2020 was a tumultuous year in the United States. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment surged and gun sales spiked. The murder of George Floyd also rattled confidence in law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Amid the turmoil, homicide cases jumped by nearly 30%, the largest single-year increase on record.
With 21,570 murders reported in the United States in 2020, the most recent year of available data, the national homicide rate stands 6.5 incidents for every 100,000 people – the highest it has been in over a decade.
2020 was also the deadliest year in Missouri in the last decade, based on FBI homicide rate data from 2011 through 2020. There were 723 homicides reported in the state in 2020, or 11.8 for every 100,000 people.
For context, the second deadliest year in Missouri in the last decade was 2017, when the homicide rate was 9.8 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, 2011 was the least deadly year, with a homicide rate of 6.1 murders for every 100,000 people.
StateYear with highest murder rate, 2011-2020Murders per 100k people in deadliest yearTotal murders in deadliest yearYear with lowest murder rate, 2011-2020Murders per 100k people in least deadly yearTotal murders in least deadly yearAlabama20209.647120145.7276Alaska20199.46920124.130Arizona20206.951320154.5309Arkansas202010.632120135.3158California20205.62,20320194.31,690Colorado20205.129420142.8150Connecticut20203.914020162.279Delaware20207.47320134.441Florida20205.91,29020144.9982Georgia20208.894320115.6549Hawaii20202.94120151.319Idaho20162.94920191.628Illinois20209.11,15120145.4690Indiana20207.550520124.7307Iowa20203.511120131.341Kansas20174.613420122.985Kentucky20207.232320113.5151Louisiana202015.8734201410.2476Maine20122.02620161.520Maryland20179.355820146.1362Massachusetts20112.818420121.8121Michigan20207.675420145.5544Minnesota20203.419020111.475Mississippi202010.631520176.4190Missouri202011.872320116.1366Montana20205.05420132.323Nebraska20113.76820172.242Nevada20178.926620124.5124New Hampshire20192.43320200.912New Jersey20134.540420193.0263New Mexico20198.818520144.8101New York20204.280820172.8550North Carolina20208.085220134.7463North Dakota20204.23220171.310Ohio20207.082020144.0464Oklahoma20207.429620144.6180Oregon20202.912520182.186Pennsylvania20207.91,00920144.8610Rhode Island20203.03220181.516South Carolina202010.554920136.4305South Dakota20204.54020181.412Tennessee20209.666320135.2335Texas20206.61,93120134.31,140Utah20203.110220131.851Vermont20172.71720121.38Virginia20206.152420113.8304Washington20203.930120112.4163West Virginia20206.611720133.362Wisconsin20205.330820112.4138Wyoming20163.42020192.213