Baltimore ranks among top 2 cities with homicide rate problems, according to study

With the homicide rate having decreased by an average of roughly 7% in 45 of the biggest U.S. cities between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022, WalletHub released its report on the cities with the biggest homicide rate problems. 

In order to determine which cities have the biggest homicide problems, WalletHub compared 45 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q4 2022 as well as per capita homicides in Q4 2022 vs. Q4 2021 and Q4 2020.

The study found that the cities with the highest homicides per capita include: Baltimore, Maryland, St. Louis, Missouri, Detroit, Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta Georgia. 

“Overall, the past few years have seen a marked increase in public unease and increased perceptions of disorder," Jorge X. Camacho, Clinical Lecturer; Policing, Law, and Policy Director of the Justice Collaboratory, Yale Law School said in a news release. "Increased homicide rates only contributed to this diminished outlook, even if on an individual basis someone is statistically just as safe as they were before the homicide rate increase. The fact is that most homicides are committed by people who are known by or otherwise connected to their victims; rates of homicides among strangers are comparatively lower. This means that an individual’s risk of becoming a victim of violence is not always correlated to the general rate of violence. But personal perceptions are not determined by statistics, they are determined by the information a person is receiving and, by and large, that information has been negative, including persistent media depictions of increased violence and personal risk.”

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Cities with the biggest homicide rate problems: 

1. Atlanta, Georgia 
2. Baltimore, Maryland
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Kansas City, Missouri
6. Chesapeake, Virginia
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Memphis, Tennessee
9. Jacksonville, Florida
10. Denver, Colorado
11. Colorado Springs, Colorado
12. St. Louis, Missouri
13. Raleigh, North Carolina
14. Boston, Massachusetts
15. Louisville, Kentucky
16. San Francisco, California
17. Norfolk, Virginia
18. Phoenix, Arizona
19. Minneapolis, Minnesota
20. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
21. Durham, North Carolina
22. Arlington, Texas
23. Oakland, California
24. Washington, DC
25. New Orleans, Louisiana
26. Omaha, Nebraska
27. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
28. Chandler, Arizona
29. New York, New York
30. Albuquerque, New Mexico
31. Los Angeles, California
32. Seattle, Washington
33. Virginia Beach, Virginia
34. Madison, Wisconsin
35. Garland, Texas
36. Charlotte, North Carolina
37. Tucson, Arizona
38. Lincoln, Nebraska
39. Sacramento, California
40. Nashville, Tennessee
41. Scottsdale, Arizona
42. Anchorage, Alaska
43. Fort Worth, Texas
44. Dallas, Texas
45. St. Petersburg, Florida

“Fear of random crime and violence has always been a driving force that impacts public perception of public safety, public order, and community wellbeing," Brian N. Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor The University of Virginia said in a news release. "As a result, there comes an increase in sensitivity to the overall quality of life or the standard of health, security, contentment, and happiness at both the individual and communal level when crime and violence is random. The decrease in quality of life can have effects beyond the social at the individual and communal level, to the organizational at the institutional level, and to the economic at the local, regional, state, and national level."

The study found the cities with the highest increase in homicides per capita include: Atlanta, Georgia, Kansas City, Missouri, Chesapeake, Virginia, Detroit Michigan, and Jacksonville, Florida. 

On the contrary, cities with the lowest increase in homicides per capita were listed as St. Petersburg, Florida, Washington, DC, New Orleans, Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, according to the study. 

The study also found that democratic (blue) cities have a higher increase in homicide rates then republican (red) cities.

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