The homicide rate is increasing rapidly in the U.S., so much so that President Joe Biden has made tackling the problem one of his newest priorities. Alarmingly, homicide rates have risen by an average of 33% in 50 of the most populated U.S. cities between Q2 2019 and Q2 2021, and are still rising.
In order to determine which cities have the biggest homicide problems, WalletHub compared 50 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q2 2021, as well as per capita homicides in Q2 2021 vs. Q2 2020 and Q2 2019.
Cities with the Highest Increase in Homicide Rates During Covid
| Overall Rank | City | Total Score | Homicide Cases per Capita (Q2 2021) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2020) | Change in Homicide Cases per Capita (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans, LA | 95.17 | 17.91 (1) |
0.00 (30) |
7.42 (1) |
| 2 | Cincinnati, OH | 91.22 | 16.26 (3) |
2.65 (5) |
6.30 (2) |
| 3 | Baltimore, MD | 72.63 | 15.27 (5) |
0.00 (30) |
0.82 (25) |
| 4 | Philadelphia, PA | 68.20 | 9.63 (8) |
2.79 (3) |
4.43 (4) |
| 5 | Detroit, MI | 67.03 | 12.45 (6) |
1.04 (15) |
1.33 (21) |
| 6 | Milwaukee, WI | 66.32 | 9.08 (9) |
2.02 (10) |
4.71 (3) |
| 7 | Louisville, KY | 65.14 | 8.90 (10) |
3.88 (1) |
3.40 (8) |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA | 60.99 | 8.18 (11) |
2.05 (8) |
3.48 (6) |
| 9 | Memphis, TN | 59.02 | 10.12 (7) |
-1.84 (47) |
2.30 (10) |
| 10 | Kansas City, MO | 57.69 | 16.45 (2) |
-16.24 (50) |
1.64 (15) |
| 11 | Minneapolis, MN | 56.10 | 6.19 (16) |
1.67 (11) |
4.04 (5) |
| 12 | St. Louis, MO | 55.45 | 15.58 (4) |
-6.49 (49) |
-3.57 (50) |
| 13 | St. Petersburg, FL | 53.49 | 4.97 (20) |
3.44 (2) |
3.44 (7) |
| 14 | Washington, DC | 53.30 | 7.22 (13) |
1.01 (17) |
1.88 (13) |
| 15 | Indianapolis, IN | 51.53 | 6.48 (14) |
0.69 (19) |
2.20 (11) |
| 16 | Norfolk, VA | 50.94 | 6.13 (17) |
2.04 (9) |
1.64 (16) |
| 17 | Albuquerque, NM | 49.99 | 6.26 (15) |
2.68 (4) |
0.72 (28) |
| 18 | Nashville, TN | 49.66 | 4.97 (21) |
2.26 (6) |
2.41 (9) |
| 19 | Chicago, IL | 49.32 | 7.42 (12) |
-1.51 (46) |
1.25 (22) |
| 20 | Durham, NC | 49.19 | 5.56 (18) |
2.22 (7) |
1.48 (19) |
| 21 | Sacramento, CA | 45.80 | 4.99 (19) |
0.60 (21) |
1.60 (17) |
| 22 | Tucson, AZ | 44.27 | 4.25 (23) |
1.29 (13) |
1.48 (20) |
| 23 | Oklahoma City, OK | 41.69 | 3.26 (28) |
0.78 (18) |
1.86 (14) |
| 24 | Winston-Salem, NC | 41.24 | 4.10 (24) |
0.41 (24) |
0.82 (26) |
| 25 | Riverside, CA | 39.43 | 2.45 (33) |
0.31 (26) |
2.14 (12) |
| 26 | Charlotte, NC | 39.33 | 3.50 (27) |
0.47 (22) |
0.70 (30) |
| 27 | Austin, TX | 38.90 | 2.21 (34) |
1.47 (12) |
1.58 (18) |
| 28 | Oakland, CA | 37.64 | 4.47 (22) |
-1.41 (44) |
-0.24 (42) |
| 29 | Denver, CO | 37.16 | 3.12 (30) |
-0.43 (39) |
0.71 (29) |
| 30 | Dallas, TX | 35.91 | 3.91 (26) |
-0.30 (37) |
-0.90 (48) |
| 31 | Colorado Springs, CO | 35.87 | 1.72 (38) |
1.08 (14) |
1.08 (23) |
| 32 | Phoenix, AZ | 35.54 | 2.69 (32) |
-0.24 (36) |
0.43 (33) |
| 33 | Los Angeles, CA | 34.37 | 2.12 (35) |
0.28 (27) |
0.35 (35) |
| 34 | Las Vegas, NV | 34.05 | 3.15 (29) |
-1.42 (45) |
-0.16 (40) |
| 35 | Seattle, WA | 33.62 | 1.66 (39) |
-0.14 (35) |
0.83 (24) |
| 36 | Raleigh, NC | 33.38 | 1.72 (37) |
0.65 (20) |
0.22 (37) |
| 37 | Fort Worth, TX | 33.18 | 1.83 (36) |
0.00 (30) |
0.34 (36) |
| 38 | New York, NY | 33.02 | 1.44 (41) |
0.04 (29) |
0.75 (27) |
| 39 | Jacksonville, FL | 33.00 | 2.81 (31) |
-1.35 (43) |
-0.22 (41) |
| 40 | Tulsa, OK | 32.82 | 3.98 (25) |
-3.23 (48) |
-0.75 (47) |
| 41 | San Diego, CA | 32.53 | 1.42 (42) |
0.14 (28) |
0.50 (31) |
| 42 | El Paso, TX | 30.83 | 0.74 (47) |
0.44 (23) |
0.44 (32) |
| 43 | Boston, MA | 30.68 | 1.46 (40) |
0.00 (30) |
-0.29 (43) |
| 44 | Anchorage, AK | 30.59 | 1.02 (44) |
1.02 (16) |
-0.34 (44) |
| 45 | Lincoln, NE | 29.62 | 0.70 (48) |
0.35 (25) |
0.00 (38) |
| 46 | Arlington, TX | 29.01 | 1.26 (43) |
-0.51 (40) |
-0.51 (46) |
| 47 | Madison, WI | 28.21 | 0.39 (50) |
-0.78 (41) |
0.39 (34) |
| 48 | Chesapeake, VA | 28.00 | 0.83 (46) |
-1.25 (42) |
0.00 (38) |
| 49 | Chandler, AZ | 26.91 | 0.40 (49) |
-0.40 (38) |
-0.40 (45) |
| 50 | Virginia Beach, VA | 24.15 | 0.89 (45) |
0.00 (30) |
-2.44 (49) |
Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the highest homicide rate and highest increase in homicides, respectively.
More details can be found at Cities with the Highest Increase in Homicide Rates During Covid (wallethub.com)
