The U.S. murder rate is at its highest level in nearly two and half decades. There were 21,570 murders nationwide in 2020, up nearly 30% from the previous year — the largest annual increase on record.

The rash of deadly violence came during a tumultuous year in American history. The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures and left millions of Americans out of work. The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer rattled confidence in American law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Firearm sales soared, resulting in the proliferation of tens of millions of new guns. Here is a look at the states where gun sales are surging.

Some experts speculate that each of these factors likely played a role in the rising homicide rate. While it may be years before the precise causal factors are identified, the effects are being felt in communities across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists homicide as a contributing factor in the historic 1.5-year decline in life expectancy in the U.S. last year — trailing only COVID-19 and accidental deaths, like drug overdoses, in significance.

Memphis, Tennessee, is among the U.S. cities with the highest homicide rates. There were a total of 289 murders reported in the city in 2020, or 44.4 for every 100,000 people — well above the national homicide rate of 6.5 murders per 100,000.

Even though homicide is the least common form of criminal violence — accounting for less than 2% of all violent crimes — places with high homicide rates also often have high overall violent crime rates, and Memphis is no exception. There were 2,352 violent crimes reported for every 100,000 people in Memphis in 2020, compared to 399 incidents per 100,000 nationwide.

All data used in this story is from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report. Only places with populations above 25,000 based on five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey were considered. Limited data was available in the 2020 UCR for areas in Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, though these places were not excluded from analysis.

 

Rank	City	Murders per 100,000 people, 2020	Total murders, 2020	Violent crimes per 100,000 people, 2020
1	St. Louis, MO	88.1	263	2,016
2	Petersburg, VA	76.9	24	632
3	Pine Bluff, AR	56.5	23	1,832
4	New Orleans, LA	51.0	201	1,324
5	Saginaw, MI	50.2	24	2,154
6	Detroit, MI	49.7	328	2,179
7	Trenton, NJ	48.2	40	1,169
8	Harrisburg, PA	46.7	23	857
9	Baton Rouge, LA	46.5	102	952
10	Flint, MI	46.4	44	1,050
11	Riviera Beach, FL	44.7	16	1,196
12	Memphis, TN	44.4	289	2,352
13	Wilmington, DE	44.2	31	1,591
14	Cleveland, OH	42.2	160	1,657
15	Alexandria, LA	41.3	19	1,848
16	Monroe, LA	40.3	19	2,969
17	Shreveport, LA	37.2	69	923
18	Portsmouth, VA	36.1	34	920
19	Kansas City, MO	35.2	176	1,586
20	Dayton, OH	32.8	46	1,086
21	Milwaukee, WI	32.4	191	1,597
22	North Charleston, SC	32.3	38	1,145
23	San Bernardino, CA	31.4	68	1,402
24	Florence, SC	31.1	12	1,456
25	Kankakee, IL	30.9	8	943
26	Cincinnati, OH	30.2	92	893
27	North Little Rock, AR	30.2	20	1,003
28	Chicago, IL	28.6	771	987
29	Jacksonville, AR	28.4	8	1,159
30	Richmond, VA	28.3	66	349
31	Washington, D.C.	27.8	198	958
32	South Bend, IN	27.4	28	1,728
33	Danville, IL	26.5	8	1,672
34	Albany, GA	26.5	19	1,724
35	Douglasville, GA	26.2	9	567
36	Warren, OH	26.0	10	450
37	Sumter, SC	25.3	10	1,242
38	Hallandale Beach, FL	24.9	10	498
39	Little Rock, AR	24.8	49	1,850
40	Dania Beach, FL	24.6	8	624
41	Indianapolis, IN	24.3	216	871
42	Rocky Mount, NC	24.3	13	1,149
43	Hazelwood, MO	24.0	6	655
44	Atlantic City, NJ	24.0	9	823
45	Buffalo, NY	24.0	61	1,018
46	Charleston, WV	23.9	11	921
47	Akron, OH	23.8	47	910
48	Rochester, NY	23.4	48	819
49	Dover, DE	23.4	9	856
50	Oakland, CA	23.3	102	1,291

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.