List of cities by murder rate

Encyclopedia

The following 50 cities have the highest murder rates in the world of all cities not at war, with a population of at least 300,000 people, and all relevant data available online.[1][2] The murder rate of a city is an imprecise tool for comparison, as the population within city borders may not best represent an urban or metropolitan area with varying rates in different areas.

All but 4 of the top 50 cities are in the Americas, with the remainder in South Africa.

Rank City Country Homicides
(2019)		 Population
(2019)		 Homicides
per 100,000
per year
1 Tijuana  Mexico 2,367 1,763,197 134.24
2 Juárez  Mexico 1,522 1,455,923 104.54
3 Uruapan  Mexico 301 351,823 85.54
4 Irapuato  Mexico 723 895,515 80.74
5 Obregón  Mexico 281 348,154 80.72
6 Caracas  Venezuela 2,134 2,858,933 74.65
7 Acapulco  Mexico 600 837,914 71.61
8 Cape Town  South Africa 3,065 4,488,545 68.28
9 St. Louis  United States 194 300,576 64.54
10 Vitória da Conquista  Brazil 205 341,597 60.01
11 Baltimore  United States 348 593,490 58.64
12 Ciudad Guayana  Venezuela 462 799,255 57.80
13 Kingston  Jamaica 680 1,180,771 57.59
14 Feira de Santana  Brazil 349 614,872 56.76
15 San Pedro Sula  Honduras 436 789,645 55.21
16 San Juan  United States 172 318,441 54.01
17 Ensenada  Mexico 275 527,584 52.12
18 Ciudad Bolívar  Venezuela 189 370,627 51.01
19 Cuernavaca  Mexico 470 923,274 50.91
20 Celaya  Mexico 262 526,166 49.87
21 Culiacan  Mexico 472 955,340 49.41
22 Natal  Brazil 645 1,334,817 48.32
23 Salvador, Bahia  Brazil 1,657 3,490,792 47.47
24 Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth)  South Africa 553 1,207,485 45.80
25 Cancún  Mexico 376 825,647 45.54
26 Cali  Colombia 1,176 2,599,468 45.24
27 Rio Branco  Brazil 183 407,319 44.93
28 Caruaru  Brazil 160 361,118 44.31
29 Guatemala City  Guatemala 1,420 3,265,546 43.48
30 Zacatecas  Mexico 151 351,397 42.95
31 Barquisimeto  Venezuela 489 1,161,709 42.11
32 Chihuahua  Mexico 391 937,233 41.70
33 Distrito Central (Tegucigalpa)  Honduras 516 1,259,646 40.96
34 Detroit  United States 273 670,031 40.74
35 Durban  South Africa 1,577 3,890,001 40.54
36 Manaus  Brazil 878 2,182,763 40.22
37 Palmira  Colombia 124 312,507 39.68
38 Morelia  Mexico 325 819,361 39.65
39 Ciudad Victoria  Mexico 139 363,577 38.27
40 Guadalajara  Mexico 1,932 5,073,583 38.07
41 Reynosa  Mexico 248 679,229 36.57
42 Johannesburg  South Africa 2,078 5,738,536 36.21
43 Minatitlán  Mexico 132 369,213 35.75
44 Cúcuta  Colombia 303 852,014 35.56
45 Recife  Brazil 1,422 3,999,817 35.55
46 Valencia  Venezuela 486 1,371,267 35.41
47 León  Mexico 697 1,987,335 35.07
48 Maturin  Venezuela 184 526,243 34.98
49 Fortaleza  Brazil 1,365 3,959,923 34.47
50 Maceió  Brazil 347 1,018,948 34.05

By country

Number of cities by country represented in the table
Country No. of cities
 Mexico 19
 Brazil 10
 Venezuela 6
 South Africa 4
 United States 4
 Colombia 3
 Honduras 2
 Jamaica 1
 Guatemala 1

See also

  • Firearm death rates in the United States by state
  • Homicide in world cities
  • List of Brazilian states by murder rate
  • List of countries by firearm-related death rate
  • List of countries by intentional death rate – homicide plus suicide.
  • List of countries by intentional homicide rate by decade
  • List of countries by intentional homicide rate
  • List of countries by life expectancy
  • List of countries by suicide rate
  • List of federal subjects of Russia by murder rate
  • List of Mexican states by homicides
  • List of U.S. states by homicide rate
  • List of United States cities by crime rate (2014). 250,000+
  • Number of guns per capita by country
  • Right to keep and bear arms in the United States
  • United States cities by crime rate (100,000–250,000)
  • United States cities by crime rate (60,000-100,000)