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Murder rate statistics across US highlight some of the most dangerous states to live
Figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explore the total number of homicides across the US and the murder rate in each state, which highlights some of the safest and most dangerous places to live in North America.
We all want to feel safe where we live and, when moving house, one of the biggest recommendations is to check the crime statistics in the local area, with murder rates obviously being one of the most serious to look out for.
Total number of murders across the US
In 2021, a total of 26,031 murders were officially recorded across the United States according to figures published by the CDC and cited by USA Facts.
Most of these homicides, 20,958 (80.5%), were carried out with a firearm while the majority of victims (77.9%) and offenders (78.7%) were male and aged between 20 and 39 (53%) according to data from the FBI.
The US states with the highest number of murders in 2021 were California (2,495), Texas (2,391), Illinois (1,487), Florida (1,468) and Georgia (1,206) with the top two states having almost double the figures of those behind them.
Meanwhile, the states with the fewest recorded homicides across the year were Vermont (10), New Hampshire (15), Wyoming (16), Maine (20) and North Dakota (24).
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Murder rate by US state
While California and Texas may have the largest total number of murders of any US states, their large populations mean that the homicide rate per 100,000 people in each location (6.4 in California and 8.2 in Texas) is much lower in comparison with them sitting 27th and 21st out of all 50 states.
The states with the highest homicide rate per 100,000 are Mississippi (23.7), Louisiana (21.3), Alabama (15.9), New Mexico (15.3) and South Carolina (13.4).
On the opposite end of the scale, Vermont, New Hampshire and Wyoming have so few murders that the homicide rate is recorded as 0 in the table below while Maine (1.7) and Idaho (2.2) sit just above.
How the US compares to other countries around the world
In 2021, the homicide rate across the whole of the USA stood at 7.8 per 100,00 people.
This figure rose dramatically from 6 in 2019 to 7.8 in 2020, which coincided with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic but is far below the recorded peaks of 9.9 in 1991 and 10.4 in 1980.
North of the border in Canada, the homicide rate per 100,00 is only 2.1 while several other English-speaking countries also have much lower rates such as the UK (1.2), New Zealand (1) and Australia (0.9).
Mexico to the south has a murder rate of 28 per 100,00 people but finds itself much lower than the two countries with the highest rates which are South Africa (42) and Jamaica (52) according to figures from the World Bank.
More recent data for the homicide numbers across the US in 2022 is available but for ease of comparison between countries we have examined the figures from 2021.
