Chicago was once again the nation’s homicide capital in 2024 with 573 murders – the 13th year in a row that the Windy City has suffered more murders than anywhere else in the country. New York, Houston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles rounded out the top five for most murders.
St. Louis was the nation’s other murder capital when based on homicides per capita. The Gateway City suffered 52.9 homicides per 100,000 residents, marking the third year in a row St. Louis has held that title. Memphis was in 2nd-place with 38.0 homicides per 100,000. 2024 marks the second year in a row the city has been the runner-up. Rounding out the top five were Baltimore with 35.6 murders per 100,000, New Orleans with 34.1 and Detroit with 32.1.
The data compiled by Wirepoints is based on 2024 homicide totals for the nation’s 75 biggest cities, assembled via year-end city police compstat reports, various news articles and other sources.
Murders in 2024 continued their downward trend after peaking in the early pandemic/George Floyd period.
Remarkably, Jacksonville murders fell by 48% last year, while cities like New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. dropped by more than 30%. In contrast, Chicago and New York missed most of that drop, falling just 8% and 4%, respectively.
The report below includes the following sections:
- Homicides, America’s 20 biggest cities, 2024
- Change in total homicides, 2024 vs. 2023
- Change in homicides per capita, 2024 vs. 2023
- Total homicides, 2024 vs. 2019
Homicides across the 20 biggest cities, 2024
The nation’s list of top five most-murderous cities has changed over time, with cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Houston, New York, and Baltimore falling on and off depending on the year.
The one constant for more than a decade has been Chicago. The Windy City has always taken the top spot, often by a large margin.