How did Washington, D.C.’s 2025 monthly homicide counts compare to the same months in 2023 and 2024?
Executive summary
Washington, D.C.’s homicide totals fell sharply from the city’s 2023 peak and remained lower through 2024 and into 2025, with mid‑year 2025 counts notably below the same months in 2024 and far below the summer 2023 surge; CCJ and DOJ/FBI‑reported counts show 274 homicides in 2023 and 187 in 2024, and CCJ and MPD reporting document further year‑over‑year declines into 2025, including a 19% drop in homicide rate in January–June 2025 versus January–June 2024 [1] [2] [3].
1. 2023: a clear peak that became the baseline for comparisons
The district’s homicide numbers spiked in 2023, registering 274 killings for the year according to DOJ and MPD‑aggregated reporting—figures repeatedly cited in national reporting and analyses as the city’s deadliest recent year and the reference point for later reductions [1] [4]. Analysts and the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) describe August 2023 as a peak month for homicides and other violent crimes, establishing a summer surge from which subsequent months in 2024 and 2025 are compared [2].
2. 2024: a substantial year‑over‑year decline from 2023
By every major public accounting cited, 2024 saw a marked drop versus 2023: DOJ‑reported totals show 187 homicides in 2024 compared with 274 in 2023, a reduction commentators frame as a large year‑over‑year fall and the start of a multiyear downward trend [1]. FactCheck.org and MPD releases corroborate a significant 2023→2024 decline—FactCheck noted a 32% drop in homicides from 2023 to 2024 in MPD statistics and CCJ placed the early‑2024 downward movement in the broader national pattern of falling violent crime [5] [3].
3. 2025 monthly counts: falling further, especially in the first half
Mid‑year 2025 data and CCJ’s mid‑year analysis show the decline continued into 2025: CCJ reports the homicide rate fell 19% in January–June 2025 compared with January–June 2024 and highlights substantial month‑to‑month reductions from the 2023 summer peak [2] [3]. Coverage and MPD summaries reference specific months—June 2025 recorded 12 homicides and was presented as a pronounced reduction from the August 2023 high point [2]. Independent trackers (Jeff Asher) estimate that through July 2025 there were 96 murders—down 11% versus the same timeframe in 2024 and down 34% versus the first seven months of 2023—illustrating that most months in early‑to‑mid 2025 saw fewer killings than their counterparts in 2023 and 2024 [6].
4. What the comparison looks like month‑by‑month in practice, and the data gaps
Available reporting consistently describes 2025 months as lower than both 2023’s surge months and most same months in 2024, but granular month‑by‑month tables for every month of 2023–2025 are not present in the supplied sources; CCJ and MPD provide mid‑year summaries and highlighted months (June and the August 2023 peak) rather than an exhaustive month‑to‑month ledger in the excerpts provided [2] [3] [7]. Where month specifics are cited, they point to fewer homicides in 2025—examples include June 2025’s 12 reported incidents and Jeff Asher’s through‑July counts—supporting the consistent narrative of 2025 months trailing the same months in 2023 and generally below 2024’s totals for the same intervals [2] [6].
5. Alternative interpretations, measurement caveats and political framing
Analysts warn that comparisons depend on the data source and the time window chosen: MPD public dashboards, CCJ’s mid‑year aggregation, DOJ/FBI annual tallies and independent trackers (e.g., Jeff Asher) do not always align perfectly, and changes in reporting, classification, or late revisions can affect month‑level comparisons [6] [3]. Political actors have seized different slices of the data—some highlighting 2023’s spike to argue for federal intervention, others pointing to 2024–2025 declines to rebut alarmism—so readers should note explicit agendas when sources emphasize particular months or metrics [5] [2].
6. Bottom line
Across the sources examined, Washington’s monthly homicide counts in 2025 were generally lower than the same months in 2023 and trended below the equivalent months in 2024—CCJ quantifies the early‑2025 reduction as a 19% fall versus the first half of 2024, DOJ/FBI and MPD tallies show a dramatic drop from 274 to 187 , and independent trackers report similar month‑by‑month declines through mid‑2025—while noting that exact month‑by‑month tallies require consulting MPD’s detailed daily/monthly dashboard or FBI CDE tables for definitive, itemized comparisons [2] [1] [6] [3].