The top 10 cities in the U.S. with the highest murder rates per capita are as follows:

  1. Memphis (Tennessee): In the first quarter of 2023, the murder rate was 14.19 per 100,000 population, the highest.

  2. New Orleans (Louisiana): During the same period, there were 12.76 murders per 100,000 population, making it the second highest.

  3. Richmond (Virginia): It had the third highest murder rate with a total score of 67.60.

  4. Washington D.C.: It recorded the fourth highest murder rate with a total score of 64.37.

  5. Detroit (Michigan): It ranked fifth with a total score of 56.15.

  6. Durham (North Carolina): It had the sixth highest murder rate.

  7. Dallas (Texas): It ranked seventh.

  8. Milwaukee (Wisconsin): It recorded the eighth highest murder rate.

  9. Las Vegas (Nevada): It ranked ninth.

  10. Kansas City (Missouri): It had the tenth highest murder rate.

These statistics are based on data from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2023, showing an average increase of about 10% in murder rates across 45 major U.S. cities during this period.

The clearance rate for murders in the U.S. has been declining in recent years. In 2020, the five-year average clearance rate for murders in Los Angeles (LA) was 55%, down 19 percentage points from 74% five years earlier. Nationally, the clearance rate for murders also dropped by 11% during the same period.

By race, as of 2020, the clearance rate for murders involving white victims was 87%, while it was 59% for black victims and 67% for Hispanic victims, indicating a racial disparity.