What State Has the Most Murders? 2026 Updated List

National homicides dropped 14.9% in 2024 — the lowest rate in a decade — yet risk is anything but evenly distributed. Facilities managers, security directors, and commercial property operators still need to understand where violent crime concentrates. California leads in raw totals (~1,929 murders in 2023), but Mississippi now holds the highest per-capita rate at 19.4 per 100,000. Here’s what the latest data shows — and what it means for your locations.

Key Takeaways

• California and Texas lead in total murders due to population size, but have relatively average per-capita rates.
• Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama carry the highest per-capita murder rates — all in the Southeast.
• National homicides fell 14.9% in 2024, reaching a 10-year low of 5.0 per 100,000 — but risk remains concentrated in specific states and cities.
• State-level rankings can mislead — crime is hyper-local, and a “safe” state can contain high-crime zip codes that affect your facilities directly.
• 2026 brings new uncertainty: federal crime-reduction funding (ARPA) is expiring, which may reverse recent gains in some jurisdictions.

Which States Have the Most Murders in 2026?

1. California

Number of Murders: ~1,929 (2023 FBI data)

Murder Rate: 4.9 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Despite having the highest absolute number of homicides, California’s murder rate remains below the national average. High-profile urban areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco contribute significantly to the state’s total homicides, with contributing factors including gang-related activities and socio-economic disparities playing key roles. Note: Los Angeles shifted to NIBRS reporting in 2024, making year-over-year comparisons more nuanced.

2. Texas

Number of Murders: ~1,845 (2023 FBI data)

Murder Rate: 6.2 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Texas shows a homicide rate above the 2024 national average of 5.0 per 100,000. Contributing factors include drug trafficking across the Mexican border, urban crime in cities like Houston and Dallas, and domestic violence. Firearms were involved in approximately 74.85% of the homicides reported to the FBI in 2024, consistent with the state’s high firearm ownership rates. Find out the Crime rate in Dallas.

3. Florida

Number of Murders: ~1,280–1,360 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Florida’s murder rate reflects challenges from drug-related activities and domestic disputes. Cities like Miami and Orlando face particular challenges with violent crime, though the state’s overall homicide rate remains near the national average. Note: Florida submitted limited data to the FBI in 2023; estimates range from 1,280 to 1,360, depending on the source and methodology.

4. Illinois

Number of Murders: ~805–1,150 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 9.1 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Illinois, particularly the Chicago metropolitan area, faces significant challenges with homicides. Chicago recorded 617 murders in 2023 — a 12.9% drop from 2022, hitting a five-year low — while Cook County’s total reached 828 homicides, per the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Gang violence and illegal firearm trafficking remain primary contributing factors, elevating homicide rates well above the national average.

5. Pennsylvania

Number of Murders: ~1,020 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 7.9 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Pennsylvania’s homicide rate is influenced by urban centers like Philadelphia, where socio-economic disparities and drug trafficking contribute to elevated violent crime rates. Community intervention programs continue to be implemented to address these challenges.

6. New York

Number of Murders: ~950 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 4.9 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: New York’s homicide rate remains relatively low compared to its massive population, thanks to comprehensive policing strategies and violence prevention initiatives. However, certain urban areas still experience concentrated violent crime challenges.

7. Georgia

Number of Murders: ~893 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 8.3 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Georgia, particularly Atlanta, faces homicide rates influenced by poverty, inequality, and firearm accessibility. Firearm-related deaths account for a significant share of Georgia’s homicide totals — nationally, firearms were used in 74.2% of all murders in 2024. The state continues addressing domestic violence and retaliatory street violence through targeted intervention programs.

8. North Carolina

Number of Murders: ~862 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 8.2 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: North Carolina’s homicide rate reflects challenges from drug disputes and firearms accessibility. The combination of rural areas and growing urban centers presents unique law enforcement challenges across the state.

9. Missouri

Number of Murders: ~624 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 10.2 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Missouri, particularly in St. Louis and Kansas City, experiences high homicide rates ranking among the nation’s highest. Contributing factors include urban poverty, socio-economic challenges, and elevated firearm possession rates.

10. Louisiana

Number of Murders: ~510 (estimated)

Murder Rate: ~19.3 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Louisiana consistently reports one of the highest murder rates in the country, driven by high poverty levels, substance abuse issues, and firearm accessibility. New Orleans leads the state’s homicide deaths, with New Orleans and Baton Rouge together accounting for the majority of the state’s reported crimes. Louisiana and Mississippi together account for a disproportionate share of the nation’s per-capita homicide burden.

11. Ohio

Number of Murders: ~718 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 6.1 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Ohio’s homicide rate reflects socioeconomic challenges in industrial cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati, where economic decline has contributed to higher violent incident rates. Improving community-police relations and increasing social services remain priorities.

12. Michigan

Number of Murders: ~695 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 7.0 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Michigan, with Detroit as a significant contributor, faces challenges with violent crime. Economic hardship, socio-economic disparities, and urban decay in economically depressed areas remain key factors. Detroit recorded 203 homicides in 2024 — a figure that dropped 19% to 165 in 2025, according to city year-end reports.

13. Tennessee

Number of Murders: ~609 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 8.9 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Tennessee deals with elevated homicide rates related to gang violence and drug trafficking, particularly in Memphis and Nashville. Enhanced law enforcement strategies and increased community engagement are ongoing priorities in Tennessee’s largest cities. Tennessee’s death toll from homicide has risen more than 50% since 2018, mirroring the regional patterns seen across the Southeast.

14. South Carolina

Number of Murders: ~592 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 11.5 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: South Carolina’s relatively high murder rate stems from domestic violence incidents that escalate to homicides, compounded by poverty and limited access to mental health services. Collaborative intervention approaches are emphasized.

15. Alabama

Number of Murders: ~552 (estimated)

Murder Rate: ~14.2 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Alabama’s murder rate is influenced by domestic violence, poverty, and high firearm availability. Significant disparities exist between urban and rural areas. The state showed double-digit percentage decreases in violent crime in 2024, per FBI data — a meaningful positive trend for operators with facilities there.

16. Maryland

Number of Murders: ~526 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 8.7 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Maryland, particularly Baltimore, faces one of the nation’s highest city-level homicide rates, influenced by urban violence, drug trafficking, and socio-economic challenges. Community policing and prevention strategies remain focal points.

17. Indiana

Number of Murders: ~427 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 6.3 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Indiana’s homicide rates, particularly in Indianapolis, are often linked to gang activities and drug disputes. Community outreach and law enforcement training efforts continue to address these violent offenses.

18. Arizona

Number of Murders: ~500 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 6.9 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Arizona’s homicide rates reflect challenges from border security issues, domestic disputes, and organized crime. Focus remains on addressing drug cartel violence and smuggling operations contributing to homicide rates.

19. Mississippi

Number of Murders: ~290 (estimated)

Murder Rate: ~19.4 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Mississippi now holds the highest murder rate in the nation — more than 10 times New Hampshire’s rate, the nation’s lowest. High poverty levels, limited mental health services access, and rural isolation are key drivers. CDC data shows Mississippi’s homicide deaths per 100,000 residents have nearly doubled since 2014. Despite relatively low total murders due to its smaller population, Mississippi’s homicide rate makes it the most dangerous state on a per-resident basis.

20. Virginia

Number of Murders: ~400 (estimated)

Murder Rate: 4.7 per 100,000 inhabitants

Analysis: Virginia’s homicide rate remains relatively low compared to other states, with deaths concentrated in urban areas like Richmond and Norfolk. Effective violence prevention and education programs contribute to lower overall rates.

How Do Murder Statistics Actually Affect Business Risk Assessment?

Homicide data becomes actionable when analyzed at two levels: absolute totals and per-capita rates. Per-capita rates, calculated per 100,000 residents, allow meaningful comparisons between states with vastly different population sizes — and they change the rankings significantly. Tracking both types of data across your facility portfolio gives security decision-makers a clearer picture of where employee safety and liability exposure are highest.

The 2024 national picture is meaningfully better than 2023. The FBI’s annual crime report, released in August 2025, confirmed that homicides fell 14.9% nationwide from 2023 to 2024, bringing the estimated total to 16,935 and the national rate to 5.0 per 100,000 — down from 5.7 per 100,000 in 2023 and 26% below the 2020 pandemic peak of 6.7 per 100,000. Cities with populations over 1 million saw the steepest declines, averaging a 19.1% drop in murders. Suburban and nonmetropolitan areas also improved significantly, with suburban murders down 12.4%.

For facilities managers and commercial property operators, however, the national average obscures what matters most: location-specific risk. A warehouse or office complex in a high-murder-rate zip code within a nominally “safe” state may carry more exposure than a property in California’s suburban industrial corridor. State rankings are a starting point — not a substitute for local analysis.

It’s also worth understanding why CDC and FBI data sometimes produce different state rankings. The FBI relies on law enforcement agencies to voluntarily report crime data — not every agency participates every year, and reporting gaps affect which states appear more or less dangerous, depending on how incomplete submissions are handled. The CDC collects homicide data from death certificates issued across all 3,144 U.S. counties, recording deaths by cause regardless of whether law enforcement agencies reported the incident.

For security professionals and procurement teams, homicide data serves as a critical indicator for:

• Risk assessment for client locations
• Resource allocation for security services
• Strategic planning for comprehensive security solutions
• Insurance considerations and liability assessments

What Factors Drive High Murder Rates by State?

Economic Conditions

Economic hardship remains a significant driver of violent crime, including homicide. The Southeastern U.S. — home to the states with the highest murder rates — averaged 9.4 homicides per 100,000 between 2020 and 2023, and has the highest share of residents living below the poverty line at 12.4%, according to CDC data. The data also shows that poverty-driven homicide deaths are disproportionately concentrated in this region. CDC research confirms that in 2020, counties with the highest poverty level had firearm homicide rates 4.5 times as high as counties with the lowest poverty level — a structural disparity that persists across high-rate states.

Educational Attainment

Lower educational levels frequently correlate with higher homicide and violent incident rates. Limited education restricts legitimate employment opportunities. The Southeast also carries the nation’s lowest high school graduation rate (89%) among U.S. regions — a structural factor tied to its persistently elevated homicide rates.

Law Enforcement Resources

Police effectiveness and funding directly impact murder rates. Underfunded or overstretched law enforcement agencies experience higher homicide rates due to slower response times and reduced deterrent presence. Nationwide, law enforcement agencies reported clearing 43.8% of all violent crimes in 2024, with murder specifically cleared at a rate of 61.4%, up from a historic low of 49.4% in 2021. Still, more than half of violent crimes go unsolved, a figure that matters when assessing facility security needs in lower-capacity jurisdictions.

Social Factors

Gang activity, drug trafficking, and family instability significantly contribute to elevated homicide rates. Organized crime groups engage in violent activities while drug trafficking creates territorial disputes and retaliatory violence. These dynamics are particularly pronounced in the high-rate states of Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee.

Firearm Accessibility

Firearm availability critically influences murder rates. Gun homicides declined 16.7% in 2024 — the largest single-year drop in recent history — but remain the primary mechanism in states with the highest murder rates. In Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, firearm-related deaths account for the majority of homicide reporting in CDC and FBI data alike. Nationally, firearms were used in 74.2% of all murders in 2024, per FBI data.

A 2026 Warning: Federal Funding Is Expiring

Here’s a forward-looking factor most crime articles miss. The sharp decline in homicides since 2022 was partly fueled by $362 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to state and local governments, including significant investment in violence intervention programs. Those funds had to be allocated by the end of 2024 and disbursed by the end of 2026.

According to the Council on Criminal Justice, jurisdictions that relied on ARPA for crime suppression — rather than broader prevention programs — are the most likely to see crime upticks as those dollars run out. For organizations with facilities in high-crime markets, this is a meaningful risk factor to monitor when making multi-year security investment decisions.

Also read:

• US Violent Crime Per Capita by City
• Worst Drug Cities in California

Which U.S. Cities Have the Highest Murder Rates?

Beyond state-level analysis, examining the most dangerous cities offers deeper insights into where commercial and government properties face the greatest risk.

As of 2026, Jackson, Mississippi, holds the strongest claim to “murder capital” by homicide rate, with an estimated 53+ homicides per 100,000 residents — driven by concentrated poverty, limited municipal resources, and years of population decline.

At the metro level, the Council on Criminal Justice’s Year-End 2025 Update found that the average homicide rate across 35 tracked U.S. cities fell 21% in 2025 compared to 2024, and is now 44% below the 2021 peak. Cities including Birmingham, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Philadelphia all recorded record or near-record reductions in homicides in 2025 — meaningful data for government agencies and commercial real estate operators with properties in those markets.

The correlation between population size and total murders creates important distinctions: smaller cities with high per-capita rates versus large cities with high absolute homicide counts. New Mexico illustrates this well — Albuquerque and New Mexico’s other cities report homicide rates that rank among the highest in the West, even as the state’s raw totals remain modest. New Orleans and New Mexico both demonstrate how state-level data can obscure city-level risk for operators making specific facility decisions.

State and city rankings are not a substitute for local risk assessment. The FBI itself cautions against using its data to rank jurisdictions, noting that rankings “fail to account for the many conditions affecting crime rates.” Facilities managers and security directors should treat state data as a macro screening tool and conduct zip-code-level analysis for any specific site decision.

How Should You Use CDC and FBI Data Together?

CDC reports provide complementary insights to FBI statistics. While FBI data focuses on law enforcement reporting, CDC data tracks deaths from death certificates issued across all 3,144 U.S. counties — producing a more geographically complete picture of homicide mortality. The Census Bureau data helps contextualize both by providing accurate population figures essential for per-100,000 calculations.

For procurement officers and security directors evaluating risk across a multi-site portfolio, using both FBI and CDC data — and understanding where their reported deaths totals differ — produces more reliable assessments than relying on either source alone. Cross-referencing both data sources before finalizing a facility security plan is standard practice for enterprise security teams.

How Should Commercial and Government Operators Use This Data for Security Planning?

Crime data is a planning input, not a headline. Here’s how it translates to decisions on the ground:

• For multi-location commercial operators: State rankings reveal macro risk levels, but commercial insurance underwriters, security assessors, and law enforcement agencies all work at the zip code level. A facility in a high-murder-rate state’s suburban industrial corridor may carry substantially less risk than a facility in a “safe” state’s downtown district. Conduct location-specific assessments for any facility in a state ranking in the top 10 per capita.
• For SLED procurement teams: The Southeast — Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee — has seen the slowest improvement in homicide rates and remains structurally elevated. School districts, government agencies, and municipal facilities in these states face the most persistent risk profiles and should prioritize security system upgrades as part of capital planning and grant-funded security initiatives.
• For commercial real estate developers: The 2024 national decline is real, but unevenly distributed. The South accounts for 48.6% of all U.S. murders, per 2024 FBI data — by far the highest regional share. Factor Southeast market risk into long-term hold assumptions for properties in those states, and build security infrastructure costs into pro forma budgets accordingly.
• On security investment ROI: Lower national crime rates don’t make security systems less valuable. A 2025 peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Development Economics found that cities with denser surveillance camera networks experienced significantly steeper homicide declines — and estimated the cost of deterring one crime via surveillance infrastructure at approximately $6,373, making it highly cost-effective compared to the financial and liability costs of a single incident. In persistent high-risk markets, the ROI on professional security infrastructure — cameras, access control, and monitored entry systems — remains strong.

We work with commercial operators, school districts, government agencies, and property management firms to assess location risk and implement right-sized security systems across every market we serve. Contact us for a site security consultation.

FAQs

Conclusion

Understanding murder statistics across the United States reveals critical crime patterns that influence security planning and risk assessment for commercial and government operators. While California leads in absolute numbers, Mississippi now leads in per-capita rate, followed by Louisiana and Alabama — all of which are concentrated in the Southeast.

The national picture improved dramatically in 2024, with homicides falling nearly 15% to a 10-year low. But that improvement is unevenly distributed. High-risk states in the Southeast remain structurally elevated, and the expiration of federal crime-reduction funding in 2026 introduces new uncertainty — particularly for facilities in states that relied heavily on those programs.

Facilities managers, security directors, and procurement officers should consider both absolute numbers and per capita rates when evaluating regional risks — and go deeper to the zip-code level before making site decisions. As law enforcement agencies continue reporting updated homicide data through the FBI’s monthly release program, the picture will sharpen further. The data enables more effective security planning, smarter resource allocation, and stronger personnel safety outcomes.

Contact our team to discuss a security assessment tailored to your locations and risk profile.

References:

1. https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-2024-reported-crimes-in-the-nation-statistics
2. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/deaths/homicide.html
3. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/firearm-deaths/index.html
4. https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-year-end-2025-update/
5. https://counciloncj.org/whats-driving-the-drop-in-homicide-how-low-might-it-go/
6. https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-have-the-highest-murder-rates/
7. https://ammo.com/research/murder-rate-by-state
8. https://news.wttw.com/2024/01/02/shootings-homicides-chicago-drop-13-2023-and-returned-pre-pandemic-levels-violence
9. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/01/05/harvey-tops-cook-county-suburbs-in-2023-homicides-chicago-heights-and-dolton-each-recorded-12-killings/
10. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/nationwide-2024-crime-data-demonstrate-the-value-of-violence-prevention-and-local-law-enforcement/
11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304387825001087