers don’t translate into actually high murder rates.
These are the 10 cities in America with the highest murder rates per capita:
The city with the highest murder rate according to the most recent FBI Data? That would be St. Louis with 0.0006 murders per capita — or about 1 for every 1,641 people, which is relatively low compared to historical norms and isn’t THAT dangerous.
So while murder might be a problem in these cities, we have a feeling that the top offenders will get their murder rates under control in the comming years.
Read on for more information on how we calculated these numbers, or feel free to check out something a little less dreary:
- Safest Cities By State
- Cheapest Cities By State
- Cheapest States To Live In
- Most Dangerous Cities
- Worst Places To Live By State
The 10 Cities With The Highest Murder Rate In America For 2020
/10
Being in a new place is so different,everything is different but the people are great. I got tot meet some really good people along the way.
Of course the Arch stands out more than anything else in St. Louis. There is no bad side to it at all
/10
Too many bad folks and the city does not care about it.
Black people and their negative impact to the city.
/10
horrible streets and roads, crime, businesses leaving the city or states, going out of business, losing airlines, low business environment, bad schools and less good doctors.
The horrible streets and roads the bad; which aren’t being repaired due to lack of funds in the budget.
/10
This place is very racist and not good at all its like a ghost town.
Its very racist and not a good place to live.
/10
MICHIGAN IS A VERY GOOD STATE IN THE GREAT LAKES. IN THIS CITY HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 10 MILLION.
YOU’VE BEEN ON A MICHIGAN FALL COLORS TOUR OR TAKEN A DRIVE THROUGH THE COUNTRY IN THE FALL JUST TO SEE THE LEAVES CHANGING.
/10
My experience was wonderful! Southern hospitality stood out in this city! We partied on burbon street and drank the famous hand grenades. We attended several Mardi Gras parades even though it wasn’t Mardi Gras season they still find any reason to have a parade.
The culture in New Orleans is unbeatable. The soul food made from recipes passed down generation to generation is like nothing you have ever tasted before. The historic buildings are beautiful sights. The night life is one giant party till the sun comes up.
/10
This is probably one of the worst cities I’ve ever been too. The traffic is awful and almost as bad as Los Angeles, which has something like 5 times the population. Most of the areas outside of the central business district live in poverty, the schools are way below the national average, and the food pales in comparison to New Orleans. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone visit or move here.
The best part of Baton Rouge is that it is located pretty close to New Orleans, and is Louisiana’s state capital. The thing that stood out the most is the horrid traffic and degrading infrastructure.
/10
H20 will be the next statistic, he lives in a fantasy world. Nothing good about Memphis.
Staying off the streets, crime is a big big big problem.
/10
/10
there are no crimes and it has a very pleasant atmosphere and it also has a school and the local governance is good
liberty state park is my favorite place to hang out and new port is the best area to visit
How We Determined The Murder Capitals Of America For 2020
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 happen in each city per year.
We only looked at cities in America with over 100,000 people — that left us with 293 cities in America to analyze.
We then calculated the number of murders per capita for these cities to make everything an apples to apples comparison along with the raw number of murders — because more absolute murder is more murder.
We then averaged the two rankings together to create a Murder Index.
The cities with a higher Murder Index were deemed the “Murder Capitals of America For 2020”. 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.
Locking Up Murders Row For 2020
There you have it — a look at the cities with the highhest murder rates in America for 2019 with St. Louis at the top of the list.
If you’re looking for the safest cities in America when it comes to murder, check out Mcallen and Allen.
For more reading around America:
The 100 Cities In America With The Most Murders For 2020
| Rank | City | Population | Murders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis, MO | 306,875 | 187 |
| 2 | Baltimore, MD | 605,436 | 309 |
| 3 | Jackson, MS | 166,024 | 78 |
| 4 | Birmingham, AL | 210,564 | 88 |
| 5 | Detroit, MI | 671,275 | 261 |
| 6 | New Orleans, LA | 396,374 | 147 |
| 7 | Baton Rouge, LA | 224,790 | 79 |
| 8 | Memphis, TN | 652,226 | 186 |
| 9 | Kansas City, MO | 493,115 | 137 |
| 10 | Newark, NJ | 282,258 | 75 |
| 11 | Dayton, OH | 140,094 | 37 |
| 12 | Shreveport, LA | 190,808 | 49 |
| 13 | West Palm Beach, FL | 111,659 | 27 |
| 14 | Washington, DC | 702,455 | 160 |
| 15 | Richmond, VA | 229,927 | 52 |
| 16 | San Bernardino, CA | 217,986 | 49 |
| 17 | Cleveland, OH | 384,666 | 86 |
| 18 | North Charleston, SC | 112,840 | 25 |
| 19 | Philadelphia, PA | 1,586,916 | 351 |
| 20 | Buffalo, NY | 258,219 | 57 |
| 21 | Miami Gardens, FL | 114,670 | 24 |
| 22 | Chicago, IL | 2,719,151 | 563 |
| 23 | Little Rock, AR | 199,288 | 40 |
| 24 | Peoria, IL | 112,595 | 22 |
| 25 | Akron, OH | 197,690 | 38 |
| 26 | Cincinnati, OH | 301,952 | 57 |
| 27 | Pittsburgh, PA | 302,544 | 57 |
| 28 | Indianapolis, IN | 877,584 | 162 |
| 29 | Atlanta, GA | 496,106 | 88 |
| 30 | Hartford, CT | 123,117 | 21 |
| 31 | High Point, NC | 112,526 | 19 |
| 32 | Milwaukee, WI | 595,619 | 99 |
| 33 | Oakland, CA | 430,230 | 70 |
| 34 | Syracuse, NY | 143,129 | 23 |
| 35 | Rockford, IL | 146,198 | 23 |
| 36 | Richmond, CA | 110,982 | 17 |
| 37 | Fort Wayne, IN | 267,634 | 40 |
| 38 | Tulsa, OK | 403,147 | 60 |
| 39 | Norfolk, VA | 244,347 | 36 |
| 40 | Montgomery, AL | 198,662 | 29 |
| 41 | Rochester, NY | 207,701 | 29 |
| 42 | Orlando, FL | 286,679 | 39 |
| 43 | Inglewood, CA | 110,726 | 15 |
| 44 | Toledo, OH | 275,023 | 37 |
| 45 | Newport News, VA | 178,734 | 24 |
| 46 | North Las Vegas, NV | 246,951 | 33 |
| 47 | Nashville, TN | 686,492 | 91 |
| 48 | Des Moines, IA | 217,277 | 28 |
| 49 | Greensboro, NC | 293,298 | 37 |
| 50 | Davenport, IA | 103,063 | 13 |
| 51 | Albuquerque, NM | 560,235 | 69 |
| 52 | Springfield, MA | 155,179 | 19 |
| 53 | Jacksonville, FL | 903,213 | 110 |
| 54 | Durham, NC | 273,759 | 33 |
| 55 | Roanoke, VA | 100,042 | 12 |
| 56 | Columbia, SC | 133,540 | 16 |
| 57 | Salinas, CA | 158,590 | 19 |
| 58 | Hampton, VA | 133,965 | 16 |
| 59 | Houston, TX | 2,344,966 | 276 |
| 60 | Dallas, TX | 1,362,465 | 155 |
| 61 | Columbus, OH | 892,576 | 99 |
| 62 | Topeka, KS | 126,399 | 14 |
| 63 | Pomona, CA | 153,496 | 17 |
| 64 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 182,150 | 20 |
| 65 | Beaumont, TX | 119,368 | 13 |
| 66 | Thousand Oaks, CA | 129,319 | 14 |
| 67 | Knoxville, TN | 188,653 | 20 |
| 68 | Mobile, AL | 245,475 | 26 |
| 69 | Stockton, CA | 313,158 | 33 |
| 70 | Chattanooga, TN | 180,397 | 19 |
| 71 | Miami, FL | 473,047 | 46 |
| 72 | Wichita, KS | 391,726 | 38 |
| 73 | Clarksville, TN | 156,264 | 15 |
| 74 | Springfield, MO | 168,537 | 16 |
| 75 | Allentown, PA | 121,743 | 11 |
| 76 | Denver, CO | 720,745 | 65 |
| 77 | Anchorage, AK | 291,992 | 26 |
| 78 | Paterson, NJ | 146,893 | 13 |
| 79 | South Bend, IN | 102,397 | 9 |
| 80 | Tucson, AZ | 537,392 | 47 |
| 81 | Independence, MO | 117,368 | 10 |
| 82 | Norwalk, CA | 106,158 | 9 |
| 83 | Evansville, IN | 118,765 | 10 |
| 84 | Tallahassee, FL | 192,443 | 16 |
| 85 | Waterbury, CT | 108,378 | 9 |
| 86 | Boston, MA | 694,673 | 56 |
| 87 | Pueblo, CO | 111,756 | 9 |
| 88 | Bakersfield, CA | 385,609 | 31 |
| 89 | Phoenix, AZ | 1,653,080 | 132 |
| 90 | Palm Bay, FL | 112,902 | 9 |
| 91 | Oklahoma City, OK | 652,936 | 52 |
| 92 | St. Petersburg, FL | 265,942 | 21 |
| 93 | Tacoma, WA | 215,687 | 17 |
| 94 | Springfield, IL | 114,623 | 9 |
| 95 | Murfreesboro, TN | 140,702 | 11 |
| 96 | New Haven, CT | 131,181 | 10 |
| 97 | Bridgeport, CT | 146,819 | 11 |
| 98 | Wilmington, NC | 120,920 | 9 |
| 99 | Modesto, CA | 215,822 | 16 |
| 100 | Corpus Christi, TX | 328,614 | 24 |
Murder Places By State
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