Mapped: The Highest Homicide Rates in the U.S.

Visual Capitalist ^ | 12/28/2025 | Niccolo Conte

[SeekAndFind]

Across the United States, there were 22,830 homicides in 2023, averaging 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

Homicide rates vary widely across American cities, influenced by factors such as poverty, inequality, gun laws, and local policing strategies.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, shows the top 40 U.S. cities by their homicide rate per 100,000 residents and the total number of homicides, based on the latest reported data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Where Homicide Rates Are Highest in America

Cities in the South and Midwest tend to show higher homicide rates, reflecting a combination of economic stress, structural inequality, and regional differences in firearm access and enforcement.

The table below ranks the top 40 U.S. cities by homicide rate:

Rank	Major City	State	Homicides per 100,000 people	Total Homicides
1	New Orleans	LA	46	166
2	Memphis	TN	41	372
3	St. Louis	MO	38	106
4	Baltimore	MD	36	205
5	Washington, DC	DC	36	244
6	Birmingham	AL	28	187
7	Philadelphia	PA	26	402
8	Kansas City	MO	25	182
9	Richmond	VA	23	53
10	Indianapolis	IN	22	211
11	Milwaukee	WI	21	190
12	Louisville	KY	19	146
13	Cleveland	OH	18	220
14	Detroit	MI	17	304
15	Norfolk	VA	17	40
16	Atlanta	GA	16	175
17	Chicago	IL	16	805
18	Jacksonville	FL	15	153
19	Nashville	TN	15	103
20	Dallas	TX	12	319
21	Columbus	OH	12	159
22	Houston	TX	11	540
23	Denver	CO	11	77
24	San Antonio	TX	10	218
25	Cincinnati	OH	10	83
26	New York City (The Bronx)	NY	9	128
27	Rochester	NY	9	69
28	Las Vegas	NV	9	207
29	Portland	OR	9	70
30	Oakland	CA	8	136
31	Oklahoma City	OK	8	66
32	Phoenix	AZ	7	337
33	Pittsburgh	PA	8	98
34	Charlotte	NC	8	90
35	Orlando	FL	7	104
36	Minneapolis	MN	7	88
37	Los Angeles	CA	7	659
38	Miami	FL	7	176
39	Newark	NJ	7	56
40	Virginia Beach	VA	6	29

New Orleans ranks first, with a homicide rate of 46 per 100,000 people. Memphis and St. Louis follow closely, each reporting rates above 38 per 100,000. While these cities have a relatively low number of total homicides, their small population sizes place them among the most violent cities in the country.

In terms of total homicides, Chicago ranks first with more than 800 homicides, followed by Los Angeles and Houston. Despite the high totals, these cities have relatively lower rates due to their large populations.

Many Southern and Western states with high homicide rates also rank highly in gun-related deaths per 100,000 people, reflecting a combination of firearm availability, gun ownership rates, and broader socioeconomic challenges.

If you found this infographic interesting, see this graphic on America’s Most Dangerous Cities on Voronoi.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: cities; homicide; homiciderates; ranking

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Posted this on other thread. Suicide rate by state:

Deaths per 100,000 population..

[SeekAndFind]

Looks like the blue staters are the ones who love life the most from the map you present.

[Right Brother]

I wonder what the top 7 cities have in common? Hmmmmmmm.

[Nervous Tick]

Yet another agenda driven, duplicitous visual by so-called “Visual Capitalist”!

The title is “Highest Homicide RATES...”

The size of the bubbles on the graph is by homicide TOTALS, ignoring population of the depicted area.

Example Houston. Big ol’ bubble! Looks like the third most dangerous hellhole in ‘Merica! Because suthners ‘n their GUNS, dontcha-know!

But the actual RANK of Houston is number >>22<<.

The claptrap that goes along with it emphasizes gun availability and implicitly peddles gun control.

SCREW VISUAL CAPITALIST. More drive-by media is all it is...

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Indeed. I posted it on a thread where a family describes appreciating life in NYC over Salt Lake City - despite having to downsize and adjust their lifestyle to the high costs.

The isolation of mountain towns and suburbia can be damaging for mental health - especially in a day and age where extended families and instinctual community ties have been severed.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Homicide does not equal murder.

[DennisR]

How about “the vast majority” of the cities? Hmmmmmm.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Yep, I can see where drug addicts, mugging and being shoved in front of subways is so much more mentally healthy.

I mean the sheer joy in being gang raped must be unbelievable.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

The Trump children are NY-bred. Privileged but street smart.

There are also trips to the ballet, Yankees vs. Mets, getting Broadway tickets on sale, walking your dog and people watching in Central Park, getting to sip the best coffees, eating at a world class hot dog stand by day, or Michelin level cuisines from the best chefs in the world by night...And admiring the skyline and architecture...

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Some NYers and great American treasures:

[reardensteel]

There is a trend that I won’t mention.

[Steven Scharf]

26 New York City (The Bronx) NY 9 128

Their data for NYC is bogus.

Also this 2023 data from the CDC when the FBI 2024 data on murder is avaiable.

The correct info based on the CDC 2023 data
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Homocides . . Pop . . . . Rate
Bronx County, NY . . . . . . . . 128 . . . 1,356,476 . . . 9.44
Kings County, NY . . . . . . . . 130 . . . 2,561,225 . . . 5.08
New York County, NY . . . . . . . 66 . . . 1,597,451 . . . 4.13
Queens County, NY . . . . . . . . 62 . . . 2,252,196 . . . 2.75
Richmond County, NY . . . . . . . 18 . . . 490,687 . . . 3.67
New York City (5 Boroughs). . . .404 . . . 8,258,035 . . . 4.89

[Steven Scharf]

Homicide does not equal murder.

FBI data is not broken out by city, but saw this nugget.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2024 estimated nationwide decrease of 14.9% compared to the previous year.

[Steven Scharf]

New York City (5 Boroughs). . . .404 . . . 8,258,035 . . . 4.89

I meant to note that this would put NYC below the 40 city threshold of the chart.

Far cry form the 700 to 900 homocides of the 1980s and 90s.

[Wayne07]

I don’t know if there is a political motive here> Los Angeles gets screwed way more than Houston. LA is 37th on the list per capita, but has the second biggest bubble. It is a poor visualization because they are trying to show two pieces of data at once: absolute numbers by size of bubble, and the per capita by color of the bubble.

[j.havenfarm]

Wow. I live in a red county in CA; law and order rules here. But even among the many blue cities and counties, Oakland is infamous. Any yet there are 29 American cities that are worse? I’m truly amazed by that

[LibertyOh]

Albuquerque with 95 homicides for 560k population (17/100k) in 2024 doesn’t even show up on the list. Something is very wrong with this graphic. The linked article for most dangerous has it as number 4. What’s the disconnect?

[montag813]

It's not so much a WHERE as a WHO...

[SaveFerris]

Wow 😲😲