The nationwide murder fee plunged to a historic low in 2025 and has continued to fall to this point this yr – besides in eight main US cities.
The nation noticed the sharpest year-over-year decline in murders on report final yr, with homicides dropping 20% from 2024 and certain reaching their lowest ranges since 1900, in keeping with a new evaluation of native crime charges launched by the Council on Prison Justice.
The plunge in violence has solely continued accelerating to this point in 2026.
Homicides fell a median of 18% through the first half of the yr in comparison with the primary six months of 2025 throughout 21 of the 30 main cities surveyed by the Washington DC-based nonprofit.
“Homicide and different crime charges are falling throughout the map, in cities with totally different political management, housing and financial circumstances, policing and prosecution methods, violence discount fashions and ranges of federal enforcement exercise,” CCJ president and CEO Adam Gelb stated in regards to the findings, in keeping with CBS Information.
Whereas native policing and violence prevention packages have performed key roles, “the placing consistency of the decline means that macro-level forces are exerting huge affect as effectively,” Gelb advised the outlet, and pointed to components like expertise advances permitting extra folks to do business from home and a nationwide decline in alcohol abuse.
Lincoln, Neb., noticed the steepest drop, recording zero homicides through the first six months of 2026 after reporting murders throughout the identical interval final yr – marking a 100% decline.
It was adopted by Rochester, New York, with a 76% drop, Little Rock, Arkansas, with a 61% lower and Arlington, Texas, with a 60% dip.
Murders additionally fell 41% in Washington D.C., 18% in Los Angeles and 13% in Atlanta.
New York Metropolis had a powerful exhibiting as effectively.
Whereas the CCJ evaluation discovered homicides within the Massive Apple fell 22% yr over yr, NYPD statistics launched this month confirmed a fair steeper decline, with 122 murders recorded via the top of June – down practically 25% from 162 throughout the identical interval in 2025.
It additionally marked the fewest homicides Gotham has seen through the first six months of any yr on report, in keeping with division statistics.
Not each metropolis shared within the decline, nevertheless.
Eight of the 30 cities surveyed noticed homicides improve through the first half of 2026, together with 4 that had double-digits hikes.
Norfolk, Va., noticed the sharpest improve, with murders hovering 64% in comparison with the identical interval final yr.
San Francisco adopted with a 55% soar, whereas Dallas noticed a 30% improve and Salt Lake Metropolis recorded a 20% rise.
Austin, Texas, posted a 9% year-over-year, the information exhibits, in addition to a whopping 74% surge for the reason that identical interval in 2019 – the biggest improve over that interval out of all 30 cities analyzed.
Homicides additionally rose 6% in Denver and up 3% in each Chicago and Charlotte, NC.
A number of native legislation enforcement businesses, nevertheless, disputed the nonprofit’s findings.
The San Francisco Police Division stated it has recorded 16 homicides to this point this yr, in comparison with 13 throughout the identical interval final yr – a 23% improve, not the 55% rise reported within the evaluation.
The division additionally famous that the Golden Metropolis ended 2025 with the bottom murder fee in over 70 years, CBS Information reported.
An Austin Police Division spokesperson likewise insisted that the town has not seen a major improve in murders, whereas Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot identified that the metropolis’s homicide fee in 2025 was the bottom in 4 many years.
The CCJ stated its evaluation relied on knowledge collected shortly after every reporting interval ended, and famous that official figures later launched by native police departments might differ.
