Data / Rankings / Murder rate / US states

US states by murder rate

District of Columbia had the highest murder rate of 51 states in 2018, at 22.8 per 100,000 people. South Dakota had the lowest, at 1.4 per 100,000 people. The median was 4.6 per 100,000 people. Source: FBI.

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Highest22.8District of Columbia
Lowest1.4South Dakota
Median4.651 states

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 9.8 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 3.5 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 2.1 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 2 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 3 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 2.4 per 100,000 people
  • Under 2
  • 2 to 3
  • 3 to 4.6
  • 4.6 to 5.6
  • 5.6 to 7.3
  • 7.3 and over
per 100,000 people, 2018. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2018

District of Columbia: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia22.8Louisiana: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana11.4Missouri: 9.8 per 100,000 peopleMissouri9.8Maryland: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleMaryland8.1South Carolina: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina8.1Alabama: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleAlabama7.8Tennessee: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleTennessee7.5Arkansas: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleArkansas7.4New Mexico: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico7.3Mississippi: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleMississippi7.2Illinois: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois7.1Nevada: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNevada6.7Alaska: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleAlaska6.4Georgia: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.2Indiana: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana6.2Pennsylvania: 6.1 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania6.1Kentucky: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleKentucky5.6Michigan: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleMichigan5.6North Carolina: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina5.5Oklahoma: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma5.5Arizona: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleArizona5.4Florida: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.2Ohio: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleOhio5.1Virginia: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleVirginia4.9Delaware: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleDelaware4.8Texas: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleTexas4.6California: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.4Kansas: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.2West Virginia: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.2Colorado: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.8Montana: 3.5 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.5New Jersey: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey3.2Washington: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleWashington3.1Wisconsin: 3 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin3New York: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNew York2.9Hawaii: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.8Connecticut: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut2.4North Dakota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.4Wyoming: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming2.4Nebraska: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.3Iowa: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.2Oregon: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.1Massachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts2Utah: 2 per 100,000 peopleUtah2Idaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho1.9Minnesota: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota1.9Vermont: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.8Maine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.7New Hampshire: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.6Rhode Island: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island1.5South Dakota: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota1.4District of Columbia: 22.8 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia22.8Louisiana: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana11.4Missouri: 9.8 per 100,000 peopleMissouri9.8Maryland: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleMaryland8.1South Carolina: 8.1 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina8.1Alabama: 7.8 per 100,000 peopleAlabama7.8Tennessee: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleTennessee7.5Arkansas: 7.4 per 100,000 peopleArkansas7.4New Mexico: 7.3 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico7.3Mississippi: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleMississippi7.2Illinois: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois7.1Nevada: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleNevada6.7Alaska: 6.4 per 100,000 peopleAlaska6.4Georgia: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia6.2Indiana: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana6.2Pennsylvania: 6.1 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania6.1Kentucky: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleKentucky5.6Michigan: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleMichigan5.6North Carolina: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina5.5Oklahoma: 5.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma5.5Arizona: 5.4 per 100,000 peopleArizona5.4Florida: 5.2 per 100,000 peopleFlorida5.2Ohio: 5.1 per 100,000 peopleOhio5.1Virginia: 4.9 per 100,000 peopleVirginia4.9Delaware: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleDelaware4.8Texas: 4.6 per 100,000 peopleTexas4.6California: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia4.4Kansas: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.2West Virginia: 4.2 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia4.2Colorado: 3.8 per 100,000 peopleColorado3.8Montana: 3.5 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.5New Jersey: 3.2 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey3.2Washington: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleWashington3.1Wisconsin: 3 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin3New York: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNew York2.9Hawaii: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleHawaii2.8Connecticut: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut2.4North Dakota: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota2.4Wyoming: 2.4 per 100,000 peopleWyoming2.4Nebraska: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.3Iowa: 2.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.2Oregon: 2.1 per 100,000 peopleOregon2.1Massachusetts: 2 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts2Utah: 2 per 100,000 peopleUtah2Idaho: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleIdaho1.9Minnesota: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota1.9Vermont: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.8Maine: 1.7 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.7New Hampshire: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire1.6Rhode Island: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island1.5South Dakota: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota1.4
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2018
per 100,000 people		Change on 2017
1District of Columbia22.8+6.1 pts
2Louisiana11.4-0.9 pts
3Missouri9.80 pts
4Maryland8.1-1.2 pts
4South Carolina8.1+0.5 pts
6Alabama7.8-0.8 pts
7Tennessee7.5-0.5 pts
8Arkansas7.4-0.9 pts
9New Mexico7.3+0.4 pts
10Mississippi7.2+0.8 pts
11Illinois7.1-0.6 pts
12Nevada6.7-2.2 pts
13Alaska6.4-2 pts
14Georgia6.2-0.3 pts
14Indiana6.20 pts
16Pennsylvania6.1+0.3 pts
17Kentucky5.6-0.3 pts
17Michigan5.6-0.1 pts
19North Carolina5.5-0.6 pts
19Oklahoma5.5-0.7 pts
21Arizona5.4-0.6 pts
22Florida5.2+0.2 pts
23Ohio5.1-1.3 pts
24Virginia4.9-0.7 pts
25Delaware4.8-0.5 pts
26Texas4.6-0.4 pts
27California4.4-0.2 pts
28Kansas4.2-0.4 pts
28West Virginia4.2-1.2 pts
30Colorado3.8-0.2 pts
31Montana3.5-0.4 pts
32New Jersey3.2-0.4 pts
33Washington3.1+0.1 pts
34Wisconsin3-0.3 pts
35New York2.9+0.1 pts
36Hawaii2.8+0.1 pts
37Connecticut2.4-0.5 pts
37North Dakota2.4+1.1 pts
37Wyoming2.40 pts
40Nebraska2.3+0.1 pts
41Iowa2.2-0.9 pts
42Oregon2.1-0.4 pts
43Massachusetts2-0.5 pts
43Utah2-0.4 pts
45Idaho1.9-0.5 pts
45Minnesota1.9-0.1 pts
47Vermont1.8-0.9 pts
48Maine1.70 pts
49New Hampshire1.6+0.6 pts
50Rhode Island1.5-0.5 pts
51South Dakota1.4-1.7 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_murder_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2018.
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 22.8 per 100,000 people in 2018, according to FBI.

Which state has the lowest murder rate?

South Dakota, with 1.4 per 100,000 people in 2018.

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