HomicideStats.org

U.S. Homicide Analysis

2024 provisional data
CDC NVSS FBI UCR BJS

National Homicide Rate

6.2 per 100,000

20,162 deaths · CDC NVSS provisional 2024

↓ 12.7% vs 2023 National estimate

Raw counts alone miss population growth. The age-adjusted rate peaked at 8.2/100k in 2021 and has fallen 24% since.

CDC NVSS — Age-adjusted homicide mortality, 2024 provisional.
Count: 20,162 underlying cause-of-death records (ICD-10 X85–Y09, Y87.1).
CDC Homicide Data Brief →

Homicide Trends (2010–2024)

Counts and age-adjusted rates · CDC NVSS

Shaded band: ±5% reporting uncertainty on provisional years (2023–2024)

Firearm Share of Homicides

CDC NVSS 2024 + FBI SHR cross-check.
Firearm mechanism coded on death certificate; 76.2% of all homicides.
CDC NVSS Homicide →
Firearms
76.2%
Other weapons
23.8%

Weapon Type Breakdown

Non-firearm methods · FBI Expanded Homicide Data 2023

FBI UCR Expanded Homicide Data Table 8, 2023.
Percentages of total homicides where weapon type was reported.
FBI Crime Data Explorer →

Homicide Circumstances

FBI SHR · circumstance known in ~57% of 2022 cases

FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), 2022.
"Unknown" doubled since 1985 as clearance rates fell. Felony homicides = killings during another crime.
FBI SHR via CDE →

Hatched bars indicate estimates with wider uncertainty (±2–4 pp)

Homicide Roles

Criminal Homicides

>97% of gun homicide decedents
Felony circumstances: 7–25% of known cases

Justifiable Homicides (Private Citizen)

350–400 per year (FBI range)
Firearms used in 88–90% of cases
Represents <3% of total gun homicides

Victims by Race: Share vs. Population

BJS / FBI 2023 · rates per 100,000 shown below chart

BJS Homicide Report 2023 + Census population estimates.
Victim % is share of all homicide decedents. Population % is U.S. demographic share.
BJS HVUS 2023 →
Black victimization rate 21.3 / 100k
White victimization rate 3.2 / 100k

Intra-racial (Known Offender)

Decedent Race % Offender Same Race
White 81%
Black 88–91%

Homicide Rate by State

Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 · CDC 2024

CDC NVSS state-level age-adjusted homicide mortality, 2024.
D.C. excluded from map (rate 23.3, not comparable to states).
CDC State Stats →

Data Points Summary

70–80%+ of firearm homicide decedents had prior arrest records Select jurisdictions
High victim-offender overlap in gun homicides
Black Americans: 13.6% of population, 55.8% of victims (6.7× rate disparity)

Sources

→ BJS Homicide Report 2023 → FBI NIBRS / SHR → FBI Expanded Homicide Data → CDC NVSS

Methodology & Data Limitations

How homicide is counted in the U.S.

CDC NVSS counts homicides from death certificates (medical examiner/coroner determination). Includes all jurisdictions and captures cause of death regardless of arrest. Used for rates and trends.

FBI UCR/SHR/NIBRS counts crimes reported by law enforcement. SHR adds circumstance and victim-offender relationship detail but only where agencies report. Circumstance is known in ~50–60% of cases.

Counts differ: CDC 2023 ≈ 19,982 vs. FBI reported ≈ 19,200. Both are valid; CDC is preferred for mortality rates, FBI for criminal circumstances.

Why "unknown" is so large

Homicide clearance rates fell to ~50% in 2022. Without an arrest, circumstance and offender relationship often remain "unknown" in SHR data — this is a data quality issue, not necessarily that the event was unmotivated.

Unknown circumstance share rose from 22% (1985) to 43% (2022) per Council on Criminal Justice analysis of SHR data.

Justifiable homicide under-reporting

FBI "justifiable homicide by private citizen" (~350–400/yr) requires law enforcement classification. Defensive killings may be initially recorded as criminal homicides; final disposition may not update UCR.

Non-fatal defensive gun uses are excluded entirely from homicide statistics.

Prior arrest records vs. incident role

Studies in select cities (Chicago, Philadelphia, etc.) find 70–80%+ of gun homicide decedents had prior arrests. This describes victim history, not legal guilt in the fatal incident. Do not conflate with offender criminality.