Murder rate drops to lowest level since 1900 across major US cities nationwide

Murders across the U.S. dropped last year to a historic low, according to researchers, marking a dramatic turnaround after violent crime surged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and as left-wing leaders espoused ideas like defunding their police departments and releasing repeat offenders without bail.

The Council on Criminal Justice report weighed crime statistics from 40 cities that have reported monthly data for the past eight years. It found 11 of 13 crime categories dropped in 2025 compared to 2024. Nine of them dropped by 10% or more, including homicides, which saw a 21% drop.

“President Trump promised to bring back Law and Order to the United States of America,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X Thursday morning, along with a chart from the Council on Criminal Justice showing the country saw its lowest homicide rate since 1900. “This is what happens when you have a President who fully mobilizes federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals and the worst of the worst illegal aliens.”

Trump had campaigned heavily on reining in crime, especially migrant crime, and crime in the nation’s capital dropped notably last year after the president took a hands-on role. He later ordered federal involvement in other cities.

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President Donald Trump visits with law enforcement officers at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Of 35 cities covered by the CCJ report, Denver saw the largest decline in homicides at 41%. Washington, D.C., and Omaha tied for second at 40%. Los Angeles, Buffalo, Albuquerque, Long Beach, Atlanta, Baltimore and Chicago all saw declines of more than 30%.

Three of the 35 cities did see an increase in homicides — 16% in Little Rock, 2% in Fort Worth and 1% in Milwaukee.

Violent crime as a whole fell to its lowest levels since 2019, according to the report. Car thefts fell by 27%. Burglary and shoplifting each dropped by double digits. 

According to similar data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association Violent Crime Survey, which referenced 67 of the largest police agencies throughout the U.S., the year concluded with an approximate 20% decrease in homicides nationwide. 

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), speaks during an event to sign a memorandum to send federal resources to Memphis, Tennessee, for a surge against local crime, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 15, 2025.  (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst )

The FBI’s countrywide statistics for 2025 have not yet been released but are expected to show similar results.

The numbers mark the fourth straight year in which homicide numbers declined throughout the U.S., with offenses decreasing by roughly 15% in 2024 – the largest drop on record at the time – according to data compiled by the FBI.

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NYPD officers stand guard outside the 26 Federal Plaza building as people protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York City, U.S., January 8, 2026.  (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

In 2023, law enforcement agencies saw a 13% decline in murders nationwide, after a decrease of 6% in 2022, according to the FBI.  

But homicides surged by 30% around the start of the pandemic before peaking in 2021, according to the data. In 2025, they didn’t just fall compared to 2024, they also were 25% lower than in 2019, CCJ researchers noted.

“Finally in 2023, we came over that hump, and we started to see that decline in violent crimes which continued in 2024, and now we’re starting to see that momentum pick up and continue, as we’ve seen the numbers come in for 2025,” Josh Schirard, who spent 20 years as a police officer before becoming director of Bryna Law Enforcement, told Fox News Digital.

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Jessica Tisch speaks after being sworn in as the Commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD) during a ceremony at One Police Plaza on November 25, 2024, in New York City. New Mayor Zohran Mamdani invited her to stay on the job after he took office this year. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The numbers come as some of the nation’s largest cities boasted record lows in homicides throughout last year. 

Earlier this month, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced the Big Apple saw its safest year for gun violence in 2025, with the lowest number of shootings in the city’s recorded history.

“These historic reductions in crime did not happen by chance or accident — they are the direct product of a deliberate, data-driven strategy achieving unprecedented public safety milestones for New York City,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in a statement. 

New York City also saw a reduction in overall crime, including 1,600 fewer robberies than in 2024 and a 14% decline in retail theft, according to the NYPD.

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Homicides in Philadelphia were also the lowest in 60 years, according to the city’s police department. Data indicates the city saw a total of 220 murders in 2025, the lowest since 1966.  Chicago officials touted a 30% decrease in homicides compared to 2024.

“We can’t discount the fact that we’ve seen more community involvement in the last years than we’ve seen in a long time,” Schirard said. “And once again, going back to those principles of policing that were written back in the 1800s, you know, one of the big ones that was written back then was that the police are the public and the public are the police.”

This stock image shows a forensic investigator in protective gear photographing evidence at a crime scene. According to researchers, the U.S. saw a historic low in homicides last year. (iStock)

But some cities are still struggling to combat rising violence, said Justin Keener, the president of Americans for Public Safety.

“The only cities to see rises in gun assault rates since 2019 are Chicago, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,” he told Fox News Digital.

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He praised law enforcement around the country and credited the Trump administration for turning things around while urging city leaders to continue monitoring crime statistics and adjust their priorities appropriately.

“Data shows that crime, particularly violent crime, is perpetrated by a very small percentage of individuals in each jurisdiction,” he said. “Cities like Dallas and Baltimore have shown that focusing on high-risk offenders and supporting police can have a drastic impact on violent crime.”