City murder-rate ranking

100 Cities with the Highest Murder Rates

Ranked by murder and non-negligent manslaughter per 100,000 residents. Cities with 50,000+ population and at least one reported murder in the latest FBI UCR year.

Data updated 2026-09-05

100
Cities ranked
58.8/100K
Highest rate
4/100K
Cohort median (640 cities)

Chicago recorded 461 murders (#1 of 640) while Birmingham leads the rate at 58.8 per 100,000

Chicago recorded 461 murders (#1 of 640) at 17.5 per 100,000 (rate #35). Birmingham recorded 115 (#18) at 58.8 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

  • 461 Chicago murders, volume #1 of 640
  • 58.8/100K Birmingham rate #1
  • 4/100K cohort median

Volume #1 is not rate #1

Murder rate per 100,000 for the count leader and the rate leader among 50,000+ cities, FBI UCR 2024.

/100K

What this shows Chicago recorded 461 murders (#1 of 640) at 17.5 per 100,000 (rate #35). Birmingham recorded 115 (#18) at 58.8 per 100,000 (#1). These are FBI UCR 2024 agency submissions, not a personal risk forecast.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Read before you rank

This ranking reports FBI UCR murder and non-negligent manslaughter rates, not a citywide danger label. A citywide rate averages neighborhoods that differ sharply; offenses concentrate in particular places and times; and agencies that report thoroughly can appear higher than places that record fewer incidents. Murder is rare relative to other Part I offenses, so rates move with small count changes even at 50,000+ population. Quote the per-100,000 rate, the raw murder count, the population, and the reporting year together. For scale: the median among 640 eligible cities is 4 per 100,000. The #1 rate is 14.7x that median.

# Grade City State Population Murders Murder Rate
1 F Birmingham Alabama crime overview 195,418 115 58.8/100K
2 F St. Louis Missouri crime overview 277,294 150 54.1/100K
3 F Memphis Tennessee crime overview 613,207 249 40.6/100K
4 F Portsmouth Virginia crime overview 97,156 36 37.1/100K
5 F Baltimore Maryland crime overview 566,632 197 34.8/100K
6 F Wilmington Delaware crime overview 71,958 25 34.7/100K
7 F Detroit Michigan crime overview 651,171 203 31.2/100K
8 F Cleveland Ohio crime overview 362,762 109 30/100K
9 F Dayton Ohio 134,857 40 29.7/100K
10 F North Little Rock Arkansas crime overview 64,487 19 29.5/100K
11 F Kansas City Missouri 511,535 141 27.6/100K
12 F Shreveport Louisiana crime overview 175,092 47 26.8/100K
13 F Camden County Police Department New Jersey crime overview 72,435 19 26.2/100K
14 F Albany Georgia crime overview 66,169 17 25.7/100K
15 F Washington District Of Columbia crime overview 702,250 179 25.5/100K
16 F Flint Michigan 79,183 20 25.3/100K
17 F Jackson Tennessee 68,286 17 24.9/100K
18 D Richmond Virginia 231,805 56 24.2/100K
19 F Milwaukee Wisconsin crime overview 560,416 134 23.9/100K
20 D South Fulton Georgia 112,441 25 22.2/100K
21 F Trenton New Jersey 91,236 20 21.9/100K
22 F Cincinnati Ohio 311,599 68 21.8/100K
23 F Louisville Metro Kentucky crime overview 676,843 147 21.7/100K
24 F Pontiac Michigan 61,644 13 21.1/100K
25 F Compton California crime overview 89,564 18 20.1/100K
26 F Indianapolis Indiana crime overview 890,685 178 20/100K
27 F Youngstown Ohio 58,850 11 18.7/100K
28 F Oakland California 435,042 81 18.6/100K
29 F Albuquerque New Mexico crime overview 558,745 103 18.4/100K
30 F Montgomery Alabama 193,728 35 18.1/100K
31 F Minneapolis Minnesota crime overview 423,282 76 18/100K
32 F Lancaster California 164,012 29 17.7/100K
33 F Little Rock Arkansas 204,247 36 17.6/100K
34 F Hartford Connecticut crime overview 119,626 21 17.6/100K
35 F Chicago Illinois crime overview 2,638,698 461 17.5/100K
36 F Pueblo Colorado crime overview 110,805 19 17.1/100K
37 F North Charleston South Carolina crime overview 123,511 21 17/100K
38 F Philadelphia Pennsylvania crime overview 1,549,259 262 16.9/100K
39 F Lake Charles Louisiana 77,982 13 16.7/100K
40 F Mobile Alabama 237,092 39 16.4/100K
41 F Vallejo California 121,795 20 16.4/100K
42 F Norfolk Virginia 230,460 37 16.1/100K
43 F Stockton California 319,069 51 16/100K
44 F Topeka Kansas crime overview 125,156 20 16/100K
45 F Tuscaloosa Alabama 113,834 18 15.8/100K
46 F New Brunswick New Jersey 57,259 9 15.7/100K
47 D Yakima Washington crime overview 96,646 15 15.5/100K
48 F Syracuse New York crime overview 145,175 22 15.2/100K
49 F Lafayette Louisiana 121,471 18 14.8/100K
50 F Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Tennessee 698,987 102 14.6/100K
51 F Hammond Indiana 75,677 11 14.5/100K
52 F Greensboro North Carolina crime overview 304,306 43 14.1/100K
53 F Houston Texas crime overview 2,319,160 320 13.8/100K
54 F Kalamazoo Michigan 73,002 10 13.7/100K
55 F Dallas Texas 1,321,502 180 13.6/100K
56 F Antioch California 117,675 16 13.6/100K
57 F Rochester New York 206,093 27 13.1/100K
58 F Rockford Illinois 145,280 19 13.1/100K
59 F Columbus Georgia 201,061 26 12.9/100K
60 F Rocky Mount North Carolina 54,223 7 12.9/100K
61 F Peoria Illinois 109,677 14 12.8/100K
62 F Akron Ohio 188,223 24 12.8/100K
63 F Chattanooga Tennessee 188,894 24 12.7/100K
64 F Asheville North Carolina 95,219 12 12.6/100K
65 D Newark New Jersey 309,708 39 12.6/100K
66 F Beaumont Texas 111,320 14 12.6/100K
67 F Buffalo New York 273,728 34 12.4/100K
68 F Kansas City Kansas 153,363 19 12.4/100K
69 F Fayetteville North Carolina 209,945 26 12.4/100K
70 D Killeen Texas 161,667 20 12.4/100K
71 F Durham North Carolina 300,208 37 12.3/100K
72 D Columbus Ohio 915,447 112 12.2/100K
73 F Toledo Ohio 263,668 32 12.1/100K
74 F Auburn Washington 82,838 10 12.1/100K
75 F Las Cruces New Mexico 115,977 14 12.1/100K
76 F Newport News Virginia 183,563 22 12/100K
77 D Sarasota Florida crime overview 58,432 7 12/100K
78 C North Las Vegas Nevada crime overview 293,100 35 11.9/100K
79 D Rock Hill South Carolina 75,975 9 11.8/100K
80 D Miami Gardens Florida 110,466 13 11.8/100K
81 F Winston-Salem North Carolina 254,041 29 11.4/100K
82 C Temple Texas 96,862 11 11.4/100K
83 D Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 317,177 36 11.4/100K
84 F Roanoke Virginia 97,027 11 11.3/100K
85 C Lynchburg Virginia 80,339 9 11.2/100K
86 D Tulare California 71,689 8 11.2/100K
87 F Bossier City Louisiana 62,750 7 11.2/100K
88 F San Bernardino California 224,283 25 11.1/100K
89 C Fort Wayne Indiana 271,892 30 11/100K
90 F Knoxville Tennessee 200,457 22 11/100K
91 F Springfield Massachusetts crime overview 155,491 17 10.9/100K
92 F New Haven Connecticut 137,243 15 10.9/100K
93 F Charlotte-Mecklenburg North Carolina 1,003,130 109 10.9/100K
94 C Hampton Virginia 138,100 15 10.9/100K
95 F Port Arthur Texas 55,397 6 10.8/100K
96 F Portland Oregon crime overview 623,066 67 10.8/100K
97 C Longview Texas 83,771 9 10.7/100K
98 C Suffolk Virginia 103,506 11 10.6/100K
99 F Evansville Indiana 114,660 12 10.5/100K
100 F Aurora Colorado 397,852 41 10.3/100K

Where these 100 cities sit on murder rate

Exclusive bands for the same 100 highest-rate cities in the table above (FBI UCR 2024, 50,000+ residents). Each city appears once.

Murder as a share of violent crime

Percent of reported violent offenses that are murder among the top murder-rate cities (FBI UCR 2024).

%

What this shows Among the highest murder-rate cities in this file, murder is 4.7% of reported violent crime in Birmingham vs 1.9% in Cleveland (FBI UCR 2024). Aggravated assault usually dominates the violent composite; a high murder rate does not mean murder is the modal offense.

Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program As of 2024

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Murder and non-negligent manslaughter; cities under 50,000 population excluded; zeros excluded from ranking

What the FBI counts as murder in this ranking

FBI UCR murder and non-negligent manslaughter counts cover willful killings. The category excludes negligent manslaughter, justifiable homicide, and suicide. Rates on this page use each city's latest reporting year in our file, divide the murder count by that year's population, and multiply by 100,000. The population floor is 50,000 residents so a handful of incidents cannot dominate the leaderboard the way they can in smaller jurisdictions.

How this differs from overall violent-crime rankings

Our highest violent-crime cities list ranks murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault together. Aggravated assault usually dominates that composite. A city can rank high on violent crime with few murders, or show a high murder rate while other violent categories are closer to the middle of the distribution. Use both views when comparing places, and read raw counts on each city profile.

Reporting and coverage limits

UCR participation is voluntary. Coverage gaps and the SRS-to-NIBRS transition can leave some agencies missing or delayed for a given year. The file also captures only crimes reported to law enforcement. For citation, pair the rate with the murder count, population, vintage year, and FBI UCR as the source in the same sentence.

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking of highest murder-rate cities determined? ▼
Cities are ranked by murder and non-negligent manslaughter per 100,000 residents using the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. Only cities with 50,000 or more residents and at least one reported murder in the latest year are included. Murder is a rare event, so a higher population floor reduces rate volatility from small denominators.
Which U.S. city has the highest reported murder rate in this file? ▼
Birmingham, AL tops this ranking at 58.8 murders per 100,000 residents (115 reported murders; population 195,418). That is 14.7x the cohort median of 4 per 100,000 among 640 eligible cities.
Does the city with the most murders also have the highest murder rate? ▼
Not in this file. Chicago recorded 461 murders (#1 of 640 cities with 50,000+ residents and at least one reported murder) at 17.5 per 100,000 (rate #35). Birmingham recorded 115 murders (#18) at 58.8 per 100,000 (#1). Quote count, rate, population, and year together.
Why does this page use a higher population floor than violent-crime rankings? ▼
Violent crime includes more common offenses (robbery and aggravated assault). Murder counts are sparse. Below about 50,000 residents, one or two incidents can swing a per-capita murder rate by a large margin, so this ranking starts at 50,000+ residents.

Every figure on PlainCrime is rendered directly from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.