Homicides in United States
United States: Homicides was 24,849 deaths in 2022. ▲ Rising
Homicides in United States, 1950–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
In 2022, homicides in United States stood at 24,849 deaths.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and up 48.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in United States peaked at 26,254 deaths in 1991 and was at its lowest, 7,418 deaths, in 1955.
United States ranks 3rd of 113 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 73 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 7,753 deaths | 7,418 deaths | 8,159 deaths | 10 |
| 1960s | 11,100 deaths | 8,464 deaths | 15,477 deaths | 10 |
| 1970s | 20,067 deaths | 16,848 deaths | 22,202 deaths | 10 |
| 1980s | 21,510 deaths | 19,510 deaths | 23,967 deaths | 10 |
| 1990s | 22,367 deaths | 16,889 deaths | 26,254 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 17,961 deaths | 16,765 deaths | 20,308 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 17,586 deaths | 15,809 deaths | 19,508 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 25,152 deaths | 24,576 deaths | 26,031 deaths | 3 |
Countries ranked near United States
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 homicides in United States?
- Homicides in United States was 24,849 deaths in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 26,254 deaths in 1991.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7,418 deaths in 1955.
- How does United States rank for homicides?
- United States ranks 3rd out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.9%. 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 Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 73 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.