Which states have the highest murder rates?

Mississippi’s homicide rate, the highest in the nation, is 14 times that of New Hampshire, the lowest.

Updated Apr 14, 2026by the USAFacts team

The national murder rate fell by 12.7% from 2023 to 2024, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The age-adjusted murder rate had reached a 21st-century peak in 2021, rising by 36.7% between 2019 and 2021.

Since then, the rate has declined by 24.4%, dropping from 8.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021 to 6.2 deaths in 2024.

The murder rate fell nearly 13% between 2023 and 2024.

Age-adjusted homicide rate per 100,000 people, 1950–2024

Calculating murder rates per 100,000 people makes it possible to compare the number of incidents across cities and states regardless of population sizes. The CDC also provides age-adjusted data which allows for a better picture of comparisons between different demographics and over time.

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Murder rates by state

In 2024, 29 states had murder rates less than half the national average, while four of the top five states exceeded twice the national rate.

What state has the highest murder rate?

Mississippi had the highest murder rate in 2024, followed by:

  1. Mississippi
  2. Louisiana
  3. Alabama
  4. New Mexico
  5. Tennessee

In 2024, Mississippi averaged nearly 20 homicides per 100,000 residents.

Age-adjusted homicide rate per 100,000 people by state, 2024

What state has the lowest murder rate?

New Hampshire had the lowest murder rate in the US in 2024, followed by:

  1. New Hampshire
  2. Idaho
  3. Rhode Island
  4. Massachusetts
  5. Utah

The highest and lowest murder rates belong to Mississippi and New Hampshire, respectively.

Age-adjusted homicide death rate per 100,000 people and total homicides by state, 2024

Although Washington, DC, had a higher age-adjusted murder rate (23.3 homicides per 100,000 people) than every state, the national capital is entirely urban, and it’s more appropriate to compare it to counties in major metropolitan areas. Among those, Washington, DC, had the fourth-highest crude murder rate (not age-adjusted) in 2024.

St. Louis has the highest homicide rate of major metropolitan areas.

Crude homicide death rate per 100,000 people and total homicides by large metropolitan county, 2024

Crude rates and totals are for counties in metropolitan statistical areas of 1 million or more people that contain at least 250,000 residents of the largest principal city. Four were omitted for either not applicable or unreliable data.

How have state murder rates changed over time?

From 2014 to 2024, murder rates increased in 39 of the 47 states with available data.

Mississippi had the largest increase, over 70%, from 11.4 murders per 100,000 people to 19.7. New Mexico (up 6.4 murders) and Alabama (up 5.2) had the next biggest increases.

Murder rates doubled in South Dakota and rose by more than 50% in 12 states.

Rates declined in California, Michigan, Florida, Rhode Island, Idaho, and New Jersey, with the last three seeing decreases of 20% or more. New Jersey experienced the largest decline in murders, at 34.1%.

In the last decade, murder rates increased in 84% of states with available data.

Change in age-adjusted homicide death rate per 100,000 people, by state

Data for 2014 was unavailable for New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Vermont.

Where does this data come from?

The CDC and FBI are the federal government’s two main homicide data sources. The agencies have slightly different definitions of homicide and different methodologies for collecting and analyzing their data.

The CDC reports on homicide as a cause of death, allowing comparisons among mortality rates, while the FBI reports on homicide in its crime data, allowing comparisons among crime rates.

USAFacts relies on CDC data because of its more complete dataset and consistency over time. The CDC collects homicide data from standardized death certificates, which contain medical information typically entered by coroners or medical examiners. The FBI, meanwhile, relies on local law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting crime data, which many do not. Still, deaths could be miscounted by either agency as homicides (or not) based on limited detail on the circumstances.

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