Chicago Does Not Have The Biggest Murder Rate Problem In America

Homicide rates have fallen by an average of roughly 5% in 40 of the most populated U.S. cities between Q2 2021 and Q2 2023. For comparison, in Q1 2023, the homicide rate in those cities was 10% higher than Q1 2021.

The top cities in America do not want to be on that list below.  But, in a bit of good news, Chicago is no longer sitting on top of the list.  However other Midwest cities are seeing a large increase in the homicide rate.

The Biggest Homicide Rate Problem In America

In order to determine which cities have the biggest homicide rate problems, WalletHub compared 40 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q2 2023, as well as per capita homicides in Q2 2023 vs. Q2 2022 and Q2 2021.

The city with the unfortunate distinction of being on the top of that list is Memphis Tennessee.

It's followed closely by two cities in Missouri with St. Louis and Kansas City coming in 2nd and 3rd.  And while St. Louis comes in 2nd in the "total score" rankings below, it's actually number 1 in the Homicide Cases per Capita in Q2 of 2023 at a rate of 16.18 per 100,000 residents.

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Another Midwest city that has to take a look at its homicide problem, is Madison, Wisconsin.  Madison saw the 4th highest increase from Q2 of 2022 compared to Q3 of 2023.

The study also found that "blue cities" have seen a higher increase in homicide rates than "red cities".

How Is Chicago Doing With Murder Rate?

While Chicago has made national headlines for shootings and murders over the last few years, it's not the worst place in America.  It's also not the best.

Chicago comes in as the 8th worst city in the study.

The homicide rate in Chicago in Q2 of 2023 was 6.82 per 100,000 which is 9th worst in the country.  On the positive side, cases per capita dropped by 0.18 from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023 and 0.66 compared to Q2 of 2021.

You can see the full map of cities below and the full study at Wallethub.com.