The homicide rate is increasing rapidly in the U.S., so much so that President Joe Biden has made tackling the problem a priority and spoke in his State of the Union address about his plans to reduce violence. Alarmingly, homicide rates have risen by an average of 17% in 50 of the most populated U.S. cities between Q1 2020 and Q1 2022, and are still rising.
In order to determine which cities have the biggest homicide problems, WalletHub compared 50 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q1 2022, as well as per capita homicides in Q1 2022 vs. Q1 2021 and Q1 2020.
Main Findings
Cities with the Highest Increase in Homicide Rates During Covid
| Overall Rank* | City | Total Score | Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q1 2022) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q1 2022 vs Q1 2021) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q1 2022 vs Q1 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans, LA | 100.00 | 14.57 (1) | 4.35 (1) | 7.41 (1) |
| 2 | Cincinnati, OH | 96.18 | 12.22 (1) | 3.30 (2) | 4.63 (1) |
| 3 | Atlanta, GA | 84.18 | 8.64 (6) | 2.41 (3) | 2.61 (3) |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | 81.63 | 12.95 (1) | 1.16 (8) | 1.66 (7) |
| 5 | Memphis, TN | 70.38 | 9.06 (4) | -0.46 (33) | 1.54 (10) |
| 6 | Milwaukee, WI | 65.92 | 6.24 (9) | 2.19 (4) | 1.52 (11) |
| 7 | Louisville, KY | 56.95 | 6.30 (8) | -1.13 (46) | 2.10 (4) |
| 8 | Norfolk, VA | 54.82 | 5.32 (12) | 0.82 (10) | 1.23 (13) |
| 9 | Detroit, MI | 54.47 | 8.33 (7) | -0.89 (42) | -0.59 (45) |
| 10 | Dallas, TX | 53.21 | 4.71 (16) | 0.45 (16) | 1.79 (6) |
| 11 | Las Vegas, NV | 52.99 | 4.65 (17) | 0.16 (19) | 2.02 (5) |
| 12 | Washington, DC | 51.84 | 5.84 (10) | 0.00 (21) | 0.71 (21) |
| 13 | Durham, NC | 50.19 | 3.98 (21) | 1.09 (9) | 1.45 (12) |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | 47.57 | 4.85 (15) | -0.26 (29) | 1.04 (16) |
| 15 | Albuquerque, NM | 47.44 | 4.46 (19) | -0.54 (34) | 1.61 (9) |
| 16 | Minneapolis, MN | 46.47 | 4.00 (20) | -0.24 (28) | 1.65 (8) |
| 17 | Kansas City, MO | 44.91 | 8.96 (5) | -2.44 (49) | -4.68 (50) |
| 18 | Oakland, CA | 44.87 | 5.21 (13) | -0.71 (38) | 0.47 (25) |
| 19 | Colorado Springs, CO | 44.65 | 3.18 (24) | 1.48 (6) | 0.85 (18) |
| 20 | Philadelphia, PA | 42.95 | 5.82 (11) | -1.07 (45) | -0.25 (40) |
| 21 | Raleigh, NC | 42.63 | 2.55 (27) | 1.49 (5) | 1.06 (15) |
| 22 | Nashville, TN | 40.71 | 4.50 (18) | -1.05 (44) | 0.60 (23) |
| 23 | Indianapolis, IN | 40.62 | 4.95 (14) | -1.50 (47) | 0.46 (26) |
| 24 | Oklahoma City, OK | 39.59 | 2.77 (26) | 0.77 (11) | 0.77 (19) |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | 35.28 | 1.71 (35) | 0.68 (12) | 1.03 (17) |
| 26 | Scottsdale, AZ | 35.15 | 1.18 (41) | 1.18 (7) | 1.18 (14) |
| 27 | St. Petersburg, FL | 34.86 | 3.79 (22) | -1.89 (48) | 0.76 (20) |
| 28 | Denver, CO | 34.11 | 2.51 (28) | -0.28 (31) | 0.70 (22) |
| 29 | Seattle, WA | 33.01 | 1.75 (34) | 0.67 (13) | 0.54 (24) |
| 30 | Jacksonville, FL | 32.22 | 3.21 (23) | 0.11 (20) | -0.66 (46) |
| 31 | Tucson, AZ | 30.81 | 2.38 (30) | -0.55 (35) | 0.37 (29) |
| 32 | Los Angeles, CA | 30.77 | 2.11 (31) | -0.28 (30) | 0.43 (27) |
| 33 | Phoenix, AZ | 30.47 | 2.41 (29) | -0.18 (27) | 0.00 (33) |
| 34 | Virginia Beach, VA | 29.27 | 1.33 (38) | 0.67 (14) | 0.22 (31) |
| 35 | Chesapeake, VA | 27.31 | 2.06 (32) | 0.00 (21) | -0.41 (43) |
| 36 | New York, NY | 26.65 | 1.13 (43) | 0.18 (18) | 0.25 (30) |
| 37 | Columbus, OH | 25.75 | 3.15 (25) | -2.47 (50) | 0.00 (33) |
| 38 | Arlington, TX | 24.69 | 1.26 (39) | 0.50 (15) | -0.50 (44) |
| 39 | Fort Worth, TX | 24.30 | 1.68 (36) | -0.56 (36) | -0.22 (39) |
| 40 | San Francisco, CA | 23.64 | 1.03 (44) | 0.00 (21) | -0.11 (38) |
| 41 | Chandler, AZ | 22.96 | 1.17 (42) | 0.00 (21) | -0.39 (42) |
| 42 | Riverside, CA | 22.94 | 1.22 (40) | -0.61 (37) | 0.00 (33) |
| 43 | Austin, TX | 22.77 | 1.35 (37) | -0.83 (39) | 0.00 (33) |
| 44 | Charlotte, NC | 22.66 | 1.83 (33) | -0.11 (26) | -1.03 (49) |
| 45 | Sacramento, CA | 21.79 | 0.20 (48) | 0.20 (17) | 0.20 (32) |
| 46 | Garland, TX | 20.19 | 0.42 (47) | -0.84 (41) | 0.42 (28) |
| 47 | Omaha, NE | 20.18 | 0.83 (45) | -0.83 (40) | 0.00 (33) |
| 48 | Boston, MA | 17.28 | 0.73 (46) | -0.29 (32) | -0.87 (48) |
| 49 | Madison, WI | 15.20 | 0.00 (49) | 0.00 (21) | -0.77 (47) |
| 50 | Lincoln, NE | 13.49 | 0.00 (49) | -1.05 (43) | -0.35 (41) |
Notes:
*With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the highest homicide rate and highest increase in homicides, respectively.
**Calculated as rate per 100,000 residents.
Note: Above rankings from the infographic are based on the scores obtained by each city for the indicated metrics. Cities with the same metric score were attributed the same ranking. Based on historical values, cities for which the metric value crossed a certain threshold were attributed the same score.
Blue Cities vs. Red Cities
Ask the Experts
In order to better understand the recent rise in murder rates, what causes it, and what impact it will have, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. You can click on the photos of the experts below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- Why has there been a recent spike in homicides across the country?
- What will it take for the homicide rate to decrease again?
- Will more homicides renew police reputation, or have the opposite effect?
- How has the homicide rate increase impacted life in U.S. cities?
- Will 2022 bring new solutions to this problem or will this upward trend continue?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D. – Associate Professor and MPA Program Chair for the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs – Seton Hall University
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MA, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Coordinator Justice and Families Minor, Chairperson Department of Justice Studies – Montclair State University
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Lecturer in Law – University of California, Los Angeles School of Law; Former Federal Prosecutor
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Professor of Law, Thurgood Marshall School of Law – Texas Southern University
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Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Co-Editor, Justice Quarterly; Co-Director, Center for Justice Research & Policy; Director, SPRUCE Research Lab – University of South Florida
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Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, School of Public Affairs – Penn State Harrisburg
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Methodology
In order to assess the changes in homicides across cities, we calculated the number of homicides per capita in Q1 2022 and the change in the number of homicides per capita in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021 and 2020.
In determining our sample, we included 50 of the most populated U.S. cities that had locally published homicide data available for our specific time period. We used the UCR definition for criminal homicide. Data from this study is based in some cases on preliminary police department crime data, which is subject to reclassification upon further investigation.
The metrics used are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest homicide rates.
We then determined the weighted average across all metrics to calculate an overall score for each city and used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities.
- Homicides per Capita in Q1 2022: Double Weight (~50.00 Points)
- Change in Homicides (Q1 2022 vs. Q1 2021): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Note: This is the absolute difference in the homicide rate per capita. - Change in Homicides (Q1 2022 vs. Q1 2020): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Note: This is the absolute difference in the homicide rate per capita.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau and Local Crime Statistics.
Supporting Video Files:
Note: Accompanying video links will be available at 10am ET.