Murder map: Deadliest U.S. cities
In America, an estimated 16,425 people were murdered in 2019. This was a 0.3% increase from the 2018 estimate.
Here are murder rates in 65 major U.S. cities (cities with greater than 100,000 residents) for 2019. These rates are calculated using the latest statistics available — the FBI's 2019 Crime in the United States data, as well as data culled directly from city police officials and the U.S. Census Bureau.
65. Hampton, Virginia
The murder rate in Hampton is 11.26 per 100,000.
64. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The murder rate in Fort Lauderdale is 11.37 per 100,000.
63. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The murder rate in Oklahoma City is 11.40 per 100,000.
62. Knoxville, Tennessee
The murder rate in Knoxville is 11.66 per 100,000.
In 2015, Zaevion Dobson, 15, was shot and killed while shielding three friends from gunfire.
61. Bridgeport, Connecticut
In 2019, the murder rate in Bridgeport was 11.73 per 100,000.
59 (TIE). Nashville, Tennessee
The murder rate in Nashville is 12.08 per 100,000.
59 (TIE). Charlotte, North Carolina
The murder rate in Charlotte is 12.08 per 100,000.
58. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The murder rate in Pittsburgh is 12.32 per 100,000.
57. Toledo, Ohio
The murder rate in Toledo is 12.43 per 100,000.
In 2018, James Worley was sentenced to death for murdering 20-year-old University of Toledo student Sierah Joughin. Police discovered a hidden room outfitted with restraints inside a barn on Worley's property.
56. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The murder rate in Winston-Salem is 12.5 per 100,000.
55. Fayetteville, North Carolina
The murder rate in Fayetteville is 12.76 per 100,000.
54. Springfield, Massachusetts
The murder rate in Springfield is 12.96 per 100,000.
53. Paterson, New Jersey
In 2019, the murder rate in Paterson was 13.08 per 100,000.
52. Durham, North Carolina
The murder rate in Durham is 13.20 per 100,000.
51. Syracuse, New York
The murder rate in Syracuse is 13.34 per 100,000.
In 2016, Ryan Lawrence, seen here, pleaded guilty to beating to death his 21-month-old daughter Maddox before burning her body and dumping her ashes in the Onondaga Creek.
50. Newport News, Virginia
The murder rate in Newport News is 13.53 per 100,000.
49. Akron, Ohio
The murder rate in Akron is 13.64 per 100,000. The murder rate dropped in the city — by 5.5 per 100,000 residents — from 2018 to 2019.
48. Tulsa, Oklahoma
The murder rate in Tulsa is 13.69 per 100,000.
Josh Mills, pictured here, sits outside of the Tulsa home where friend Jeremy Lake was killed in 2014. Shannon Kepler, a white police officer, fatally shot Lake, who was Black, while Lake was visiting his girlfriend, Kepler's daughter. Kepler is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for first-degree manslaughter.
47. South Bend, Indiana
The murder rate in South Bend is 13.72 per 100,000.
46. Louisville, Kentucky
The murder rate in Louisville is 13.92 per 100,000.
45. Jacksonville, Florida
The murder rate in Jacksonville is 14.19 per 100,000. Jacksonville's murder rate increased by 1.99 per 100,000 from 2018 to 2019.
Michael Dunn was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting a teenager at a Jacksonville gas station.
44. Greensboro, North Carolina
The murder rate in Greensboro is 14.43 per 100,000.
43. Norfolk, Virginia
The murder rate in Norfolk is 14.83 per 100,000.
42. Dallas, Texas
In 2019, the murder rate in Dallas was 14.89 per 100,000.
41. Albuquerque, New Mexico
The murder rate in Albuquerque is 14.95 per 100,000.
40. West Palm Beach, Florida
The murder rate in West Palm Beach is 15.07 per 100,000. The murder rate plummeted in the city from 2018 to 2019, dropping by more than 9 per 100,000 residents.
39. Richmond, California
The murder rate in Richmond is 15.38 per 100,000.
38. Beaumont, Texas
The murder rate in Beaumont is 16.03 per 100,000.
37. Rochester, New York
The murder rate in Rochester is 16.04 per 100,000.
36. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The murder rate in Milwaukee is 16.41 per 100,000.
35. Savannah, Georgia
The murder rate in Savannah is 16.61 per 100,000.
Barbara O'Neal started the group Mothers of Murdered Sons in Savannah after her 20-year-old son, Alan, was fatally shot during an attempted robbery in 2011.
34. High Point, North Carolina
The murder rate in High Point is 16.77 per 100,000.
33. Hartford, Connecticut
The murder rate in Hartford is 17.18 per 100,000.
Denise Moreno speaks at the sentencing of her son, Tony Moreno, after he was convicted of throwing his 7-month-old son to his death from the Arrigoni Bridge.
32. Augusta, Georgia
The murder rate in Augusta is 17.69 per 100,000.
31. Oakland, California
The murder rate in Oakland is 17.97 per 100,000.
30. Newark, New Jersey
In 2019, the murder rate in Newark was 18.08 per 100,000.
29. Chattanooga, Tennessee
The murder rate in Chattanooga is 18.15 per 100,000.
28. Chicago, Illinois
The murder rate in Chicago is 18.26 per 100,000.
Here, Shomari Legghette enters a Chicago courtroom to receive his sentence — life in prison —after he was convicted of murder in the 2018 death of Police Commander Paul Bauer.
27. Buffalo, New York
The murder rate in Buffalo is 18.38 per 100,000.
26. Montgomery, Alabama
The murder rate in Montgomery is 18.54 per 100,000.
25. Shreveport, Louisiana
The murder rate in Shreveport is 18.66 per 100,000.
24. Little Rock, Arkansas
The murder rate in Little Rock is 19.15 per 100,000.
23. Indianapolis, Indiana
In 2019, the murder rate in Indianapolis was 19.51 per 100,000.
22. Atlanta, Georgia
The murder rate in Atlanta is 19.53 per 100,000.
A gunman shot and killed eight people at three Atlanta spa locations on March 17, 2021. Six of the eight victims were of Asian heritage.
21. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The murder rate in Tuscaloosa is 20.77 per 100,000.
20. Columbus, Georgia
The murder rate in Columbus is 20.94 per 100,000.
19. Cincinnati, Ohio
The murder rate in Cincinnati is 21.1 per 100,000. The murder rate increased in the city by 2.2 per 100,000 from 2018 to 2019.
18. San Bernardino, California
The murder rate in San Bernardino is 21.23 per 100,000.
17. Columbia, South Carolina
The murder rate in Columbia is 21.68 per 100,000.
16. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The murder rate in Philadelphia is 22.47 per 100,000.
15. Peoria, Illinois
The murder rate in Peoria is 22.53 per 100,000.
14. North Charleston, South Carolina
The murder rate in North Charleston is 22.55 per 100,000.
13. Washington, D.C.
The murder rate in Washington, D.C., is 23.52 per 100,000.
12. Miami Gardens, Florida
In Miami Gardens, the murder rate is 23.64 per 100,000.
11. Richmond, Virginia
The murder rate in Richmond is 23.84 per 100,000.
10. Cleveland, Ohio
The murder rate in Cleveland is 24.09 per 100,000.
9. Memphis, Tennessee
The murder rate in Memphis is 29.21 per 100,000.
8. Kansas City, Missouri
The murder rate in Kansas City is 29.88 per 100,000.
7. New Orleans, Louisiana
The murder rate in New Orleans is 30.67 per 100,000.
6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The murder rate in Baton Rouge is 31.72 per 100,000.
5. Dayton, Ohio
The murder rate in Dayton is 34.18 per 100,000. That number spiked nearly 7.8 per 100,000 residents from 2018 to 2019.
4. Detroit, Michigan
The murder rate in Detroit is 41.45 per 100,000 residents.
In 2019, 275 people were murdered in that city.
3. Birmingham, Alabama
In 2019, the murder rate in Birmingham was 50.62 per 100,000.
2. Baltimore, Maryland
The murder rate in Baltimore is 58.27 per 100,000.
1. St. Louis, Missouri
With 64.54 murders per 100,000 residents, St. Louis had the highest murder rate for any major American city in 2019.