In 2022, the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area recorded the highest homicide rate of U.S. cities with a population over 250,000, at **** homicides per 100,000 residents, followed by the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. However, homicide data was not recorded in all U.S. metro areas, meaning that there may be some cities with a higher homicide rate. St. Louis St. Louis, which had a murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate of **** in 2022, is the second-largest city by population in Missouri. It is home to many famous treasures, such as the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, Washington University in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the renowned Gateway Arch. It is also home to many corporations, such as Monsanto, Arch Coal, and Emerson Electric. The economy of St. Louis is centered around business and healthcare, and boasts ten Fortune 500 companies. Crime in St. Louis Despite all of this, St. Louis suffers from high levels of crime and violence. As of 2023, it was listed as the seventh most dangerous city in the world as a result of their extremely high murder rate. Not only does St. Louis have one of the highest homicide rates in the United States, it also reports one of the highest numbers of violent crimes. Despite high crime levels, the GDP of the St. Louis metropolitan area has been increasing since 2001.

In 2023, around 3,640.56 violent crimes per 100,000 residents were reported in Oakland, California. This made Oakland the most dangerous city in the United States in that year. Four categories of violent crimes were used: murder and non-negligent manslaughter; forcible rape; robbery; and aggravated assault. Only cities with a population of at least 200,000 were considered.

The following datasets contain the crime rate for cities in the United States. The four datasets are separated based on population ranges.

FILE DESCRIPTION

File names: - 'crime_40 _60.csv': dataset for population ranging from 40,000 to 60,000. - 'crime_60 _100.csv': dataset for population ranging from 60,000 to 100,000. - 'crime_100 _250.csv': dataset for population ranging from 100,000 to 250,000. - 'crime_250 _plus.csv': dataset for population greater than 250,000.

COLUMN DESCRIPTION

For file: crime_40 _60.csv: - 'states': name of the state - 'cities': name of the city - 'population': population of the city - 'violent_crime': violent crime - 'murder': murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - 'rape': forcible rape - 'robbery': robbery - 'agrv_ The following datasets contain the crime rate for cities in the United States. The four datasets are separated based on population ranges.

FILE DESCRIPTION

File names: - 'crime_40 _60.csv': dataset for population ranging from 40,000 to 60,000. - 'crime_60 _100.csv': dataset for population ranging from 60,000 to 100,000. - 'crime_100 _250.csv': dataset for population ranging from 100,000 to 250,000. - 'crime_250 _plus.csv': dataset for population greater than 250,000.

COLUMN DESCRIPTION

For file: crime_40 _60.csv: - 'states': name of the state - 'cities': name of the city - 'population': population of the city - 'violent_crime': violent crime - 'murder': murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - 'rape': forcible rape - 'robbery': robbery - 'agrv_ assault': agrv_ assault - 'prop_crime': property crime - 'burglary': burglary - 'larceny': larceny theft - 'vehicle_theft': motor vehicle theft

crime_60 _100.csv: - 'states': name of the state - 'cities': name of the city - 'population': population of the city - 'violent_crime': violent crime - 'murder': murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - 'rape': forcible rape - 'robbery': robbery - 'agrv_ assault': agrv_ assault - 'prop_crime': property crime - 'burglary': burglary - 'larceny': larceny theft - 'vehicle_theft': motor vehicle theft

crime_100 _250.csv: - 'states': name of the state - 'cities': name of the city - 'population': population of the city - 'violent_crime': violent crime - 'murder': murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - 'rape': forcible rape - 'robbery': robbery - 'agrv_ assault': agrv_ assault - 'prop_crime': property crime - 'burglary': burglary - 'larceny': larceny theft - 'vehicle_theft': motor vehicle theft

crime_250 _plus.csv: - 'states': name of the state - 'cities': name of the city - 'population': population of the city - 'total_crime': total crime - 'murder': murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - 'rape': forcible rape - 'robbery': robbery - 'agrv_ assault': agrv_ assault - 'total_violent _crime': total violent crime - 'prop_crime': property crime - 'burglary': burglary - 'larceny': larceny theft - 'vehicle_theft': motor vehicle theft - 'tot_prop _crime': total property crime - 'arson': arson

Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash

In 2025, Pietermaritzburg in South Africa ranked as the world's most dangerous city with a crime rate of 82 per 100,000 inhabitants. Five of the 10 cities with the highest crime rates worldwide are found in South Africa. The list does not include countries where war and conflict exist. South Africa dominates crime statistics When looking at crime rates, among the 10 most dangerous cities in the world, half of them are found in South Africa. The country is struggling with extremely high levels of inequality, and is struggling with high levels of crime and power outages, harming the country's economy and driving more people into unemployment and poverty. Crime in Latin America On the other hand, when looking at murder rates, Latin America dominates the list of the world's most dangerous countries. Violence in Latin America is caused in great part by drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and gang wars.

The graph illustrates the murder rate in the United States from 1985 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, labeled with two-digit abbreviations from '85 to '25, while the y-axis shows the annual murder rate per 100,000 individuals. Throughout this 41-year period, the murder rate fluctuates between a high of 10.66 in 1991 and a low of 4.7 in 2014. Overall, the data reveals a significant downward trend in the murder rate from the mid-1980s, reaching its lowest point in the mid-2010s, followed by slight increases in the most recent years.

This dataset contains different collected datasets with crime data of many large cities. Below are the descriptions for each seperate dataset. Note: Dataset properties and column may differ from each other since the information was collected by the local police in different styles and situations.

1. Los Angeles

The Los Angeles dataset has the collected data on different crimes that happened in Los Angeles from 2000 up until May 2024. The columns are as follows:

• DR_NO - Division of Records Number: Official file number made up of a 2 digit year, area ID, and 5 digits

• Date Rptd - The date when the police found out about the crime

• Date OCC - The actual date of the crime

• Time OCC - In military time

• Area - The LAPD has 21 Community Police Stations referred to as Geographic Areas within the department. These Geographic Areas are sequentially numbered from 1-21.

• Area Name - The 21 Geographic Areas or Patrol Divisions are also given a name designation that references a landmark or the surrounding community that it is responsible for. For example 77th Street Division is located at the intersection of South Broadway and 77th Street, serving neighborhoods in South Los Angeles.

• Rpt Dist No - A four-digit code that represents a sub-area within a Geographic Area. All crime records reference the "RD" that it occurred in for statistical comparisons. Find LAPD Reporting Districts on the LA City GeoHub at http://geohub.lacity.org/datasets/c4f83909b81d4786aa8ba8a74a4b4db1_4

• Crm Cd - Indicates the crime committed. (Same as Crime Code 1)

• Crm Cd Desc - Defines the Crime Code provided.

• Mocodes - Modus Operandi: Activities associated with the suspect in commission of the crime.

• Vict Age - The age of the victim

• Vict Sex - The gender of the victim. They are as follows:

  • M - Male
  • F - Female
  • X - Unknown

• Vict Descent - Descent Code:

  • A - Other Asian
  • B - Black
  • C - Chinese
  • D - Cambodian
  • F - Filipino
  • G - Guamanian
  • H - Hispanic/Latin/Mexican
  • I - American Indian/Alaskan Native
  • J - Japanese
  • K - Korean
  • L - Laotian
  • O - Other
  • P - Pacific Islander
  • S - Samoan
  • U - Hawaiian
  • V - Vietnamese
  • W - White
  • X - Unknown
  • Z - Asian Indian

• Premis Cd - The type of structure, vehicle, or location where the crime took place.

• Premis Desc - Defines the Premise Code provided.

• Weapon Used Cd - The type of weapon used in the crime.

• Status - Status of the case. (IC is the default)

• Status Desc - Defines the Status Code provided.

• Crm Cd 1 - Indicates the crime committed. Crime Code 1 is the primary and most serious one. Crime Code 2, 3, and 4 are respectively less serious offenses. Lower crime class numbers are more serious.

• Crm Cd 2 - May contain a code for an additional crime, less serious than Crime Code 1.

• Crm Cd 3 - May contain a code for an additional crime, less serious than Crime Code 1.

• Crm Cd 4 - May contain a code for an additional crime, less serious than Crime Code 1.

• Location - Street address of crime incident rounded to the nearest hundred block to maintain anonymity.

• Cross Street - Cross Street of rounded Address

• LAT - Latitude

• LON - Longitude

This dataset has 28 columns and 944K rows. I hope you will find it useful. God bless you

1. Chicago

This dataset contains crime data on Chicago, from 2001 to present. The columns are as follows:

• ID - Unique Identifier for the record

• Case Number - The Chicago Police Department RD Number (Records Division Number), which is unique to the incident.

• Date - Date when the incident occurred. this is sometimes a best estimate.

• Block - The partially redacted address where the incident occurred, placing it on the same block as the actual address.

• IUCR - The Illinois Unifrom Crime Reporting code. This is directly linked to the Primary Type and Description. See the list of IUCR codes at https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/c7ck-438e..

• Primary Type - The primary description of the IUCR code.

• Description - The secondary description of the IUCR code, a subcategory of the primary description.

• Location Description - Description of the location where the incident occurred.

• Arrest - Indicates whether an arrest was made.

• Domestic - Indicates whether the incident was domestic-related as defined by the Illinois Domestic Violence Act.

• Beat - Indicates the beat where the incident occurred. A beat is the smallest police geographic area – each beat has a dedicated police beat car. Three to five beats make up a police sector, and three sectors make up a police district. The Chicago Police Department has 22 police districts. See the beats at https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/aerh-rz74.

• Distric...

There has been little research on United States homicide rates from a long-term perspective, primarily because there has been no consistent data series on a particular place preceding the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which began its first full year in 1931. To fill this research gap, this project created a data series on homicides per capita for New York City that spans two centuries. The goal was to create a site-specific, individual-based data series that could be used to examine major social shifts related to homicide, such as mass immigration, urban growth, war, demographic changes, and changes in laws. Data were also gathered on various other sites, particularly in England, to allow for comparisons on important issues, such as the post-World War II wave of violence. The basic approach to the data collection was to obtain the best possible estimate of annual counts and the most complete information on individual homicides. The annual count data (Parts 1 and 3) were derived from multiple sources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports and Supplementary Homicide Reports, as well as other official counts from the New York City Police Department and the City Inspector in the early 19th century. The data include a combined count of murder and manslaughter because charge bargaining often blurs this legal distinction. The individual-level data (Part 2) were drawn from coroners' indictments held by the New York City Municipal Archives, and from daily newspapers. Duplication was avoided by keeping a record for each victim. The estimation technique known as "capture-recapture" was used to estimate homicides not listed in either source. Part 1 variables include counts of New York City homicides, arrests, and convictions, as well as the homicide rate, race or ethnicity and gender of victims, type of weapon used, and source of data. Part 2 includes the date of the murder, the age, sex, and race of the offender and victim, and whether the case led to an arrest, trial, conviction, execution, or pardon. Part 3 contains annual homicide counts and rates for various comparison sites including Liverpool, London, Kent, Canada, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco.

In 2024, the Mexican city of Colima was the second most deadly city in the world, with a murder rate of ****** per 100,000 inhabitants. * out of the top 10 cities with over ******* habitants and the highest homicide rates were located in Mexico.

Turks and Caicos Islands saw a murder rate of ***** per 100,000 inhabitants, making it the most dangerous country for this kind of crime worldwide as of 2024. Interestingly, El Salvador, which long had the highest global homicide rates, has dropped out of the top 29 after a high number of gang members have been incarcerated. Meanwhile, Colima in Mexico was the most dangerous city for murders. Violent conflicts worldwide Notably, these figures do not include deaths that resulted from war or a violent conflict. While there is a persistent number of conflicts worldwide, resulting casualties are not considered murders. Partially due to this reason, homicide rates in Latin America are higher than those in Afghanistan or Syria. A different definition of murder in these circumstances could change the rate significantly in some countries. Causes of death Also, noteworthy is that murders are usually not random events. In the United States, the circumstances of murders are most commonly arguments, followed by narcotics incidents and robberies. Additionally, murders are not a leading cause of death. Heart diseases, strokes and cancer pose a greater threat to life than violent crime.

The average for 2017 based on 97 countries was 7.4 homicides per 100,000 people. The highest value was in El Salvador: 61.8 homicides per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Japan: 0.2 homicides per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Number and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, Canada and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2024.

These data on 19th- and early 20th-century police department and arrest behavior were collected between 1975 and 1978 for a study of police and crime in the United States. Raw and aggregated time-series data are presented in Parts 1 and 3 on 23 American cities for most years during the period 1860-1920. The data were drawn from annual reports of police departments found in the Library of Congress or in newspapers and legislative reports located elsewhere. Variables in Part 1, for which the city is the unit of analysis, include arrests for drunkenness, conditional offenses and homicides, persons dismissed or held, police personnel, and population. Part 3 aggregates the data by year and reports some of these variables on a per capita basis, using a linear interpolation from the last decennial census to estimate population. Part 2 contains data for 267 United States cities for the period 1880-1890 and was generated from the 1880 federal census volume, REPORT ON THE DEFECTIVE, DEPENDENT, AND DELINQUENT CLASSES, published in 1888, and from the 1890 federal census volume, SOCIAL STATISTICS OF CITIES. Information includes police personnel and expenditures, arrests, persons held overnight, trains entering town, and population.

The United States had, by far, the highest homicide rate of the G7 countries between 2000 and 2023. In 2023, it reached 5.76 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, a decrease from 6.78 in 2021. By comparison, Canada, the G7 nation with the second-highest homicide rate, had 1.98 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. Out of each G7 nation, Japan had the lowest rate with 0.23 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

This study focused on the effect of economic resources and racial/ethnic composition on the change in crime rates from 1970-2004 in United States cities in metropolitan areas that experienced a large growth in population after World War II. A total of 352 cities in the following United States metropolitan areas were selected for this study: Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Orange County, Orlando, Phoenix, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Silicon Valley (Santa Clara), and Tampa/St. Petersburg. Selection was based on the fact that these areas developed during a similar time period and followed comparable development trajectories. In particular, these 14 areas, known as the "boomburbs" for their dramatic, post-World War II population growth, all faced issues relating to the rapid growth of tract-style housing and the subsequent development of low density, urban sprawls. The study combined place-level data obtained from the United States Census with crime data from the Uniform Crime Reports for five categories of Type I crimes: aggravated assaults, robberies, murders, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts. The dataset contains a total of 247 variables pertaining to crime, economic resources, and race/ethnic composition.

This dataset includes all valid felony, misdemeanor, and violation crimes reported to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for all complete quarters so far this year (2017). For additional details, please see the attached data dictionary in the ‘About’ section.

In 2024, the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed was in Haiti, with around 62 murders committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Trinidad and Tobago came in second, with a homicide rate of 46, while Honduras ranked seventh, with 25. In the same year, the lowest rate was recorded in El Salvador, with a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence-ridden region Violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Latin American society nowadays. More than 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are located in this region, as well as one of the twenty countries with the least peace in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Despite governments’ large spending on security and high imprisonment rates, drug and weapon trafficking, organized crime, and gangs have turned violence into an epidemic that affects the whole region and a solution to this issue appears to be hardly attainable. The cost of violence in Mexico Mexico stands out as an example of the great cost that violence inflicts upon a country, since beyond claiming human lives, it also affects everyday life and has a negative impact on the economy. Mexicans have a high perceived level of insecurity, as they do not only fear becoming victims of homicide, but also of other common crimes, such as assault or rape. Such fear prevents people from performing everyday activities, for instance, going out at night, taking a taxi or going to the movies or the theater. Furthermore, the economic toll of violence in Mexico is more than considerable. For example, the cost of homicide and violent crime amounted to 2099.8 and 1778.1 billion Mexican pesos in 2023, respectively.

Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2024.

THIS DATASET WAS LAST UPDATED AT 7:11 AM EASTERN ON DEC. 1

OVERVIEW

2019 had the most mass killings since at least the 1970s, according to the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings Database.

In all, there were 45 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 were mass shootings . This summer was especially violent, with three high-profile public mass shootings occurring in the span of just four weeks, leaving 38 killed and 66 injured.

A total of 229 people died in mass killings in 2019.

The AP's analysis found that more than 50% of the incidents were family annihilations, which is similar to prior years. Although they are far less common, the 9 public mass shootings during the year were the most deadly type of mass murder, resulting in 73 people's deaths, not including the assailants.

One-third of the offenders died at the scene of the killing or soon after, half from suicides.

About this Dataset

The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed (not including the offender) over a short period of time (24 hours) regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. The database includes information on these and other characteristics concerning the incidents, offenders, and victims.

The AP/USA TODAY/Northeastern database represents the most complete tracking of mass murders by the above definition currently available. Other efforts, such as the Gun Violence Archive or Everytown for Gun Safety may include events that do not meet our criteria, but a review of these sites and others indicates that this database contains every event that matches the definition, including some not tracked by other organizations.

This data will be updated periodically and can be used as an ongoing resource to help cover these events.

Using this Dataset

To get basic counts of incidents of mass killings and mass shootings by year nationwide, use these queries:

Mass killings by year

Mass shootings by year

To get these counts just for your state:

Filter killings by state

Definition of "mass murder"

Mass murder is defined as the intentional killing of four or more victims by any means within a 24-hour period, excluding the deaths of unborn children and the offender(s). The standard of four or more dead was initially set by the FBI.

This definition does not exclude cases based on method (e.g., shootings only), type or motivation (e.g., public only), victim-offender relationship (e.g., strangers only), or number of locations (e.g., one). The time frame of 24 hours was chosen to eliminate conflation with spree killers, who kill multiple victims in quick succession in different locations or incidents, and to satisfy the traditional requirement of occurring in a “single incident.”

Offenders who commit mass murder during a spree (before or after committing additional homicides) are included in the database, and all victims within seven days of the mass murder are included in the victim count. Negligent homicides related to driving under the influence or accidental fires are excluded due to the lack of offender intent. Only incidents occurring within the 50 states and Washington D.C. are considered.

Methodology

Project researchers first identified potential incidents using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). Homicide incidents in the SHR were flagged as potential mass murder cases if four or more victims were reported on the same record, and the type of death was murder or non-negligent manslaughter.

Cases were subsequently verified utilizing media accounts, court documents, academic journal articles, books, and local law enforcement records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Each data point was corroborated by multiple sources, which were compiled into a single document to assess the quality of information.

In case(s) of contradiction among sources, official law enforcement or court records were used, when available, followed by the most recent media or academic source.

Case information was subsequently compared with every other known mass murder database to ensure reliability and validity. Incidents listed in the SHR that could not be independently verified were excluded from the database.

Project researchers also conducted extensive searches for incidents not reported in the SHR during the time period, utilizing internet search engines, Lexis-Nexis, and Newspapers.com. Search terms include: [number] dead, [number] killed, [number] slain, [number] murdered, [number] homicide, mass murder, mass shooting, massacre, rampage, family killing, familicide, and arson murder. Offender, victim, and location names were also directly searched when available.

This project started at USA TODAY in 2012.

Contacts

Contact AP Data Editor Justin Myers with questions, suggestions or comments about this dataset at jmyers@ap.org. The Northeastern University researcher working with AP and USA TODAY is Professor James Alan Fox, who can be reached at j.fox@northeastern.edu or 617-416-4400.

This indicator is based on location of residence. Mortality rate has been age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ICD 10 codes used to identify homicides are X85-Y09, Y87.1, and U01-U02. Single-year data are only available for Los Angeles County overall, Service Planning Areas, Supervisorial Districts, City of Los Angeles overall, and City of Los Angeles Council Districts.Violence is a public health crisis in the US, with gun violence being a major driver. Almost three quarters of homicides involve firearms. In the US, the age-adjusted homicide rate from firearms is more than 20 times higher than in the European Union or in Australia. Significant disparities by age, sex, and race and ethnicity exist, with young adults ages 15-34 years, males, and Black individuals most disproportionately impacted. Comprehensive prevention strategies should work to address the underlying physical, social, economic, and structural conditions known to increase risk.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

The dataset shows the homicide data for the city of Baltimore from the years of 2007 all the way till present and updated almost monthly. Baltimore ranks 2nd on the highest murder rates in the United States, only second to St. Louis in Missouri. The data is obtained through the website, Baltimore Sun Homicide News through a Creative Commons License. The data shows details such as cause of death, police district in which the homicide occurred, and the name, age, gender and race of the victim, and more.