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 nearly 10% in 50 of the most populated U.S. cities between Q3 2021 and Q3 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 Q3 2022, as well as per capita homicides in Q3 2022 vs. Q3 2021 and Q3 2020.
Main Findings
Cities with the Highest Increase in Homicide Rates
| Overall Rank* | City | Total Score | Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q3 2022) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q3 2022 vs Q3 2021) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita** (Q3 2022 vs Q3 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas City, MO | 87.49 | 14.86 (2) | 4.89 (1) | 2.04 (1) |
| 2 | Detroit, MI | 69.46 | 13.24 (3) | 1.34 (7) | 1.19 (9) |
| 3 | St. Louis, MO | 58.88 | 19.69 (1) | -0.66 (29) | -15.42 (49) |
| 4 | New Orleans, LA | 57.36 | 10.99 (5) | 0.51 (14) | 0.26 (19) |
| 5 | Milwaukee, WI | 56.03 | 10.46 (6) | 0.17 (20) | 0.51 (13) |
| 6 | Albuquerque, NM | 56.02 | 6.60 (15) | 1.78 (3) | 1.78 (3) |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | 52.58 | 9.36 (8) | 0.51 (15) | 0.13 (24) |
| 8 | Norfolk, VA | 49.70 | 7.78 (9) | -1.23 (33) | 1.64 (4) |
| 9 | Nashville, TN | 47.09 | 4.65 (20) | 1.50 (4) | 1.05 (10) |
| 10 | Oakland, CA | 47.01 | 7.34 (11) | 0.24 (17) | 0.24 (20) |
| 11 | Colorado Springs, CO | 46.38 | 2.54 (31) | 1.91 (2) | 1.91 (2) |
| 12 | Baltimore, MD | 44.00 | 12.45 (4) | -2.66 (47) | -1.66 (41) |
| 13 | Las Vegas, NV | 43.53 | 5.90 (16) | -1.55 (38) | 1.55 (5) |
| 14 | Raleigh, NC | 43.00 | 3.19 (26) | 1.06 (9) | 1.28 (7) |
| 15 | Charlotte, NC | 41.40 | 3.78 (21) | 1.49 (5) | 0.23 (21) |
| 16 | Anchorage, AK | 41.21 | 2.40 (32) | 1.03 (11) | 1.37 (6) |
| 17 | Tulsa, OK | 38.71 | 4.97 (18) | 1.24 (8) | -0.99 (35) |
| 18 | Omaha, NE | 37.26 | 2.71 (29) | 1.04 (10) | 0.21 (22) |
| 19 | Lincoln, NE | 36.37 | 1.75 (38) | 1.40 (6) | 0.35 (17) |
| 20 | Austin, TX | 36.17 | 2.07 (34) | 0.21 (19) | 0.93 (11) |
| 21 | Oklahoma City, OK | 35.31 | 3.54 (22) | -1.38 (35) | 0.92 (12) |
| 22 | Los Angeles, CA | 34.92 | 2.97 (28) | -0.13 (25) | 0.30 (18) |
| 23 | Memphis, TN | 33.49 | 9.99 (7) | -1.84 (41) | -3.23 (48) |
| 24 | Seattle, WA | 33.13 | 2.29 (33) | 0.67 (13) | -0.27 (27) |
| 25 | Phoenix, AZ | 32.90 | 3.01 (27) | 0.00 (21) | -0.30 (28) |
| 26 | Durham, NC | 32.07 | 3.26 (25) | -1.45 (36) | 0.36 (16) |
| 27 | Washington, DC | 31.89 | 6.98 (13) | -2.28 (44) | -1.42 (40) |
| 28 | San Francisco, CA | 31.55 | 1.83 (37) | 0.00 (21) | 0.11 (25) |
| 29 | Jacksonville, FL | 31.42 | 3.32 (24) | -0.11 (24) | -0.78 (33) |
| 30 | Garland, TX | 31.15 | 1.26 (42) | -1.26 (34) | 1.26 (8) |
| 31 | Scottsdale, AZ | 30.12 | 0.39 (50) | 0.39 (16) | 0.39 (15) |
| 32 | Chicago, IL | 29.51 | 7.71 (10) | -2.93 (49) | -2.00 (44) |
| 33 | El Paso, TX | 29.08 | 1.18 (43) | -0.74 (30) | 0.44 (14) |
| 34 | Virginia Beach, VA | 28.71 | 0.67 (47) | 0.22 (18) | 0.00 (26) |
| 35 | Boston, MA | 28.53 | 1.89 (36) | 0.73 (12) | -1.16 (38) |
| 36 | Louisville, KY | 27.97 | 6.63 (14) | -0.97 (31) | -3.07 (47) |
| 37 | Sacramento, CA | 27.61 | 0.40 (49) | -0.20 (26) | 0.20 (23) |
| 38 | Atlanta, GA | 26.39 | 7.03 (12) | -2.81 (48) | -2.41 (45) |
| 39 | New York, NY | 26.28 | 1.41 (41) | -0.32 (28) | -0.67 (32) |
| 40 | Fort Worth, TX | 25.40 | 1.68 (39) | -0.22 (27) | -1.12 (37) |
| 41 | Chandler, AZ | 25.13 | 0.78 (45) | 0.00 (21) | -0.78 (34) |
| 42 | Dallas, TX | 25.08 | 3.44 (23) | -1.05 (32) | -1.72 (43) |
| 43 | Tucson, AZ | 25.07 | 2.57 (30) | -2.20 (43) | -0.37 (29) |
| 44 | Minneapolis, MN | 24.48 | 5.65 (17) | -1.65 (39) | -2.83 (46) |
| 45 | Columbus, OH | 24.39 | 4.72 (19) | -2.47 (45) | -1.69 (42) |
| 46 | St. Petersburg, FL | 20.98 | 1.52 (40) | -2.65 (46) | -0.38 (30) |
| 47 | Arlington, TX | 19.08 | 0.50 (48) | -1.51 (37) | -1.01 (36) |
| 48 | Madison, WI | 17.91 | 0.77 (46) | -1.94 (42) | -1.16 (39) |
| 49 | Chesapeake, VA | 15.98 | 0.82 (44) | -3.71 (50) | -0.41 (31) |
| 50 | Denver, CO | 9.56 | 1.96 (35) | -1.82 (40) | -4.05 (49) |
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.
- Highest
- 1. St. Louis, MO
- 2. Kansas City, MO
- 3. Detroit, MI
- 4. Baltimore, MD
- 5. New Orleans, LA
- Lowest
- 46. Madison, WI
- 47. Virginia Beach, VA
- 48. Arlington, TX
- 49. Sacramento, CA
- 50. Scottsdale, AZ
- Highest
- 1. Kansas City, MO
- 2. Colorado Springs, CO
- 3. Albuquerque, NM
- 4. Nashville, TN
- 5. Charlotte, NC
- Lowest
- 46. St. Petersburg, FL
- 47. Baltimore, MD
- 48. Atlanta, GA
- 49. Chicago, IL
- 50. Chesapeake, VA
- Highest
- 1. Kansas City, MO
- 2. Colorado Springs, CO
- 3. Albuquerque, NM
- 4. Norfolk, VA
- 5. Las Vegas, NV
- Lowest
- 46. Minneapolis, MN
- 47. Louisville, KY
- 48. Memphis, TN
- T-49. Denver, CO
- T-49. St. Louis, MO
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. – Professor of Psychology – Stetson University
Read More
J.D., LL.M. – Associate Professor of Pre-Law and History – The University of Findlay
Read More
Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Sociology – Bates College
Read More
Ph.D. – Professor, Criminal Justice – Aurora University
Read More
MA, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Chairperson Department of Justice Studies – Montclair State University
Read More
Associate Dean, Faculty Research and Development, Professor of Law – University of Detroit Mercy
Read More
Methodology
In order to assess the changes in homicides across cities, we calculated the number of homicides per capita in Q3 2022 and the change in the number of homicides per capita in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third 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 Q3 2022: Double Weight (~50.00 Points)
- Change in Homicides (Q3 2022 vs. Q3 2021): Full Weight (~25.00 Points)
Note: This is the absolute difference in the homicide rate per capita. - Change in Homicides (Q3 2022 vs. Q3 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.