These Counties Are the Murder Capitals of Their State

"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, homicide rates have risen meaningfully in the United States. The annual number of reported homicides between 2014 and 2019 ranged from 15,775 to 19,393 nationwide, according to the National Center for Health Statistics . Over that period, the average homicide rate in the U.S. was 5.6 incidents for every 100,000 people. Between 2020 and 2023, however, the homicide rate surged to 7.3 per 100,000, with at least 22,800 reported homicides each year."

"The initial spike in the murder rate in the early months of the pandemic has been widely attributed to a surge in adults and teenagers remaining home amid school closures and mass layoffs, as the national unemployment rate soared into the double digits. Violence perpetrated by disconnected young men was particularly evident in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty, where economic opportunities and social engagement were already limited."

"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 80% of reported homicides in the U.S. in 2023 were committed with a firearm, up from 68% in 2014. During that period - which includes the pandemic - gun sales hit all-time highs. FBI background check data indicates that Americans bought nearly 22.7 million firearms in 2020, a 64% increase from the previous year."

U.S. homicide rates increased during the COVID-19 era, rising from an average 5.6 per 100,000 (2014–2019) to 7.3 per 100,000 (2020–2023), with annual homicides climbing from 15,775–19,393 to at least 22,800. Early pandemic spikes are linked to more adults and teenagers staying home during school closures and mass layoffs amid double-digit unemployment, with disconnected young men driving violence in high-poverty neighborhoods. Firearms accounted for a growing share of homicides, reaching 80% in 2023, and gun purchases surged in 2020 to 22.7 million. Local socioeconomic conditions such as poverty, limited opportunity, poor police relations, income inequality, population density, and housing instability shape violent crime patterns.

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