Working Paper 2023-02
Irshad Altheimer,
Director, Center for Public Safety Initiatives
[email protected]
Venita D'Angelo
Research Assistant, Center for Public Safety Initiatives
[email protected]
Libnah Rodriguez,
Research Associate, Center for Public Safety Initiatives
[email protected]
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
1
Introduction
This report examines homicide incidents that occurred in 2022 across 24 U.S. cities
1
,
including Rochester, New York. To account for population differences among the cities in this
sample, we calculated the rate of homicides per 100,000 residents. This report identifies
possible trends by highlighting the differences in homicide rates from 2021 to 2022 for 24
select U.S. cities. Cross-city comparisons are essential in understanding violence on a
national scale. We used the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Crime Data Explorer tool
to gather homicide data for 2021
2
; homicide data for 2022 was collected from local news
outlets and individual agency websites—not the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) or other official
sources. An official count of 2022 homicides cannot be determined by official sources for
more than six months into the following year. We fully anticipate small discrepancies in
homicide counts once official data is released. This paper is updated and released annually
to reflect yearly data.
Results
Comparing U.S. Cities
Table 1 compares trends in homicide across 24 select U.S. cities. The table shows percent
change in homicide counts and rates from 2021 to 2022. By calculating percent change, we
can identify differences in homicide rates over time. The cities are ranked from highest to
1
The 24 cities were chosen based on the Rochester Homicide Statistics report for 2019 & 2020 reports.
2
Rochester, Syracuse, Oakland, and Omaha did not report to the FBI in 2021. Notably, Pittsburgh did not
report for 2021 or 2020.
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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lowest 2022 homicide rates. It should be noted that yearly fluctuations in homicide levels are
a common feature of violence in America. There are three general conclusions that Table 1
supports: (1) homicide levels across U.S. cities vary greatly (66 range in homicide rate), (2)
unlike years prior, the majority of cities observed (54.2%) experienced decreases in homicide
rates from 2021 to 2022, and (3) while Rochester had a decreased homicide rate in 2022
compared to years prior; it continues to rank amongst the highest—moving from fifth highest
to fourth highest homicide rate this year.
Chicago, Illinois experienced the largest increase in homicide from 2021 to 2022, with a year-
to-year rate increase of 83.2%. Washington, D.C. experienced the second largest increase in
homicide from 2021 to 2022 with a year-to-year rate increase of 74.2%. Compared to the rest
of our sample, these two cities experienced an abnormally high increase; all the other cities
observed experienced an increase below 33.3%.
More than half of our sample (54.2%) experienced a decrease from 2021 to 2022; a
significant deviation from 2020 to 2021 when only over a third of our sample (37.5%)
experienced a decrease. Compton experienced the largest decrease in homicide from 2021
to 2022 with a year-to-year rate decrease of 64.7%. This finding is incredibly interesting when
one considers the fact that in years prior Compton’s homicide rate had been trending
upwards. Syracuse also experienced a decrease in homicide from 2021 to 2022 with a year-
to-year decrease of 39.3%, moving the city to 18
th
highest from 14
th
highest in 2021.
Rochester had a 6.5% decrease in homicide rate from 2021 to 2022, a marked change from
the 56.1% increase reported in 2021. However, Rochester continues to rank among the
highest in terms of homicide rate, moving from fifth highest in 2021 to fourth highest this year.
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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Compared to New York metropolitan cities in our sample, Rochester had the highest
homicide rate. Like in previous years, Buffalo, Syracuse, and New York City had lower
homicide rates than Rochester in 2022.
Table 1. 24 U.S. Cities’ Homicide Number, Rate, & Percent Change for 2020 – 2021
3
2021
Homicides
2021
Population
Estimate
2021
Homicide
Rate
2022
Homicides
Current
Population
Estimate
2022
Homicide
Rate
%
Change
Rate
201
376,971
53.3
280
396,048
71.0
33.2
189
293,310
64.4
200
296,262
68.0
5.5
303
632,464
47.9
307
616,710
50.0
4.4
81
210,606
38.5
76
211,556
36.0
-6.5
159
496,461
32.0
170
522,328
33.0
3.1
34
120,576
28.2
35
119,938
29.2
3.5
109
670,050
16.3
203
715,891
28.4
74.2
89
226,604
39.2
59
233,330
25.3
-35.5
370
2,696,555
13.7
692
2,761,625
25.1
83.2
123
433,823
28.4
113
455,622
25.0
-12.0
239
882,039
27.1
226
907,802
25.0
8.0
65
276,807
23.5
62
283,461
22.0
-6.4
212
1,288,457
16.5
248
1,336,347
19.0
15.2
36
93,597
48.1
16
95,524
17.0
-64.7
60
307,220
19.5
50
321,872
16.0
-18.0
31
321,793
10.0
44
330,601
13.3
33.3
51
300,431
17.0
37
302,152
12.2
-28.2
29
146,103
19.8
18
149,655
12.0
-39.3
51
298,263
17.1
37
307,846
12.0
-30.0
100
711,463
14.1
76
750,130
10.1
-28.4
397
3,849,297
10.3
382
3,930,586
10.0
-3.0
32
487,300
6.6
30
509,178
6.0
-9.1
36
654,776
5.5
41
693,062
6.0
9.1
485
8,467,513
6.0
433
8,992,908
5.0
-16.7
22,900
333,031,554
7.0
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
3
In previous years current population estimates have been pulled from the U.S. Census website.
Unfortunately, this year the information was not available; an alternative source was used which came to its
conclusions by observing trends in U.S. Census data and using that data to inform “...sophisticated
mathematical models to create detailed estimates and projections…”
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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Comparing U.S. Homicide Rates Among Cities with Similar Populations
To gain a broader understanding of violence in American cities, we compared 2022 homicide
rates among cities of similar population sizes. Figure 1 shows a comparison of Rochester,
New York with cities that have a population below 250,000. As seen in Figure 1, Rochester
had the highest homicide rate at 36 homicides per 100,000 residents. Rochester and
Richmond remain closely ranked; with a difference of 6.8 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Unlike years prior Richmond did not have the most elevated homicide rate in this population
category.
The homicide rate for our sample cities with populations below 250,000 range between 36
and 12 homicides per 100,000 residents. In 2021, the range of homicide rates for these cities
was between 38.8 and 19.6 homicides per 100,000 residents. These findings indicate greater
variation in homicide levels among these cities.
Figure 1.
36.0
29.2
25.3
17.0
12.0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Rochester, NY Hartford, CT Richmond, VA Compton, CA Syracuse, NY
Rate per 100,000
City
Homicide Rate in Select US Cities with Populations below
250,000
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
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Figure 2 is a comparison of seven cities within our sample with populations between 250,000
and 400,000. New Orleans and St. Louis immediately stand out with homicide rate of 71 per
100,000 residents and 68 per 100,000 residents respectively. This year St. Louis was
replaced as the leading city in our sample. Consistent with previous homicide reports,
variation in homicide levels for 2022 were present between these cities. An important caveat
to these observations is the fact that the data collected for 2022 did not come from official
sources. Given the mild difference between New Orleans’ homicide rate and St. Louis’
homicide rate (three additional homicides per 100,000 residents), it is possible that when the
FBI releases official 2022 data St. Louis will return to the highest ranked spot. Regardless,
the elevated homicide rate in New Orleans and St. Louis for 2022 is concerning and further
research should focus on the similarities between these cities that may be contributing to
their elevated rates of homicide.
Figure 2.
71.0
68.0
22.0
16.0
13.3
12.2
12.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
New Orleans,
LA
St. Louis, MO Buffalo, NY Newark, NJ Lexington, KY Pittsburgh, PA Greensboro,
NC
Rate per 100,000
City
Homicide Rate in Select US Cities with Populations
Between 250,000 - 400,000
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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Figure 3 displays homicide rates of our sample cities with populations between 400,000 and
1,000,000. Like previous years, Detroit had the highest homicide rate in this population
category, with a homicide rate of 50 per 100,000 residents. In 2022, Detroit again ranked
third highest homicide rate in our entire sample. Figure 3 also highlights the variations in
homicide levels within this population category. Detroit’s homicide rate is five times higher
than Denver’s and about eight times higher than Omaha and Boston’s. Conversely, several
cities depicted in this figure also have the lowest homicide rates in our sample. Denver,
Omaha, and Boston currently rank 20, 22, and 23 in homicide rates, respectively. Further
examination is required to attempt to explain the large differences within this population
category.
Figure 3.
50.0
33.0
28.4
25.0 25.0
10.1
6.0 6.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Rate per 100,000
City
Homicide Rate in Select US Cities with Populations
Between 400,000 - 1,000,000
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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Figure 4 examines homicide rates of sample cities with populations above 1,000,000. Of
these four cities, Chicago has consistently had the highest homicide rate for the past five
years. In accordance with past years, New York City had the lowest homicide rate within our
population category and overall sample. Though the most populous city in America and
reporting the highest total number of homicides (433), the overall general risk of New York
City residents is lower than any other city in our sample.
Figure 4.
Conclusion
The overall objective of this report was to analyze homicide rates and yearly changes across
the nation. We found that American cities have considerable differences in homicide levels,
with rates as high as 71 homicides per 100,000 residents (New Orleans) and as low as five
25.1
19.0
10.0
5.0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Los Angeles, CA New York City, NY
Rate per 100,000
City
Homicide Rate in Select US Cities with Populations Above
1,000,000
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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homicides per 100,000 residents (New York City). Fluctuations in homicide levels are
common, but it is still unclear why these differences exist. Further research will be critical in
determining the causes of this phenomenon.
Unlike in 2021, we found that the homicide levels in more than half (54.2%) of our sample
cities experienced a decrease from 2021 to 2022. While this finding is promising it is
important to remember that changes in year-to-year homicide rates are not enough to identify
long-term trends. Additional research should examine five to ten years of homicide level data
to determine overall trends.
From 2021 to 2022, Rochester’s homicide rate decreased by 6.5%, a marked change from
the 56.1% increase observed in 2021. While this is certainly good news for the community, it
still leaves more to be desired. Current homicide reduction efforts may need revision and it is
still incredibly necessary to support the development of new initiatives to reduce homicides in
American cities.
The Center for Public Safety Initiatives has conducted this study for the last few years. When
the FBI releases updated data on 2022 homicides, we intend to return to this report to
compare the accuracy of our calculations against theirs. We hope this report serves as a
valuable tool for local agency leaders and policy makers in their attempts to evaluate current
strategies to decrease violence in our city.
2022 Homicide Statistics for 24 U.S. Cities
Center for Public Safety Initiatives
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About the Center for Public Safety Initiatives
The Center for Public Safety Initiatives is a unique collaboration between RIT's Department
of Criminal Justice, the City of Rochester, and the criminal justice agencies of Greater
Rochester including the Rochester Police Department and Monroe County Crime Lab. Its
purpose is to contribute to criminal justice strategy through research, policy analysis and
evaluation. Its educational goals include training graduate and undergraduate students in
strategic planning and policy analysis.
The foundation of the Center is the practice of action research in which relevant data and
analyses are brought to bear on the day to day decision-making processes of organizations.
The Center serves the practice of policy development and implementation in real-time.
To access our full library of white papers, visit our website at rit.edu/center-public-safety.
Learn more
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