Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Squar
2020 was a tumultuous year in the United States. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment surged and gun sales spiked. The murder of George Floyd also rattled confidence in law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Amid the turmoil, homicide cases jumped by nearly 30%, the largest single-year increase on record.
With 21,570 murders reported in the United States in 2020, the most recent year of available data, the national homicide rate stands 6.5 incidents for every 100,000 people – the highest it has been in over a decade.
2020 was also the deadliest year in Pennsylvania in the last decade, based on FBI homicide rate data from 2011 through 2020. There were 1,009 homicides reported in the state in 2020, or 7.9 for every 100,000 people.
For context, the second deadliest year in Pennsylvania in the last decade was 2018, when the homicide rate was 6.1 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, 2014 was the least deadly year, with a homicide rate of 4.8 murders for every 100,000 people.
| State | Year with highest murder rate, 2011-2020 | Murders per 100k people in deadliest year | Total murders in deadliest year | Year with lowest murder rate, 2011-2020 | Murders per 100k people in least deadly year | Total murders in least deadly year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2020 | 9.6 | 471 | 2014 | 5.7 | 276 |
| Alaska | 2019 | 9.4 | 69 | 2012 | 4.1 | 30 |
| Arizona | 2020 | 6.9 | 513 | 2015 | 4.5 | 309 |
| Arkansas | 2020 | 10.6 | 321 | 2013 | 5.3 | 158 |
| California | 2020 | 5.6 | 2,203 | 2019 | 4.3 | 1,690 |
| Colorado | 2020 | 5.1 | 294 | 2014 | 2.8 | 150 |
| Connecticut | 2020 | 3.9 | 140 | 2016 | 2.2 | 79 |
| Delaware | 2020 | 7.4 | 73 | 2013 | 4.4 | 41 |
| Florida | 2020 | 5.9 | 1,290 | 2014 | 4.9 | 982 |
| Georgia | 2020 | 8.8 | 943 | 2011 | 5.6 | 549 |
| Hawaii | 2020 | 2.9 | 41 | 2015 | 1.3 | 19 |
| Idaho | 2016 | 2.9 | 49 | 2019 | 1.6 | 28 |
| Illinois | 2020 | 9.1 | 1,151 | 2014 | 5.4 | 690 |
| Indiana | 2020 | 7.5 | 505 | 2012 | 4.7 | 307 |
| Iowa | 2020 | 3.5 | 111 | 2013 | 1.3 | 41 |
| Kansas | 2017 | 4.6 | 134 | 2012 | 2.9 | 85 |
| Kentucky | 2020 | 7.2 | 323 | 2011 | 3.5 | 151 |
| Louisiana | 2020 | 15.8 | 734 | 2014 | 10.2 | 476 |
| Maine | 2012 | 2.0 | 26 | 2016 | 1.5 | 20 |
| Maryland | 2017 | 9.3 | 558 | 2014 | 6.1 | 362 |
| Massachusetts | 2011 | 2.8 | 184 | 2012 | 1.8 | 121 |
| Michigan | 2020 | 7.6 | 754 | 2014 | 5.5 | 544 |
| Minnesota | 2020 | 3.4 | 190 | 2011 | 1.4 | 75 |
| Mississippi | 2020 | 10.6 | 315 | 2017 | 6.4 | 190 |
| Missouri | 2020 | 11.8 | 723 | 2011 | 6.1 | 366 |
| Montana | 2020 | 5.0 | 54 | 2013 | 2.3 | 23 |
| Nebraska | 2011 | 3.7 | 68 | 2017 | 2.2 | 42 |
| Nevada | 2017 | 8.9 | 266 | 2012 | 4.5 | 124 |
| New Hampshire | 2019 | 2.4 | 33 | 2020 | 0.9 | 12 |
| New Jersey | 2013 | 4.5 | 404 | 2019 | 3.0 | 263 |
| New Mexico | 2019 | 8.8 | 185 | 2014 | 4.8 | 101 |
| New York | 2020 | 4.2 | 808 | 2017 | 2.8 | 550 |
| North Carolina | 2020 | 8.0 | 852 | 2013 | 4.7 | 463 |
| North Dakota | 2020 | 4.2 | 32 | 2017 | 1.3 | 10 |
| Ohio | 2020 | 7.0 | 820 | 2014 | 4.0 | 464 |
| Oklahoma | 2020 | 7.4 | 296 | 2014 | 4.6 | 180 |
| Oregon | 2020 | 2.9 | 125 | 2018 | 2.1 | 86 |
| Pennsylvania | 2020 | 7.9 | 1,009 | 2014 | 4.8 | 610 |
| Rhode Island | 2020 | 3.0 | 32 | 2018 | 1.5 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 2020 | 10.5 | 549 | 2013 | 6.4 | 305 |
| South Dakota | 2020 | 4.5 | 40 | 2018 | 1.4 | 12 |
| Tennessee | 2020 | 9.6 | 663 | 2013 | 5.2 | 335 |
| Texas | 2020 | 6.6 | 1,931 | 2013 | 4.3 | 1,140 |
| Utah | 2020 | 3.1 | 102 | 2013 | 1.8 | 51 |
| Vermont | 2017 | 2.7 | 17 | 2012 | 1.3 | 8 |
| Virginia | 2020 | 6.1 | 524 | 2011 | 3.8 | 304 |
| Washington | 2020 | 3.9 | 301 | 2011 | 2.4 | 163 |
| West Virginia | 2020 | 6.6 | 117 | 2013 | 3.3 | 62 |
| Wisconsin | 2020 | 5.3 | 308 | 2011 | 2.4 | 138 |
| Wyoming | 2016 | 3.4 | 20 | 2019 | 2.2 | 13 |