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2024 Homicide Rankings: Chicago, St. Louis Lead Nation Yet Again By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner, of Wirepoints Chicago was once again the nation’s homicide capital in 2024 with 573 murders – the 13th year in a row that the Windy City has suffered more murders than anywhere else in the country. New York, Houston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles rounded out the top five for most murders. St. Louis was the nation’s other murder capital when based on homicides per capita. The Gateway City suffered 52.9 homicides per 100,000 residents, marking the third year in a row St. Louis has held that title. Memphis was in 2nd-place with 38.0 homicides per 100,000. 2024 marks the second year in a row the city has been the runner-up. Rounding out the top five were Baltimore with 35.6 murders per 100,000, New Orleans with 34.1 and Detroit with 32.1. The data compiled by Wirepoints is based on 2024 homicide totals for the nation’s 75 biggest cities, assembled via year-end city police compstat reports, various news articles and other sources. Murders in 2024 continued their downward trend after peaking in the early pandemic/George Floyd period. Remarkably, Jacksonville murders fell by 48% last year, while cities like New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. dropped by more than 30%. In contrast, Chicago and New York missed most of that drop, falling just 8% and 4%, respectively. The report below includes the following sections: Homicides, America’s 20 biggest cities, 2024 Change in total homicides, 2024 vs. 2023 Change in homicides per capita, 2024 vs. 2023 Total homicides, 2024 vs. 2019 Homicides across the 20 biggest cities, 2024 The nation’s list of top five most-murderous cities has changed over time, with cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Houston, New York, and Baltimore falling on and off depending on the year. The one constant for more than a decade has been Chicago. The Windy City has always taken the top spot, often by a large margin. In 2024, Chicago’s 573 murders once again led the nation. New York came in 2nd with 377 murders, followed by Houston’s 322. Rounding out the top five were Philadelphia (269) and Los Angeles (259). Chicago also took the top spot of highest murder rate among big cities in 2024, a position usually held by Philadelphia. However, Philadelphia’s significant drop in homicides in 2024 caused its homicide rate to fall from 26.4 in 2023 to 17.3, below Chicago’s own 21.5. Indianapolis ended up in 2nd with 19.7 murders per 100,000, and Philly placed 3rd. Dallas at 14.0 and Houston with 13.9 murders comprised the nation’s top five. Chicago’s murder rate of 21.5 per 100,000 population was 3 times that of Los Angeles and nearly 5 times higher than New York’s. That’s a staggering difference. Chicago would have had just 122 homicides last year if it had the same murder rate as the Big Apple. Conversely, New York City would have suffered 1,775 murders if it had Chicago’s homicide rate (compared to the 377 it had). Total homicides, 2024 vs. 2023 Homicides have steadily declined over the past several years from their peak during the early pandemic period. That falling trend continued in 2024. In all, 19 of the top 20 cities for total homicides experienced fewer murders in 2024 as compared to 2023. Only Indianapolis stayed flat with 173 murders, same as last year. Those declines were not evenly distributed, however. Some cities experienced double-digit decreases while others saw little difference in their level of bloodshed. The nation’s best performer was Jacksonville, where homicides collapsed almost 50% versus 2023, a decrease of 76 deaths. New Orleans and Washington D.C. homicides dropped by over a third with 68 and 87 fewer murders, respectively. Philadelphia’s murders also fell by a third in 2024 with 140 less deaths – a remarkable drop considering the city has been nearly as murder-prone as Chicago in previous years. On the opposite end of the homicide decline are cities like Chicago and St. Louis. St. Louis experienced a small decline of just 7% – leaving it as the nation’s homicide-per-capita capital for the third year in a row. And Chicago’s 8% decline – 573 murders in 2024 versus 620 in 2023 – was the 4th-lowest among the top 20. Some might note that murders in Chicago’s big-city peers New York City and Houston also dropped by relatively small amounts, just 4% and 7%, respectively. But it’s important to note that both cities, especially New York, already have far lower murder rates, making big percentage drops more difficult for them. The 2024 homicide rate in Houston was just 13.9 per 100,000 and New York’s was even lower at 4.6 per 100,000, far lower than Chicago’s 21.5. Chicago’s poor performance vis-à-vis the rest of the country should give city leaders pause before celebrating the Windy City’s decline in homicides. The simple fact is the city is still experiencing far too much bloodshed. Mayor Brandon Johnson talks about getting homicides below 500 a year – but that’s far too unambitious. Chicago’s first goal should be to match the homicide rate of a city like Houston, with 13.9 per 100,000 murders. At that rate, Chicago would have just 371 murders. If Chicago finally reformed its criminal justice policies and brought down its per capita homicides to the levels of Los Angeles or New York City, its murders would fall to 181 or 122, respectively. It’s not impossible. Los Angeles and New York City used to be just as violent as Chicago in the 1990s. Homicides per capita, 2024 vs. 2023 Like above, a vast majority of cities with the most homicides per capita experienced declines in 2024, many of them significant. Greensboro, NC had the biggest year-over-year decline of 42%. The city’s homicide rate dropped from 24.5 to 14.2 per 100,000 residents. And the cities of New Orleans, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and Oakland all experienced rate declines of about a third. On the flip side, the nation’s per-capita homicide capital St. Louis saw a murder rate drop of just 8%, the nation’s 6th-worst decline out of the top 20 most-murderous cities. Atlanta’s murder rate declined just 6% over the year, falling to 24.9 murders per 100,000. And Louisville experienced a 1% drop in its rate, coming down to a rate of 23.1. Overall, 18 of the top 20 cities for homicides per capita experienced fewer murders in 2024 vs. 2023. Indianapolis stayed flat with 19.7 murders per 100,000 and Cincinnati experienced a small increase of 1% (from 22.5 to 22.8). Total homicides, 2024 vs. 2019 Most cities’ 2024 homicides, while down far from their 2020-2021 peak, are still higher than they were in 2019. Of the top 20 cities with the most 2024 homicides, 15 still had more homicides in 2024 than they did in 2019. Collectively, there were 4,205 homicides in 2024 versus 3,980 in 2019. Atlanta is the worst off with 127 homicides in 2014 – 81% more than in 2019. New Orleans homicides are still 59% higher. Louisville homicides are 55% higher. Milwaukee and San Antonio murders are still up by about a third of their 2019 levels. Chicago ranks near the middle of the list. It had 73 more homicides in 2024 compared to 2019, or 15% more. Interestingly, there are a few notable cities that have managed to drop their homicides below 2019 levels, some of them significantly. Kansas City and Dallas managed small declines of 5% and 8%, respectively. And Baltimore’s homicides are down by 42% – the result of having 147 less homicides than in 2019. Unfortunately for St. Louis, the 45 fewer murders it experienced in 2024 compared to 2019 was not enough for another city to take the title of nation’s homicide rate capital. Note: The following cities of the nation’s 75 most-populous were excluded from this report as no reliable 2024 homicide data was found: Raleigh city, NC, Miami, FL, Bakersfield, CA, Wichita, KS, Anaheim, CA, Irvine, CA, Santa Ana, CA, Anchorage, AK, North Las Vegas, NV, Chula Vista, CA, Lubbock, TX, St. Petersburg, FL, Irving, TX, Chesapeake, VA. The next-most populous cities with available homicide data were included in their place. (Graphs and such at link) https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...ead-nation-yet-again "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | ||
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Knowing is Half the Battle |
I wonder what the per capita rate would be in St. Louis if you limited the statistical area to north of Delmar, south of I-70, from the Mississippi River west to the city limits at Skinker. | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money |
We're #1! (per capita) Now you guys know why I always carry when I have to go into the City... FYI, the City divorced the County back in 1876 and this is just the City, which has declined from almost 1M to around 200K people. "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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Chellim, them is fightin’ words! Did you have a shooting at your international airport? Hell no! How many tourists get shot in your high-end downtown area? Exactly!!!! Neighborhood serial killers? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to jumping up and down, celebrating my illustrious City’s championship reign! This is better than the Bulls championship! I think we should get championship rings.  ______________________________________________________________________ "When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!" “What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy | |||
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| Like a party in your pants  |
You would never know these statistics by listening to the Chicago news sources. | |||
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Camden/Philly is happy! | |||
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| Never miss an opportunity to be Batman!  |
CPD SIG: St. Louis has had several high profile tourists killed or maimed. Two ladies from Chicago who were leaving a concert were ran over by a shithead speeding and running red lights. Then there was the volleyball player who lost her legs because Kim "I loves Criminals" Gardner let an animal out who hit the volleyball player. This lead to the downfall of Gardner. There is a significant police presence at the Airport, so no shooting inside......and the Airport is in the County. Plenty of shootings and killings of innocent drivers on the highways. I had a 10 minute conversation with the new St. Louis County Prosecutor (I know her from court). She is doing dedicated Murder Prosecution teams, replacing some of the team leaders to have better mentors for the newer prosecutors, and re-instituting the Violent Offender Team (Prosecutors who go after the 200 or so thugs who are consistently pulling triggers and robberies in the St. Louis area). Unbeknownst to me, area police chiefs, and the cops, old Wesley Bell quietly did away with the team after he found out that too many people were going to prison.  | |||
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Drill Here, Drill Now |
If Chicago shoot better they could win by a larger margin. Heyjackass.com shows a 4.5:1 ratio of wounded vs killed for 2024.  Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money |
So... you're saying we shoot better than Chicago? I guess we didn't need statistics to know that. Another win! "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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Shocked I tell you! Shocked! | |||
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Alea iacta est |
You know how to stop all those shootings? Pass another gun law. I’m certain that’s the cure.
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Man shot outside O’Hare terminal when early-morning fight escalates to gunfire by: Michael Johnson, Erik Runge, Angelica Sanchez, BJ Lutz Posted: Mar 12, 2025 / 05:50 AM CDT Updated: Mar 12, 2025 / 05:42 PM CDT CHICAGO (WGN) — One man was injured when a fight on the street outside Terminal 2 at O’Hare International Airport escalated to gunfire early Wednesday morning. Witnesses described what sounded like automatic gunfire, then people running everywhere. A bullet-shattered window outside Terminal 2 became an unwanted attraction for travelers going in and out of the airport... “The danger in our city particularly around illegal guns continues to pose a threat to the streets of Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday afternoon at an unrelated press conference... Complete article: https://wgntv.com/news/chicago...cago-police-confirm/ | |||
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A Grateful American |
 "the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! | |||
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Does Chi-Town get a parade? | |||
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Damnit! Looks like I need to do some real quick shooting lessons in the Hood… You’re making it hard to enjoy our “victory” ______________________________________________________________________ "When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!" “What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy | |||
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I know what would help.  | |||
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The 2nd guarantees the 1st |
It's a good thing Chicago has such strict gun laws or it would be even worse. Sorry, I can't even write this with a straight face.  "Even if the world were perfect it wouldn't be." ... Yogi Berra | |||
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Void Where Prohibited |
Chicago needs more social workers. Yeah, that's the ticket. "If Gun Control worked, Chicago would look like Mayberry, not Thunderdome" - Cam Edwards | |||
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Decrease in Homicides? Maybe. Track the Felonious / Aggravated assaults instead.Usually the difference lies in whether or not you make it to a Level 1 Trauma Center. End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles | |||
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Speaking of tickets, here's more on the O'Hare shooting. I'm SHOCKED that rappers were involved. Or Spirit Airlines. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2...rawl-spirit-airlines Wild shoot-out at O'Hare sparked by self-proclaimed rappers' feud after Spirit Airlines flight The shooting exposed the lack of license plate readers at O’Hare Airport, where nearly 60 shell casings were retrieved after two West Side rappers began fighting in baggage claim. By Frank Main and Rosemary Sobol Mar 13, 2025, 1:30pm CDT A wild shoot-out exposed the lack of license plate readers at O’Hare Airport, where gunmen fled in cars after wounding a self-proclaimed rapper, police sources say. “How is it that we don’t have those readers at the airport when we have them all over the city?” a police supervisor said, adding that such readers could have helped in the investigation. Nearly 60 shell casings were retrieved outside Terminal 2 after two rappers from Austin and their West Side companions deboarded a Spirit Airlines flight and got into a violent argument in baggage claim, leading to the shooting at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday. Chicago police officials haven’t announced a motive for the attack in the arrivals area on the lower level. But they know two separate groups stepped off a flight from Houston and made their way to baggage claim, where the quarrel between the rappers erupted, according to a police report and sources. Screaming expletives and throwing punches, the brawl escalated and moved into a vestibule before spilling into the street outside. After someone in the melee called a “gun car,” its occupants jumped out and began firing an AK-47-type rifle and a 9mm gun at people on the sidewalk, a police source said. “Multiple male offenders began to open fire at each other,’’ read to the police report, which showed evidence technicians recovered 57 shell casings. The groups, which one witness said “scattered,” sped away in several dark-colored or tan vehicles, the report said. Meanwhile, paramedics tended to one of the rappers, who was shot twice in both legs. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was recovering and said to be in good condition. The 25-year-old man has been arrested twice since 2021 on felony gun possession charges, court records show. Detectives interviewed someone after the attack, but no one was in custody Thursday. | |||
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