Child homicide rate in United States
United States: Child homicide rate was 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. ▲ Rising
Child homicide rate in United States, 1950–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100,000 people.
Analysis
United States recorded 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people for child homicide rate in 2022.
That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and up 53.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, child homicide rate in United States peaked at 6.68 deaths per 100,000 people in 1993 and was at its lowest, 1.14 deaths per 100,000 people, in 1955.
United States ranks 14th of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 73 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.14 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.44 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.9 deaths per 100,000 people | 1.47 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.71 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.57 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.93 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.13 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.11 deaths per 100,000 people | 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people | 5.1 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.63 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.07 deaths per 100,000 people | 6.68 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.78 deaths per 100,000 people | 3.52 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.13 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.11 deaths per 100,000 people | 2.74 deaths per 100,000 people | 3.37 deaths per 100,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.49 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.24 deaths per 100,000 people | 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people | 3 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 11 Guyana 5.46 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 12 Uruguay 4.97 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 13 Guatemala 4.74 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 15 Dominican Republic 3.94 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 16 Panama 3.69 deaths per 100,000 people compare
- 17 Costa Rica 3.14 deaths per 100,000 people compare
More social development data for United States
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 457,647 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 3,667 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.735 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.729 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.913 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.735 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.51 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.571 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is child homicide rate in United States?
- Child homicide rate in United States was 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest child homicide rate recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 6.68 deaths per 100,000 people in 1993.
- What is the lowest child homicide rate recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 deaths per 100,000 people in 1955.
- How does United States rank for child homicide rate?
- United States ranks 14th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is child homicide rate rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 53.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Child homicide rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 73 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides where the victim is under 20 years old, per 100,000 people in the same age-group.