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Crime · United States · Updated 2026-10-26

What is the murder rate in the United States?

The FBI estimates 4.12 murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 people in the United States in 2025, 18.5% lower than in 2024; CDC's provisional death records give 5.05 homicide deaths per 100,000 (14.8% lower) and the Real-Time Crime Index's sample of 547 police agencies 6.24 (17.8% lower).

Every figure in this summary is calculated from the sources listed on this page.

Murder rate in the United States, 2025

Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 people. United States (50 states and the District of Columbia), Calendar year 2025. Unit: per 100,000 people.

4.12per 100,000 people, 2025

74Trust scoreModerate certainty

Score breakdown

Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement16.5 / 30

How close the sources are to each other

Independence16 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • FBI67%
  • CDC33%

Shown but not counted: RTCI (measures something else).

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1)Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Justice · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-264.122025
Murders and non-negligent manslaughters known to police (the willful killing of one person by another; negligent deaths, attempts and justifiable homicides are excluded), with the FBI's estimates for agencies that did not report all 12 months, divided by the FBI's population for the year (341,784,857 in 2025, the Census Bureau's July 1 estimate).

Counts and population from "CIUS Table 1: Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 2006-2025" (Crime Data Explorer, Documents & Downloads, released August 2026, data as of 2 April 2026). The FBI's own one-decimal rates (4.1 in 2025) are reproduced exactly. The FBI says its 2021 estimate is not comparable with other years. Summary report: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/resources/reports/UCR_Summary_of_Reported_Crimes_in_the_Nation_2025.pdf

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The FBI publishes its estimation methodology and offense definitions on the Crime Data Explorer.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official national statistics from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Agencies covering 96.2% of the population reported in 2025; the FBI estimates the rest, so the figure covers the whole country.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. CIUS tables and agency-level data are downloadable from the Crime Data Explorer.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. The 2021 switch to NIBRS-only reporting left 2021 below a nationally representative level and not comparable with other years; past years are revised (2024 murders: 16,935 first published, 17,206 now).
67%
CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide)National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Death and health registersRetrieved 2026-10-265.052025
Deaths whose underlying cause on the death certificate is assault (homicide): ICD-10 *U01-*U02, X85-Y09 and Y87.1, the standard NCHS category (Y87.1, late effects of assault, is not shown separately in the open files).

U.S. residents, by year of death. Deaths from legal intervention (Y35, Y89.0) are a separate cause and are not included. 2025 is provisional (data as of 13 October 2026); 2010-2024 are final. Rate computed by RealStats: deaths divided by the population NCHS uses for final rates, the Census Bureau's July 1 estimate from the vintage of the data year (341,784,857 for 2025).

Counts: 2010-2016 from NCHS "Injury Mortality: United States" (https://data.cdc.gov/National-Center-for-Health-Statistics/NCHS-Injury-Mortality-United-States/nt65-c7a7), which also gives NCHS's population and two-decimal rates, reproduced exactly; 2017-2018 from "Monthly Counts of Deaths by Select Causes, 2014-2019" (https://data.cdc.gov/National-Center-for-Health-Statistics/Monthly-Counts-of-Deaths-by-Select-Causes-2014-201/bxq8-mugm); 2019-2025 from "Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence - National" (https://data.cdc.gov/Injury-Violence/Mapping-Injury-Overdose-and-Violence-National/t6u2-f84c). The files agree where they overlap, and the 2024 count matches NCHS FastStats (20,162, 5.9 per 100,000). Population 2017-2025: Census Bureau national estimates, vintages 2017-2025 (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv and earlier vintages); the 2024 figure is the one NCHS prints in NVSR 75-7, p. 116. The dashboard itself shows 5.2 for 2025 without documenting its population; NCHS computes its own provisional 2025 rates with vintage 2024 estimates.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. NCHS publishes its ICD-10 coding rules and cause-of-death lists.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the National Vital Statistics System (CDC's National Center for Health Statistics).
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Counts every death certificate filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly counts are downloadable as CSV from data.cdc.gov; rates use Census population files.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. 2025 is provisional: NCHS says provisional estimates often understate rates for recent months, as some deaths are still pending investigation. 2010-2024 are final.
33%
Real-Time Crime Index (Crime Index), national agency sampleAH Datalytics · Independent countRetrieved 2026-10-266.242025
Murders and non-negligent manslaughters reported by the 547 police agencies in the Real-Time Crime Index national sample, January-December 2025, divided by the sample population given in the file (111,272,916, 32.6% of the U.S.

population). It is the rate for those agencies' areas, not a national estimate. Rate computed by RealStats. For the national level this line has directness 0: the sample is mostly large-city agencies with higher murder rates, so its rate is not a national rate. It counts only for the direction of change.

File "crime_202608" from the Crime Index data download page (realtimecrimeindex.com now redirects to crimeindex.org), rows id "us", size "all"; it runs to August 2026. 2025: 6,940 murders; 2024: 8,447. Method: https://crimeindex.org/methodology

3 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. AH Datalytics publishes how it collects, cleans and samples agency data.
  • No: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Compiled by a private analytics firm; neither official statistics nor peer-reviewed.
  • No: Full count or representative sample. A sample of 547 agencies with complete, timely data (32.6% of the population), not a random or full count.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Monthly agency and national sample files are downloadable as CSV.
  • Yes: No known break or quality problem. The same agencies are compared in both years; counts are snapshots that agencies can still revise.
Not counted
Murder rate in the United States, 2025, by source · per 100,000 people
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1)
  • CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide)
02468201020132016201920222025FBIFBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2010: 4.76FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2011: 4.72FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2012: 4.76FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2013: 4.51FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2014: 4.44FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2015: 4.92FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2016: 5.36FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2017: 5.3FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2018: 5FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2019: 5.03FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2020: 6.6FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2021: 6.46FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2022: 6.58FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2023: 5.95FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2024: 5.06FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1), 2025: 4.12CDCCDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2010: 5.27CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2011: 5.21CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2012: 5.32CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2013: 5.1CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2014: 4.98CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2015: 5.54CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2016: 5.99CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2017: 5.99CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2018: 5.76CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2019: 5.83CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2020: 7.46CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2021: 7.84CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2022: 7.46CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2023: 6.82CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2024: 5.93CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide), 2025: 5.05
Show the data as a table
YearFBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1)CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide)
20104.765.27
20114.725.21
20124.765.32
20134.515.1
20144.444.98
20154.925.54
20165.365.99
20175.35.99
201855.76
20195.035.83
20206.67.46
20216.467.84
20226.587.46
20235.956.82
20245.065.93
20254.125.05

Change in the US murder rate, 2024 to 2025

Change in murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 people, 2025 compared with 2024. United States (50 states and the District of Columbia), Calendar years 2024 and 2025. Unit: % change.

Falling% change, 2025

90Trust scoreHigh certainty

Score breakdown

Quality30.4 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement30 / 30

How close the sources are to each other

Independence20 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How much each source counts

  • FBI53%
  • CDC27%
  • RTCI20%

Sources

SourceValueDefinitionQualityWeight
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime in the United States: national estimates (Table 1)Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Justice · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-26Falling −18.5%2025
Percent change in the FBI's estimated rate, 2025 compared with 2024 (the FBI's Table 1A gives -18.5%; the estimated count changed by -18.1%).

Murders and non-negligent manslaughters known to police (the willful killing of one person by another; negligent deaths, attempts and justifiable homicides are excluded), with the FBI's estimates for agencies that did not report all 12 months, divided by the FBI's population for the year (341,784,857 in 2025, the Census Bureau's July 1 estimate).

Counts and population from "CIUS Table 1: Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 2006-2025" (Crime Data Explorer, Documents & Downloads, released August 2026, data as of 2 April 2026). The FBI's own one-decimal rates (4.1 in 2025) are reproduced exactly. The FBI says its 2021 estimate is not comparable with other years. Summary report: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/resources/reports/UCR_Summary_of_Reported_Crimes_in_the_Nation_2025.pdf

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The FBI publishes its estimation methodology and offense definitions on the Crime Data Explorer.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official national statistics from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Agencies covering 96.2% of the population reported in 2025; the FBI estimates the rest, so the figure covers the whole country.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. CIUS tables and agency-level data are downloadable from the Crime Data Explorer.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. The 2021 switch to NIBRS-only reporting left 2021 below a nationally representative level and not comparable with other years; past years are revised (2024 murders: 16,935 first published, 17,206 now).
53%
CDC National Vital Statistics System: deaths by assault (homicide)National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Death and health registersRetrieved 2026-10-26Falling −14.8%2025
Percent change in the homicide death rate, provisional 2025 compared with final 2024.

Deaths whose underlying cause on the death certificate is assault (homicide): ICD-10 *U01-*U02, X85-Y09 and Y87.1, the standard NCHS category (Y87.1, late effects of assault, is not shown separately in the open files). U.S. residents, by year of death. Deaths from legal intervention (Y35, Y89.0) are a separate cause and are not included. 2025 is provisional (data as of 13 October 2026); 2010-2024 are final. Rate computed by RealStats: deaths divided by the population NCHS uses for final rates, the Census Bureau's July 1 estimate from the vintage of the data year (341,784,857 for 2025).

Counts: 2010-2016 from NCHS "Injury Mortality: United States" (https://data.cdc.gov/National-Center-for-Health-Statistics/NCHS-Injury-Mortality-United-States/nt65-c7a7), which also gives NCHS's population and two-decimal rates, reproduced exactly; 2017-2018 from "Monthly Counts of Deaths by Select Causes, 2014-2019" (https://data.cdc.gov/National-Center-for-Health-Statistics/Monthly-Counts-of-Deaths-by-Select-Causes-2014-201/bxq8-mugm); 2019-2025 from "Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence - National" (https://data.cdc.gov/Injury-Violence/Mapping-Injury-Overdose-and-Violence-National/t6u2-f84c). The files agree where they overlap, and the 2024 count matches NCHS FastStats (20,162, 5.9 per 100,000). Population 2017-2025: Census Bureau national estimates, vintages 2017-2025 (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv and earlier vintages); the 2024 figure is the one NCHS prints in NVSR 75-7, p. 116. The dashboard itself shows 5.2 for 2025 without documenting its population; NCHS computes its own provisional 2025 rates with vintage 2024 estimates.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. NCHS publishes its ICD-10 coding rules and cause-of-death lists.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the National Vital Statistics System (CDC's National Center for Health Statistics).
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Counts every death certificate filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly counts are downloadable as CSV from data.cdc.gov; rates use Census population files.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. 2025 is provisional: NCHS says provisional estimates often understate rates for recent months, as some deaths are still pending investigation. 2010-2024 are final.
27%
Real-Time Crime Index (Crime Index), national agency sampleAH Datalytics · Independent countRetrieved 2026-10-26Falling −17.8%2025
Percent change in murders in the same agencies, 2025 compared with 2024 (the file's own figure; the sample population is fixed, so the rate changes by the same amount).

Murders and non-negligent manslaughters reported by the 547 police agencies in the Real-Time Crime Index national sample, January-December 2025, divided by the sample population given in the file (111,272,916, 32.6% of the U.S. population). It is the rate for those agencies' areas, not a national estimate. Rate computed by RealStats.

File "crime_202608" from the Crime Index data download page (realtimecrimeindex.com now redirects to crimeindex.org), rows id "us", size "all"; it runs to August 2026. 2025: 6,940 murders; 2024: 8,447. Method: https://crimeindex.org/methodology

3 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. AH Datalytics publishes how it collects, cleans and samples agency data.
  • No: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Compiled by a private analytics firm; neither official statistics nor peer-reviewed.
  • No: Full count or representative sample. A sample of 547 agencies with complete, timely data (32.6% of the population), not a random or full count.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Monthly agency and national sample files are downloadable as CSV.
  • Yes: No known break or quality problem. The same agencies are compared in both years; counts are snapshots that agencies can still revise.
20%

Why the numbers differ

  • The FBI counts murders and non-negligent manslaughters known to police and excludes justifiable homicides, defined as a police officer killing a felon in the line of duty or a private citizen killing a felon during a felony. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • CDC counts deaths whose death certificate records assault (homicide) as the underlying cause, whatever police or courts later decide, so it can include killings the FBI treats as justifiable; deaths from police use of force are coded to legal intervention (ICD-10 Y35), a separate cause, so they are not in CDC's count. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • CDC counts each death once, among U.S. residents, by the year the person died, and leaves out deaths of nonresidents; the FBI counts offenses where police record them, and its national figure partly comes from estimates for agencies that did not report. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The FBI's estimate was 86.2-90.5% of CDC's death count each year from 2010 to 2020, 82.4% in 2021, the first year of NIBRS-only reporting, and 81.6% in 2025, when CDC's count is still provisional. Calculated from the FBI's Table 1 and CDC's counts, both in the sources table and the chart. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • From 2021 the FBI accepted only NIBRS data; too few agencies reported, and it calls its 2021 estimates not nationally representative and not comparable with other years. From 2022 it again accepted summary (SRS) data. In 2025, agencies covering 96.2% of the population reported, 89.5% through NIBRS (FBI summary report, p. 6). (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • CDC's 2025 figure is provisional (data as of 13 October 2026) and final 2025 data are not out yet; NCHS says provisional estimates often understate the most recent months because some deaths are still pending investigation, which would make the fall from the final 2024 figure look larger. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • FBI estimates are revised as agencies send late data: its 2024 murder estimate was 16,935 when first published and is 17,206 in the 2025 release (+1.6%). (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)
  • The Real-Time Crime Index rate (6.24) covers only its 547 sample agencies (32.6% of the population), whose murder rate is above the national estimate; its 2024-2025 change is closer to the national lines than its level is. (source, retrieved 2026-10-26)