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List of U.S. states and territories by intentional homicide rate

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Homicide rate by state. FBI. 2022 data.[1]
Timeline of U.S. homicide rate. FBI and CDC.[2][3]
Homicide rate by county. CDC. 2014 to 2020 data.[4]

This is a list of U.S. states and territories by intentional homicide rate. It is typically expressed in units of deaths per 100,000 individuals per year; a homicide rate of 4 in a population of 100,000 would mean 4 murders a year, or 0.004% out of the total. The data is from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),[5] and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[1] The reasons for the different results can be confusing. From the Reason Foundation: "While the FBI data relies on reports by law enforcement agencies, the CDC data is derived from coroners’ reports, encompassing non-criminal homicides such as cases of self-defense. Consequently, the CDC mortality data shows a slightly higher number of homicides annually compared to the FBI data."[2][3] The agency quotes below make more sense in light of this. The CDC reports all homicides, and does not indicate whether it was justified or self-defense. To a coroner a homicide is a homicide, regardless of the reason.

FBI: "The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines murder and nonnegligent manslaughter as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. The classification of this offense is based solely on police investigation as opposed to the determination of a court, medical examiner, coroner, jury, or other judicial body. The UCR Program does not include the following situations in this offense classification: deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder or assaults to murder, which are classified as aggravated assaults."[6]

CDC: "Homicide – injuries inflicted by another person with intent to injure or kill, by any means. Excludes injuries due to legal intervention and operations of war. Justifiable homicide is not identified in WISQARS."[7] WISQARS is short for Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System.[8]

Definitions. More info

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This section is an excerpt from Murder in United States law.[edit]

In the United States, the law for murder varies by jurisdiction. In many US jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first-degree murder and felony murder[9] are the most serious, followed by second-degree murder and, in a few states, third-degree murder, which in other states is divided into voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter such as reckless homicide and negligent homicide, which are the least serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime. However, because there are at least 52 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.[10]

Sentencing also varies widely depending upon the specific murder charge. "Life imprisonment" is a common penalty for first-degree murder, but its meaning varies widely.[11]

Capital punishment is a legal sentence in 27 states,[12][13] and in the federal civilian and military legal systems, though 8 of these states and the federal government have indefinitely suspended the practice. The United States is unusual in actually performing executions,[14] with 34 states having performed executions since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. The methods of execution have varied, but the most common method since 1976 has been lethal injection.[15] In 2019 a total of 22 people were executed,[16] and 2,652 people were on death row.[17]

The federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act, enacted in 2004 and codified at 18 U.S. Code § 1841,[18] allows for a fetus to be treated as victims in crimes. Subsection (c) of that statute specifically prohibits prosecutions related to consented abortions and medical treatments.[18]

Homicide rates by year. FBI

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Note: The location links in this table, as in all the tables below, are "Crime in LOCATION" links, except for Maine.

The following list shows homicide rates for the most recent five years. Data are from the FBI.[1]

Homicides per 100,000 people by year. FBI
Location 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 United States 5.0 5.1 6.5 6.8 6.3
 District of Columbia 22.8 23.4 28.2 41.0 29.3
 Louisiana 11.4 11.7 15.8 19.6 16.1
 New Mexico 7.3 8.8 7.8 12.9 12.0
 South Carolina 8.1 8.8 10.5 11.4 11.2
 Alabama 7.8 7.9 9.6 9.4 10.9
 Arkansas 7.4 7.8 10.6 11.0 10.2
 Missouri 9.8 9.4 11.8 10.2 10.1
 Alaska 6.4 9.4 6.7 6.1 9.5
 Tennessee 7.5 7.5 9.6 10.2 8.6
 Maryland 8.1 9.0 9.1 11.0 8.5
 Georgia 6.2 5.7 8.8 7.9 8.2
 North Carolina 5.5 6.2 8.0 9.4 8.1
 Pennsylvania 6.1 5.3 7.9 8.4 7.9
 Illinois 7.1 6.7 9.1 9.1 7.8
 Mississippi 7.2 10.0 10.6 9.3 7.8
 Virginia 4.9 5.2 6.1 6.6 7.3
 Michigan 5.6 5.8 7.6 7.6 6.9
 Nevada 6.7 4.7 5.7 7.6 6.8
 Arizona 5.4 5.4 6.9 6.7 6.8
 Kentucky 5.6 5.1 7.2 8.3 6.8
 Texas 4.6 4.9 6.6 7.1 6.7
 Oklahoma 5.5 6.9 7.4 7.6 6.7
 Colorado 3.8 4.0 5.1 6.2 6.4
 Indiana 6.2 5.5 7.5 7.2 6.2
 Ohio 5.1 5.0 7.0 7.5 6.1
 California 4.4 4.3 5.6 6.0 5.7
 Wisconsin 3.0 3.2 5.3 5.6 5.3
 Florida 5.2 5.2 5.9 4.3 5.0
 Washington 3.1 2.7 3.9 4.3 5.0
 Delaware 4.8 4.8 7.4 9.7 4.8
 West Virginia 4.2 5.6 6.6 6.0 4.6
 Kansas 4.2 3.3 3.4 4.8 4.6
 Oregon 2.1 2.8 2.9 4.8 4.5
 Montana 3.5 3.0 5.0 3.3 4.5
 South Dakota 1.4 1.8 4.5 3.0 4.3
 New York 2.9 2.9 4.2 4.4 4.0
 Connecticut 2.4 3.0 3.9 4.3 3.8
 North Dakota 2.4 3.3 4.2 1.8 3.5
 Vermont 1.8 1.8 2.2 1.4 3.4
 Minnesota 1.9 2.3 3.4 3.6 3.2
 Nebraska 2.3 2.3 3.6 2.9 3.2
 New Jersey 3.2 3.0 3.7 4.1 3.1
 Idaho 1.9 1.6 2.2 2.3 2.7
 Wyoming 2.4 2.2 3.1 3.1 2.6
 Maine 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.5 2.2
 Massachusetts 2.0 2.2 2.3 1.9 2.1
 Hawaii 2.8 2.6 2.9 1.6 2.1
 Utah 2.0 2.4 3.1 2.8 2.0
 New Hampshire 1.6 2.4 0.9 0.9 1.8
 Iowa 2.2 2.2 3.5 2.3 1.7
 Rhode Island 1.5 2.5 3.0 3.4 1.5

Homicide rates by year. CDC

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Homicide rate by state. CDC. 2021 data.[5]
Homicides per 100,000 people by year. CDC.[5][19][20][21][22]
State 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
 Alabama 12.9 12.2 12.8 14.2 15.9
 Alaska 10.6 7.5 10.8 7.3 6.4
 Arizona 6.6 6.1 5.9 7.5 8.1
 Arkansas 9.8 9.1 9.4 13 11.7
 California 5.1 4.8 4.5 6.1 6.4
 Colorado 4.6 4.7 4.3 5.8 6.3
 Connecticut 3.2 2.8 3.1 4.6 4.8
 Delaware 6.9 6.8 6.1 9.9 11.3
 Florida 6.4 6.6 6.7 7.8 7.4
 Georgia 7.9 7.7 8.1 10.5 11.4
 Hawaii 2.5 3.1 2.5 3.3 2.7
 Idaho 3 2.3 1.7 2.5 2.2
 Illinois 9 8 8.1 11.2 12.3
 Indiana 7.2 7.4 7.2 9.7 9.6
 Iowa 3.4 2.7 2.7 3.6 3.2
 Kansas 6.5 5.9 4.9 7 6.4
 Kentucky 7.3 6.1 5.9 9.5 9.6
 Louisiana 14.4 13.3 14.7 19.9 21.3
 Maine N/A N/A 1.8 1.6 1.7
 Maryland 10.2 9.3 10 11.4 12.2
 Massachusetts 2.6 2.3 2.3 2.7 2.3
 Michigan 6.3 6.5 6.5 8.7 8.7
 Minnesota 2.2 2.3 2.8 3.6 4.3
 Mississippi 12.7 13.4 15.4 20.5 23.7
 Missouri 11.3 11.4 10.8 14 12.4
 Montana 4.3 4.2 3.7 6.6 4.4
 Nebraska 2.7 1.9 3.1 4.1 3.6
 Nevada 7.6 7.7 5.5 7.3 8.5
 New Hampshire N/A 1.8 2.8 N/A N/A[19]
 New Jersey 4.1 3.7 3.4 4.3 4.8
 New Mexico 8.5 10.8 11.8 10.8 15.3
 New York 3 3.2 3.2 4.7 4.8
 North Carolina 6.9 6.4 7 8.6 9.7
 North Dakota N/A 2.5 3.1 4.4 3.4
 Ohio 7.5 6.8 6.6 9.1 9.3
 Oklahoma 8.5 7 8.8 9 8.9
 Oregon 3.1 2.5 3 3.8 4.9
 Pennsylvania 6.6 6.4 6.1 8.5 9.2
 Rhode Island N/A N/A 2.5 3 3.6
 South Carolina 9.3 10.2 11 12.7 13.4
 South Dakota 4.2 3.9 3.6 6.5 5.3
 Tennessee 8.8 9.2 9.2 11.5 12.2
 Texas 5.8 5.4 5.9 7.6 8.2
 Utah 2.6 2.2 2.6 2.9 2.7
 Vermont N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A[20]
 Virginia 5.4 5.1 5.3 6.4 7.2
 Washington 3.6 3.7 3.2 4.2 4.5
 Washington, D.C. 30.0[22]
 West Virginia 6.5 5.8 5.7 7 6.9
 Wisconsin 3.7 3.9 4.2 6.1 6.4
 Wyoming N/A 4.1 4.4 4.9 N/A[21]

Homicide rates by type. CDC

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The following list shows homicide rates by mechanism, for types where total deaths exceeded 100. Data are from the CDC and average the years 2018 to 2021.[23] Blank values indicate that the underlying homicide count was between 1 and 9, and was suppresed.[24] Excludes unspecified or unclassified data types, but the "Total" includes all deaths including suppressed, unspecified and/or unclassified data.

Homicide per 100,000 people by mechanism. CDC. Average of 2018 to 2021
Location Total Gun Stab Choke Struck Poison Fire
 United States 6.7 5.2 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0
 District of Columbia 25.7 20.4 2.5 0.0
 Mississippi 17.2 14.9 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.1
 Louisiana 16.5 13.9 0.9 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1
 Alabama 12.9 11.0 0.7 0.2 0.1
 New Mexico 11.5 8.0 1.4 0.2
 Missouri 11.4 9.7 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.2
 South Carolina 11.1 9.3 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.1
 Arkansas 10.3 8.0 0.9 0.2 0.2
 Maryland 10.2 8.3 0.6 0.1 0.1
 Tennessee 10.1 8.5 0.6 0.2 0.0
 Illinois 9.5 8.0 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.0
 Georgia 9.2 7.6 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0
 Alaska 8.1 5.0 1.1 0.5 0.5 0.0
 Indiana 8.1 6.4 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1
 Oklahoma 8.1 6.0 0.7 0.2
 North Carolina 7.7 6.2 0.5 0.1 0.1
 Delaware 7.6 6.3 0.5
 Ohio 7.5 6.0 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0
 Kentucky 7.4 6.2 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.1
 Michigan 7.1 5.8 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.1
 Nevada 7.0 5.0 0.6 0.2 0.1
 Pennsylvania 7.0 5.4 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.0
 Texas 6.7 5.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0
 Arizona 6.6 4.8 0.7 0.2 0.1
 Florida 6.5 5.1 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0
 Virginia 5.8 4.7 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.0
 West Virginia 5.8 4.4 0.4
 Kansas 5.8 4.5 0.4 0.0
 California 5.4 3.9 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0
 Colorado 5.3 3.7 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.0
 Wisconsin 4.8 3.6 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0
 Montana 4.4 2.5 0.5 0.3
 South Dakota 4.4 2.2 0.9 0.3
 Washington 3.9 2.6 0.5 0.1 0.1
 New York 3.8 2.4 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0
 New Jersey 3.8 2.6 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1
 Wyoming 3.8 2.5 0.0 0.0
 Connecticut 3.6 2.3 0.5 0.1 0.1
 Oregon 3.5 2.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0
 Minnesota 3.1 2.1 0.3 0.1 0.0
 North Dakota 3.1 2.0 0.4 0.0
 Nebraska 3.1 2.1 0.3 0.1 0.0
 Iowa 2.8 1.8 0.2 0.1
 Hawaii 2.8 1.3 0.5
 Utah 2.6 1.8 0.2 0.1
 Rhode Island 2.5 1.7 0.4 0.0
 Massachusetts 2.4 1.5 0.4 0.1
 Idaho 2.1 1.4 0.2 0.1
 Vermont 1.9 1.2 0.0
 New Hampshire 1.6 0.9 0.0
 Maine 1.5 0.9

Homicide rates by decade. FBI

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The following list shows homicide rates by decade, averaging the rates for each year. Data are from the FBI.[1] Data for the 2020s are for 2020 to 2022.

Homicides per 100,000 people by decade. FBI
Location 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
 United States 8.7 8.1 5.6 4.9 6.6
 District of Columbia 37.7 67.3 35.8 19.2 32.8
 Louisiana 13.6 16.5 12.4 11.1 17.2
 South Carolina 9.7 9.3 7.4 7.3 11.0
 New Mexico 10.7 9.6 7.8 6.6 10.9
 Missouri 8.8 9.0 6.4 7.8 10.7
 Arkansas 8.2 9.7 6.3 6.4 10.6
 Alabama 10.4 10.5 7.5 7.2 10.0
 Maryland 9.4 11.2 9.1 7.7 9.6
 Tennessee 9.4 9.7 6.9 6.5 9.5
 Mississippi 11.2 12.2 8.2 7.8 9.2
 Illinois 9.1 10.2 6.6 6.4 8.7
 North Carolina 8.7 9.6 6.3 5.4 8.5
 Georgia 11.9 9.8 6.9 6.0 8.3
 Pennsylvania 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.3 8.0
 Alaska 10.9 7.8 5.1 6.2 7.5
 Kentucky 7.8 6.3 4.6 4.8 7.4
 Michigan 10.5 8.9 6.4 6.0 7.4
 Delaware 5.2 4.1 4.0 5.4 7.3
 Oklahoma 8.2 7.6 5.6 5.7 7.3
 Indiana 6.3 7.4 5.6 5.4 7.0
 Ohio 6.0 5.4 4.5 4.8 6.9
 Texas 13.9 10.1 6.0 4.7 6.8
 Arizona 8.1 8.6 7.4 5.5 6.8
 Nevada 12.5 10.9 7.7 6.1 6.7
 Virginia 7.7 7.8 5.3 4.7 6.7
 Colorado 6.2 5.1 3.6 3.3 5.9
 California 11.3 10.3 6.4 4.7 5.8
 West Virginia 5.4 5.2 3.7 4.4 5.7
 Wisconsin 3.1 4.2 3.1 3.1 5.4
 Florida 12.3 8.0 5.7 5.2 5.1
 Washington 5.0 4.6 3.0 2.7 4.4
 Kansas 5.1 6.0 4.2 3.8 4.3
 Montana 3.8 3.4 3.0 3.2 4.2
 New York 11.4 9.8 4.6 3.3 4.2
 Oregon 5.0 4.0 2.2 2.4 4.1
 Connecticut 4.8 4.9 3.1 2.9 4.0
 South Dakota 2.1 1.7 2.5 2.6 3.9
 New Jersey 5.7 4.7 4.3 3.9 3.6
 Minnesota 2.3 3.1 2.3 1.9 3.4
 Nebraska 3.1 3.3 3.0 2.8 3.2
 North Dakota 1.3 1.2 1.6 2.6 3.1
 Wyoming 4.9 3.5 2.6 2.6 2.9
 Utah 3.2 3.0 2.1 2.1 2.6
 Rhode Island 3.8 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.6
 Iowa 2.1 1.8 1.6 2.0 2.5
 Idaho 3.2 3.0 2.1 2.0 2.4
 Vermont 2.7 2.2 1.9 1.7 2.3
 Hawaii 4.8 3.7 2.1 2.0 2.2
 Massachusetts 3.6 3.1 2.6 2.3 2.1
 Maine 2.5 1.9 1.5 1.7 1.7
 New Hampshire 2.4 1.9 1.2 1.4 1.2

Homicide totals by year. FBI

[edit]

The following list shows homicide totals for the most recent five years. Data are from the FBI.[1]

Homicides by year. FBI
Location 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 United States 16,374 16,669 21,570 22,536 21,156
 California 1,739 1,690 2,203 2,346 2,231
 Texas 1,327 1,432 1,931 2,087 2,026
 Florida 1,107 1,122 1,290 937 1,113
 Pennsylvania 784 676 1,009 1,087 1,020
 Illinois 902 851 1,151 1,150 982
 Georgia 647 605 943 851 893
 North Carolina 574 653 852 995 862
 New York 562 565 808 871 783
 Louisiana 533 547 734 907 740
 Ohio 596 584 820 883 718
 Michigan 555 576 754 761 695
 Virginia 417 447 524 573 638
 Missouri 599 576 723 630 624
 Tennessee 508 515 663 709 609
 South Carolina 411 455 549 590 592
 Alabama 383 390 471 476 552
 Maryland 491 545 553 680 526
 Arizona 383 397 513 485 500
 Indiana 418 373 505 490 427
 Washington 236 205 301 331 387
 Colorado 215 229 294 360 375
 Wisconsin 175 189 308 332 314
 Arkansas 222 237 321 334 312
 Kentucky 250 229 323 374 306
 New Jersey 285 263 329 381 286
 Oklahoma 215 275 296 304 270
 New Mexico 153 185 164 273 253
 Mississippi 214 298 315 274 228
 Nevada 202 144 180 239 216
 District of Columbia 160 166 201 274 197
 Oregon 86 117 125 204 192
 Minnesota 107 127 190 203 182
 Massachusetts 138 153 160 134 148
 Connecticut 86 107 140 155 136
 Kansas 122 95 100 142 134
 West Virginia 76 100 117 108 81
 Alaska 47 69 49 45 70
 Utah 63 77 102 94 67
 Nebraska 44 45 69 57 62
 Iowa 70 70 111 73 53
 Idaho 34 28 41 43 53
 Montana 37 32 54 36 50
 Delaware 46 47 73 97 49
 South Dakota 12 16 40 27 39
 Hawaii 40 37 41 23 30
 Maine 23 22 22 20 30
 North Dakota 18 25 32 14 27
 New Hampshire 21 33 12 13 25
 Vermont 11 11 14 9 22
 Rhode Island 16 26 32 37 16
 Wyoming 14 13 18 18 15

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Homicide rate maps of the United States.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Crime Data Explorer". Federal Bureau of Investigation. At the bottom under 'Additional Datasets' find 'Summary Reporting System (SRS)' and click 'Download'. Rates are found by dividing the number of homicides by the population figure given, and multiplying by 100,000.
  2. ^ a b Nastas, Vittorio (August 23, 2023). "Examining recent crime trends and flaws in national statistics". Reason Foundation.
  3. ^ a b Quinn, Barbara; Thomas, Jill. "The Nation's Two Measures of Homicide" (PDF). Office of Justice Programs. U.S. Department of Justice.
  4. ^ Find the "2023 CHR CSV Analytic Data" link. "Rankings Data & Documentation". County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. Retrieved 11 Feb 2024. See 2023 Measures. Scroll down to "Homicides: National Center for Health Statistics - Mortality. 2014 to 2020 Files".
  5. ^ a b c Homicide Mortality by State. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  6. ^ "FBI — Murder". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  7. ^ "CDC - Definitions for Fatal Injury Reports - Fatal Injury Help Menu - WISQARS - Injury". National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scroll down to '5.1.1b Intent Categories'.
  8. ^ "CDC WISQARS - Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  9. ^ Binder, Guyora (2012-05-09). Felony Murder. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-8170-1.
  10. ^ "Statistical Abstract of the United States". U.S. Census Bureau. Government Printing Office. p. 187. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  11. ^ Cohen, Thomas H.; Reaves, Bryan A. (1 February 2006). "Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2002". Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  12. ^ Bosman, Julie (27 May 2015). "Nebraska Bans Death Penalty, Defying a Veto". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "State by State".
  14. ^ "Death Sentences and Executions 2013" (PDF). Amnesty International. 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Executions by year since 1976". Death Penalty Information Center. June 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  16. ^ "2019".
  17. ^ "The Death Penalty in 2019: Year End Report".
  18. ^ a b "18 U.S. Code § 1841 – Protection of unborn children". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  19. ^ a b New Hampshire. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  20. ^ a b Vermont. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  21. ^ a b Wyoming. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  22. ^ a b Washington, D.C.. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  23. ^ "Underlying Cause of Death". cdc.gov. Retrieved 11 Feb 2024.
  24. ^ "Data Release Questions". cdc.gov. 31 Aug 2023. Retrieved 11 Feb 2024.
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