Data / Rankings / Murder rate / US states

US states by murder rate

District of Columbia had the highest murder rate of 51 states in 2016, at 19.9 per 100,000 people. New Hampshire had the lowest, at 1.4 per 100,000 people. The median was 5.3 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 5.4 per 100,000 people. Source: FBI.

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Highest19.9District of Columbia
Lowest1.4New Hampshire
Median5.351 states
United States5.4History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 8.4 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 7 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 19.9 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 6.5 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 6 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 11.8 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 8.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 2.6 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 2.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 5.7 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 3.4 per 100,000 people
  • Under 2.4
  • 2.4 to 3.3
  • 3.3 to 5.3
  • 5.3 to 6.2
  • 6.2 to 7.4
  • 7.4 and over
per 100,000 people, 2016. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

District of Columbia: 19.9 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia19.9Louisiana: 11.8 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana11.8Maryland: 8.9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland8.9Missouri: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleMissouri8.8Alabama: 8.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama8.4Illinois: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleIllinois8.3Mississippi: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi7.9Nevada: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleNevada7.8Tennessee: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleTennessee7.4Arkansas: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas7.3South Carolina: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina7.2Alaska: 7 per 100,000 peopleAlaska7New Mexico: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico6.7North Carolina: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina6.7Georgia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.6Indiana: 6.5 per 100,000 peopleIndiana6.5Oklahoma: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma6.3Michigan: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleMichigan6.2Delaware: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleDelaware6.1Kentucky: 6 per 100,000 peopleKentucky6Ohio: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleOhio5.9Virginia: 5.7 per 100,000 peopleVirginia5.7Arizona: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleArizona5.6Florida: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.4Pennsylvania: 5.3 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania5.3Texas: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleTexas5.3California: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.9West Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.6Kansas: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.5New Jersey: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.2Wisconsin: 4 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin4Montana: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.6Colorado: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.4Wyoming: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming3.4New York: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNew York3.2South Dakota: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3.2Idaho: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho2.9Oregon: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.8Rhode Island: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island2.7Washington: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleWashington2.7Nebraska: 2.6 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.6Hawaii: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.4Utah: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleUtah2.4Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Connecticut: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut2.2Vermont: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleVermont2.2North Dakota: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.1Massachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts2Minnesota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota1.8Maine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.5New Hampshire: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.4District of Columbia: 19.9 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia19.9Louisiana: 11.8 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana11.8Maryland: 8.9 per 100,000 peopleMaryland8.9Missouri: 8.8 per 100,000 peopleMissouri8.8Alabama: 8.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama8.4Illinois: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleIllinois8.3Mississippi: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi7.9Nevada: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleNevada7.8Tennessee: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleTennessee7.4Arkansas: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleArkansas7.3South Carolina: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina7.2Alaska: 7 per 100,000 peopleAlaska7New Mexico: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico6.7North Carolina: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina6.7Georgia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.6Indiana: 6.5 per 100,000 peopleIndiana6.5Oklahoma: 6.3 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma6.3Michigan: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleMichigan6.2Delaware: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleDelaware6.1Kentucky: 6 per 100,000 peopleKentucky6Ohio: 5.9 per 100,000 peopleOhio5.9Virginia: 5.7 per 100,000 peopleVirginia5.7Arizona: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleArizona5.6Florida: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.4Pennsylvania: 5.3 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania5.3Texas: 5.3 per 100,000 peopleTexas5.3California: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.9West Virginia: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.6Kansas: 4.5 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.5New Jersey: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.2Wisconsin: 4 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin4Montana: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.6Colorado: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.4Wyoming: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming3.4New York: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNew York3.2South Dakota: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3.2Idaho: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho2.9Oregon: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.8Rhode Island: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island2.7Washington: 2.7 per 100,000 peopleWashington2.7Nebraska: 2.6 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.6Hawaii: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.4Utah: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleUtah2.4Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Connecticut: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut2.2Vermont: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleVermont2.2North Dakota: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.1Massachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts2Minnesota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota1.8Maine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.5New Hampshire: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.4
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2016
per 100,000 people		Change on 2015
1District of Columbia19.9-4.3 pts
2Louisiana11.8+1.3 pts
3Maryland8.9-0.1 pts
4Missouri8.8+0.5 pts
5Alabama8.4+1.2 pts
6Illinois8.3+2.4 pts
7Mississippi7.9-0.6 pts
8Nevada7.8+1.6 pts
9Tennessee7.4+1.1 pts
10Arkansas7.3+1 pts
11South Carolina7.2-1.1 pts
12Alaska7-1 pts
13New Mexico6.7+1.1 pts
13North Carolina6.7+1.5 pts
15Georgia6.6+0.5 pts
16Indiana6.5+0.9 pts
17Oklahoma6.3+0.2 pts
18Michigan6.2+0.3 pts
19Delaware6.1-0.5 pts
20Kentucky6+1.1 pts
21Ohio5.9+1.4 pts
22Virginia5.7+1 pts
23Arizona5.6+1.1 pts
24Florida5.4+0.3 pts
25Pennsylvania5.3+0.1 pts
25Texas5.3+0.5 pts
27California4.9+0.1 pts
28West Virginia4.60 pts
29Kansas4.5+0.2 pts
30New Jersey4.2+0.1 pts
31Wisconsin4-0.2 pts
32Montana3.6-0.1 pts
33Colorado3.4+0.2 pts
33Wyoming3.4+0.7 pts
35New York3.2+0.1 pts
35South Dakota3.2-0.6 pts
37Idaho2.9+1 pts
38Oregon2.8+0.1 pts
39Rhode Island2.7-0.2 pts
39Washington2.7-0.3 pts
41Nebraska2.6-0.7 pts
42Hawaii2.4+1.1 pts
42Utah2.4+0.5 pts
44Iowa2.30 pts
45Connecticut2.2-1 pts
45Vermont2.2+0.6 pts
47North Dakota2.1-0.7 pts
48Massachusetts2+0.1 pts
49Minnesota1.8-0.6 pts
50Maine1.5-0.2 pts
51New Hampshire1.4+0.3 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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_murder_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2016.
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 19.9 per 100,000 people in 2016, according to FBI.

Which state has the lowest murder rate?

New Hampshire, with 1.4 per 100,000 people in 2016.

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