Anyone who has been in a CVS or Walgreens in D.C. knows how everything is behind plexiglass. The latest final FBI crime data for reported crime is for 2023 (easier to read charts are shown below). (Note that we have frequently pointed out the large recent differences between reported crime and total crime, with only about 43% of violent crime and property crime reported to police (see here and here). And that D.C. has an additional problem with apparently fudging crime data to make things look better than they actually are (see here and here).) D.C.’s crime rates are remarkably high compared to the rest of the country. While these numbers provide a comparison to the country as a whole, a useful comparison is to compare D.C. to cities and D.C.’s murder rate is well above the rate in the top twenty most populous cities (see at the bottom of the page). Among the twenty most populous cities, Philadelphia had the highest with 26 murders per 100,000 people, so D.C.’s murder rate is 50% higher than the highest city in the top twenty. D.C. had the fifth highest murder rate among the 60 most populous city in the U.S. in 2023.
— D.C.’s violent crime rate is 54% higher than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 220% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s murder rate is 169% higher than the highest state, Louisiana. It is 523% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s murder rate is 67% lower than the highest state, Alaska. But it is 191% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s robbery rate is an incredible 370% higher than the highest state, Maryland. It is 955% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s aggravated assault rate is 25% lower than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 140% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s property crime rate is 49% higher than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 134% higher than the average.
Murder rates by City in 2023, note D.C.’s murder rate was 39.0.
New York City, NY — 3.3
Los Angeles, CA — 8.56
Chicago, IL — 18.99
Houston, TX — 14.89
Phoenix, AZ — 11.50
Philadelphia, PA — 25.99
Dallas, TX — 18.54
San Antonio, TX — 10.94
San Diego, CA — 2.90
Jacksonville, FL — 12.8
Fort Worth, TX — 8.73
San Jose, CA — 3.6
Austin, TX — 6.74
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC — 9.39
Columbus, OH — 10.45
Indianapolis, IN — 24.5
San Francisco, CA — 5.9
Seattle, WA — 9.02
Denver, CO — 11.93
Oklahoma City, OK — 8.99
Other cities are Portland, OR — 11.82; Boston, MA — 5.29.
