Data / Rankings / Murder rate / US states

US states by murder rate

District of Columbia had the highest murder rate of 51 states in 2021, at 41 per 100,000 people. New Hampshire had the lowest, at 0.9 per 100,000 people. The median was 6.1 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 6.8 per 100,000 people. Source: FBI.

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Highest41District of Columbia
Lowest0.9New Hampshire
Median6.151 states
United States6.8History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 11 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 6 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 9.7 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia: 41 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 9.1 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 19.6 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 11 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 0.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 4.8 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 8.4 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 3 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 6 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 3.1 per 100,000 people
  • Under 2.8
  • 2.8 to 4.3
  • 4.3 to 6.1
  • 6.1 to 7.6
  • 7.6 to 9.6
  • 9.6 and over
per 100,000 people, 2021. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

District of Columbia: 41 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia41Louisiana: 19.6 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana19.6New Mexico: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico12.9South Carolina: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina11.4Arkansas: 11 per 100,000 peopleArkansas11Maryland: 11 per 100,000 peopleMaryland11Missouri: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleMissouri10.2Tennessee: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleTennessee10.2Delaware: 9.7 per 100,000 peopleDelaware9.7Alabama: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama9.4North Carolina: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina9.4Mississippi: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleMississippi9.3Illinois: 9.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois9.1Pennsylvania: 8.4 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania8.4Kentucky: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleKentucky8.3Georgia: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia7.9Michigan: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleMichigan7.6Nevada: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleNevada7.6Oklahoma: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma7.6Ohio: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio7.5Indiana: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana7.2Texas: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleTexas7.1Arizona: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleArizona6.7Virginia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleVirginia6.6Colorado: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleColorado6.2Alaska: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleAlaska6.1California: 6 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia6West Virginia: 6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia6Wisconsin: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin5.6Kansas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.8Oregon: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleOregon4.8New York: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleNew York4.4Connecticut: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut4.3Florida: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleFlorida4.3Washington: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleWashington4.3New Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.1Minnesota: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota3.6Rhode Island: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island3.4Montana: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.3Wyoming: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleWyoming3.1South Dakota: 3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3Nebraska: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.9Utah: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleUtah2.8Idaho: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIdaho2.3Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Massachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts1.9North Dakota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota1.8Hawaii: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleHawaii1.6Maine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.5Vermont: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.4New Hampshire: 0.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire0.9District of Columbia: 41 per 100,000 peopleDistrict of Columbia41Louisiana: 19.6 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana19.6New Mexico: 12.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico12.9South Carolina: 11.4 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina11.4Arkansas: 11 per 100,000 peopleArkansas11Maryland: 11 per 100,000 peopleMaryland11Missouri: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleMissouri10.2Tennessee: 10.2 per 100,000 peopleTennessee10.2Delaware: 9.7 per 100,000 peopleDelaware9.7Alabama: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleAlabama9.4North Carolina: 9.4 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina9.4Mississippi: 9.3 per 100,000 peopleMississippi9.3Illinois: 9.1 per 100,000 peopleIllinois9.1Pennsylvania: 8.4 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania8.4Kentucky: 8.3 per 100,000 peopleKentucky8.3Georgia: 7.9 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia7.9Michigan: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleMichigan7.6Nevada: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleNevada7.6Oklahoma: 7.6 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma7.6Ohio: 7.5 per 100,000 peopleOhio7.5Indiana: 7.2 per 100,000 peopleIndiana7.2Texas: 7.1 per 100,000 peopleTexas7.1Arizona: 6.7 per 100,000 peopleArizona6.7Virginia: 6.6 per 100,000 peopleVirginia6.6Colorado: 6.2 per 100,000 peopleColorado6.2Alaska: 6.1 per 100,000 peopleAlaska6.1California: 6 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia6West Virginia: 6 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia6Wisconsin: 5.6 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin5.6Kansas: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleKansas4.8Oregon: 4.8 per 100,000 peopleOregon4.8New York: 4.4 per 100,000 peopleNew York4.4Connecticut: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut4.3Florida: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleFlorida4.3Washington: 4.3 per 100,000 peopleWashington4.3New Jersey: 4.1 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey4.1Minnesota: 3.6 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota3.6Rhode Island: 3.4 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island3.4Montana: 3.3 per 100,000 peopleMontana3.3Wyoming: 3.1 per 100,000 peopleWyoming3.1South Dakota: 3 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota3Nebraska: 2.9 per 100,000 peopleNebraska2.9Utah: 2.8 per 100,000 peopleUtah2.8Idaho: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIdaho2.3Iowa: 2.3 per 100,000 peopleIowa2.3Massachusetts: 1.9 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts1.9North Dakota: 1.8 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota1.8Hawaii: 1.6 per 100,000 peopleHawaii1.6Maine: 1.5 per 100,000 peopleMaine1.5Vermont: 1.4 per 100,000 peopleVermont1.4New Hampshire: 0.9 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire0.9
per 100,000 people. Source: Invokely calculation with data from FBI. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankStates2021
per 100,000 people		Change on 2020
1District of Columbia41+12.8 pts
2Louisiana19.6+3.8 pts
3New Mexico12.9+5.1 pts
4South Carolina11.4+0.9 pts
5Arkansas11+0.4 pts
5Maryland11+1.9 pts
7Missouri10.2-1.6 pts
7Tennessee10.2+0.6 pts
9Delaware9.7+2.3 pts
10Alabama9.4-0.2 pts
10North Carolina9.4+1.4 pts
12Mississippi9.3-1.3 pts
13Illinois9.10 pts
14Pennsylvania8.4+0.5 pts
15Kentucky8.3+1.1 pts
16Georgia7.9-0.9 pts
17Michigan7.60 pts
17Nevada7.6+1.9 pts
17Oklahoma7.6+0.2 pts
20Ohio7.5+0.5 pts
21Indiana7.2-0.3 pts
22Texas7.1+0.5 pts
23Arizona6.7-0.2 pts
24Virginia6.6+0.5 pts
25Colorado6.2+1.1 pts
26Alaska6.1-0.6 pts
27California6+0.4 pts
27West Virginia6-0.6 pts
29Wisconsin5.6+0.3 pts
30Kansas4.8+1.4 pts
30Oregon4.8+1.9 pts
32New York4.4+0.2 pts
33Connecticut4.3+0.4 pts
33Florida4.3-1.6 pts
33Washington4.3+0.4 pts
36New Jersey4.1+0.4 pts
37Minnesota3.6+0.2 pts
38Rhode Island3.4+0.4 pts
39Montana3.3-1.7 pts
40Wyoming3.10 pts
41South Dakota3-1.5 pts
42Nebraska2.9-0.7 pts
43Utah2.8-0.3 pts
44Idaho2.3+0.1 pts
44Iowa2.3-1.2 pts
46Massachusetts1.9-0.4 pts
47North Dakota1.8-2.4 pts
48Hawaii1.6-1.3 pts
49Maine1.5-0.1 pts
50Vermont1.4-0.8 pts
51New Hampshire0.90 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/downloads, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{federal_us_states_by_murder_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/murder-rate/us-states?period=2021.
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 41 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to FBI.

Which state has the lowest murder rate?

New Hampshire, with 0.9 per 100,000 people in 2021.

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