Homicide rates vary enormously across the United States — in 2024 the safest states recorded around 1 death per 100,000 people, while the highest topped 10 per 100,000. The map below shows the latest figures, with the deep-red cluster across the Deep South and parts of the Southwest standing out clearly against the lighter Northeast and Mountain West.
Across the country, the homicide rate sat at about 5.0 per 100,000 in 2024 — well below the early-1990s peak and falling fast. After a sharp spike during 2020 and 2021, homicides have dropped for three straight years; the national rate fell roughly 13% from 2023 to 2024 alone, one of the steepest declines on record.
Which states have the highest homicide rates?
In 2024 the highest state-level homicide rates were concentrated in the South. Louisiana (10.8 per 100,000) led the states, followed by New Mexico (10.5), Alabama (8.7), Tennessee (7.9) and Missouri (7.8). Washington, D.C. — a federal district rather than a state — recorded a far higher rate of 25.5 per 100,000, reflecting the pattern that homicide is heavily concentrated in dense urban areas.
FBI UCR · 2024
States with the Highest Homicide Rates
Homicide deaths per 100,000 residents.
| State | Per 100k |
|---|---|
| 1. Louisiana | 10.8 |
| 2. New Mexico | 10.5 |
| 3. Alabama | 8.7 |
| 4. Tennessee | 7.9 |
| 5. Missouri | 7.8 |
| 6. South Carolina | 7.5 |
| 7. North Carolina | 7.5 |
| 8. Mississippi | 7.4 |
| 9. Arkansas | 7.3 |
| 10. Maryland | 7.2 |
Which states are the safest?
At the other end of the scale, New Hampshire had the lowest homicide rate of any state in 2024 at just 1.0 per 100,000 — about a tenth of Louisiana’s. Idaho and Hawaii (both 1.6), Massachusetts (1.8), and Iowa and Rhode Island (both 2.1) round out the safest states. In general, rural New England and the northern Plains record the lowest rates, while the Deep South records the highest.
FBI vs. CDC: why the numbers differ
Two main agencies track homicide in the US, and their figures don’t always match. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting programme — the source for the map above — counts murders reported by police departments, but coverage gaps mean some states (notably Mississippi) are undercounted. The CDC, which counts homicide deaths from death certificates, tends to record higher totals; by its measure Mississippi and Louisiana have ranked highest in recent years, at well above 15 per 100,000. Both sources agree on the broad geography, and both show homicides falling since 2021.
This map and analysis draw on the following sources.
Sources & Further Reading:
- Crime Data Explorer — homicide by state – FBI Uniform Crime Reporting
- Homicide Mortality by State – CDC / National Center for Health Statistics
