Data / Rankings / Murder rate / US states

US states by murder rate

District of Columbia had the highest murder rate of 51 states in 2015, at 24.2 per 100,000 people. New Hampshire had the lowest, at 1.1 per 100,000 people. The median was 4.6 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 4.9 per 100,000 people. Source: FBI.

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Highest24.2District of Columbia
Lowest1.1New Hampshire
Median4.651 states
United States4.9History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 8 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 24.2 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 1.3 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 10.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 3.7 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 1.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 2.7 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 4.7 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 3 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 2.7 per 100,000 people
  • Under 2.5
  • 2.5 to 3.3
  • 3.3 to 4.6
  • 4.6 to 5.6
  • 5.6 to 6.5
  • 6.5 and over
per 100,000 people, 2015. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

District of Columbia: 24.2 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia24.2Louisiana: 10.5 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana10.5Maryland: 9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland9Mississippi: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleMississippi8.5Missouri: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleMissouri8.3South Carolina: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina8.3Alaska: 8 per 100,000 peopleAlaska8Alabama: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleAlabama7.2Delaware: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleDelaware6.6Arkansas: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas6.3Tennessee: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleTennessee6.3Nevada: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleNevada6.2Georgia: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.1Oklahoma: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma6.1Illinois: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleIllinois5.9Michigan: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleMichigan5.9Indiana: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleIndiana5.6New Mexico: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico5.6North Carolina: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina5.2Pennsylvania: 5.2 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania5.2Florida: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.1Kentucky: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleKentucky4.9California: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.8Texas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleTexas4.8Virginia: 4.7 per 100,000 peopleVirginia4.7West Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.6Arizona: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleArizona4.5Ohio: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio4.5Kansas: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.3Wisconsin: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin4.2New Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.1South Dakota: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3.8Montana: 3.7 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.7Nebraska: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska3.3Colorado: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.2Connecticut: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut3.2New York: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleNew York3.1Washington: 3 per 100,000 peopleWashington3Rhode Island: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island2.9North Dakota: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.8Oregon: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.7Wyoming: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleWyoming2.7Minnesota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota2.4Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Idaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho1.9Massachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts1.9Utah: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleUtah1.9Maine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.7Vermont: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.6Hawaii: 1.3 per 100,000 peopleHawaii1.3New Hampshire: 1.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.1District of Columbia: 24.2 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia24.2Louisiana: 10.5 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana10.5Maryland: 9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland9Mississippi: 8.5 per 100,000 peopleMississippi8.5Missouri: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleMissouri8.3South Carolina: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina8.3Alaska: 8 per 100,000 peopleAlaska8Alabama: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleAlabama7.2Delaware: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleDelaware6.6Arkansas: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas6.3Tennessee: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleTennessee6.3Nevada: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleNevada6.2Georgia: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.1Oklahoma: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma6.1Illinois: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleIllinois5.9Michigan: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleMichigan5.9Indiana: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleIndiana5.6New Mexico: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico5.6North Carolina: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina5.2Pennsylvania: 5.2 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania5.2Florida: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.1Kentucky: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleKentucky4.9California: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.8Texas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleTexas4.8Virginia: 4.7 per 100,000 peopleVirginia4.7West Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.6Arizona: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleArizona4.5Ohio: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio4.5Kansas: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.3Wisconsin: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin4.2New Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.1South Dakota: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3.8Montana: 3.7 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.7Nebraska: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska3.3Colorado: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.2Connecticut: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut3.2New York: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleNew York3.1Washington: 3 per 100,000 peopleWashington3Rhode Island: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island2.9North Dakota: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.8Oregon: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.7Wyoming: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleWyoming2.7Minnesota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota2.4Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Idaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho1.9Massachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts1.9Utah: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleUtah1.9Maine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.7Vermont: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.6Hawaii: 1.3 per 100,000 peopleHawaii1.3New Hampshire: 1.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.1
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
per 100,000 people		Change on 2014
1District of Columbia24.2+8.3 pts
2Louisiana10.5+0.3 pts
3Maryland9+2.9 pts
4Mississippi8.5-0.2 pts
5Missouri8.3+1.6 pts
5South Carolina8.3+1.6 pts
7Alaska8+2.4 pts
8Alabama7.2+1.5 pts
9Delaware6.6+1.3 pts
10Arkansas6.3+0.4 pts
10Tennessee6.3+0.7 pts
12Nevada6.2+0.2 pts
13Georgia6.1+0.1 pts
13Oklahoma6.1+1.5 pts
15Illinois5.9+0.5 pts
15Michigan5.9+0.4 pts
17Indiana5.6+0.6 pts
17New Mexico5.6+0.8 pts
19North Carolina5.2+0.2 pts
19Pennsylvania5.2+0.4 pts
21Florida5.1+0.2 pts
22Kentucky4.9+1.2 pts
23California4.8+0.4 pts
23Texas4.8+0.4 pts
25Virginia4.7+0.5 pts
26West Virginia4.6+0.1 pts
27Arizona4.5-0.1 pts
27Ohio4.5+0.5 pts
29Kansas4.3+1.1 pts
30Wisconsin4.2+1.4 pts
31New Jersey4.1+0.2 pts
32South Dakota3.8+1.1 pts
33Montana3.70 pts
34Nebraska3.3+0.5 pts
35Colorado3.2+0.4 pts
35Connecticut3.2+0.7 pts
37New York3.10 pts
38Washington3+0.5 pts
39Rhode Island2.9+0.4 pts
40North Dakota2.8-0.3 pts
41Oregon2.7+0.6 pts
41Wyoming2.70 pts
43Minnesota2.4+0.8 pts
44Iowa2.3+0.4 pts
45Idaho1.9-0.1 pts
45Massachusetts1.9-0.1 pts
45Utah1.9-0.3 pts
48Maine1.7+0.1 pts
49Vermont1.60 pts
50Hawaii1.3-0.1 pts
51New Hampshire1.1-0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Estimated murders and nonnegligent manslaughters known to law enforcement per 100,000 inhabitants. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

UCR definition: the willful killing of one human being by another, excluding deaths caused by negligence, suicides, accidents and justifiable homicides. For other countries use homicide_rate (UNODC). Per 100,000 inhabitants of the population the FBI uses, as published by the FBI, not Invokely population figures. FBI estimates for the whole population: agencies that did not report, or reported part of the year, are filled in by the FBI. The FBI revises earlier years in each annual release, and from 2021 the estimates are built from incident-based (NIBRS) reports. The national series has no values for 2017 to 2020 in the FBI estimates file.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program. (2026). FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants (US states by murder rate, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads

MLA 9

FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants, US states by murder rate, 2015. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 14 Aug. 2026, https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program. 2026. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants. US states by murder rate, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program (2026) FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants, US states by murder rate, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_murder_2015,
  author = {{Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program}},
  title = {{FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants: US states by murder rate, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015. Publisher attribution: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/\#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program
TI  - FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants: US states by murder rate, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/14
PB  - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer. FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest murder rate?

District of Columbia, with 24.2 per 100,000 people in 2015, according to FBI.

Which state has the lowest murder rate?

New Hampshire, with 1.1 per 100,000 people in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, FBI UCR Summary Reporting System estimated crimes, 1979 on: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rate per 100,000 inhabitants. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

US states: more rankings