Countdown of the Top 30 Cities in the U.S. with the Highest Murder Rates – 2020

The murder capital of America isn’t Chicago, but it is in Illinois for the second straight year. With nearly one murder per 1,000 residents, this year’s murder capital is East St. Louis, IL and has a murder rate 17.5 times the national average, and 4 times Chicago’s murder rate.

Louisiana has the highest number of murder capitals on the list with 4. Jackson, MS fell off the list this year with a pretty impressive drop from 60 to 37 homicides and a significant decrease in the overall violent crime rate. No cities in the entire New York-New England region or the western U.S. made the list.

Big cities and small, our crime research reveals the 30 cities in America with the highest number of murders per 1,000 residents. Murder is the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. We limited our research to cities with 25,000 or more people. Data used for this research are the number of murders reported to have occurred in each city, and the population of each city.

Crime data we use are the most recent data the FBI classifies as ‘Final, non-preliminary.’ It is the most up-to-date and fully vetted data with complete national coverage that is available. We insist on using Final, Non-Preliminary data for our analyses and analytics, rather than basing our research on preliminary data that may need to be updated or have errors in it. Based on the latest national data available at the time of publication, representing calendar year 2018 and released in September 2019, this report reveals interesting patterns about crime and murder in America.

Click on any city in the list below to see a full crime report and neighborhood crime map. For more information, see our FAQ on how we rank the cities with the highest murder rates in America.

Countdown for the Top 30 Murder Capitals of America:

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .24

4.8X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 27

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .25

5.0X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 12

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .26

5.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 12

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .26

5.2X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 9

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .26

5.2X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 49

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .26

5.3X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 37

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .27

5.3X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 75

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .28

5.6X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 137

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .29

5.7X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 186

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .29

5.9X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 12

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .30

6X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 8

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .30

6.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 15

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .31

6.2X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 23

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .32

6.4X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 9

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .33

6.7X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 32

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .34

6.8X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 24

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .35

7.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 23

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .35

7.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 15

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .36

7.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 79

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .38

7.5X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 147

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .39

7.8X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 12

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .39

7.8X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 263

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .42

8.4X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 88

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .44

8.9X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 14

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .45

9.1X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 20

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .51

10.3X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 309

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .53

10.6X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 18

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .53

10.6X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 40

Murder Rate (per 1,000 residents): .62

12.3X U.S. Average

U.S. Average No. of Murders: 187