Where homicide rates are highest: Blue cities in red states
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To hear President Trump tell it, the nation's murder problem is particularly bad in New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — Democratic-run cities in Democratic-led states (or district, in D.C.'s case).
- New FBI crime figures from 2024 tell a different story.
The big picture: 13 of the 20 U.S. cities with the highest murder rates were in Republican-run states. Many of those cities were run by Democrats who often are at odds with state officials, an Axios analysis of FBI data finds.
State of play: The nation's homicide rate dropped to 5 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — a rate not seen since the Obama era, when overall violent crime rates were hovering around 30-year lows.
- Many cities, including those with the highest murder rates, saw declines in homicides. Crime remains a significant concern, but Trump's criticism of big, Democrat-led cities in blue states tells only part of the story.
By the numbers: Eight of the top 10 cities with the highest murder rates and populations of at least 100,000 were in red states — Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio and Louisiana, Axios found.
- Jackson, Miss., had the nation's highest homicide rate— nearly 78 per 100,000 residents, more than 15 times the national average.
- Birmingham, Ala., was second with a homicide rate of almost 59 per 100,000 residents — more than 11 times the national average.
- St. Louis was third, followed by Memphis, Tenn.
Zoom out: Six of the next 10 cities with the highest homicide rates were in Republican-run Georgia, Ohio, Indiana and Alabama, along with Virginia and Kentucky, whose state governments are politically divided.
The intrigue: Trump's order that led National Guard troops and federal agents to patrol D.C. has drawn mixed reviews in the city, where several high-profile crimes have put a spotlight on safety.
- The city of 702,000 had a homicide rate of 25.5 per 100,000 residents in 2024, which officials say was a 30-year low. That ranked 11th among big U.S. cities last year.
- Baltimore, whose crime rate also drew criticism from Trump, had the nation's fifth-highest homicide rate at 34.8, though officials there say it was the lowest rate in five decades.
What they're saying: "No mayor in the country, myself included, is saying that we have solved this issue of violent crime," Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott told reporters Thursday.
- Scott said historic lows in cities that have had to deal with high homicide rates annually have to be acknowledged, and programs that target gun violence should be expanded.
- Scott noted that the cities Trump has called out for having high crime have Black mayors, and said the president appears to be overlooking many high-crime cities in red states.
Between the lines: 19 of the top 20 cities with the highest homicide rates have large percentages of Black residents in historically underserved communities plagued by poverty.
- Only Albuquerque, ranked 19th with a rate of 18.4, doesn't have a sizable Black population. Its population is 53% Latino or Native American.
What we're watching: Trump is threatening to deploy the National Guard to cities such as Oakland and Baltimore as part of a crackdown on crime.
Go deeper: These are the cities Trump targeted next after federalizing D.C. police
