How does Washington, D.C.'s 2025 murder rate per 100,000 residents compare to 2020–2024 levels?

1. What the headline numbers show: 2023 → 2024 drop

Federal and local reporting document a sharp decline between 2023 and 2024: DOJ and PolitiFact cite 274 homicides in 2023 and 187 in 2024, and note the 2024 homicide rate of 27.3 per 100,000 people ^[1]. The U.S. Attorney’s office and the District’s press summaries characterize total violent crime in 2024 as the lowest in about 30 years and report a 35% year‑over‑year decline in violent crime from 2023 to 2024 ^[2].

2. Why you won’t find a single authoritative “2025 annual rate” yet

Annualized per‑100,000 rates require a full year of confirmed counts and a population denominator. The sources in the record provide year‑to‑date 2025 counts and short‑term trend statements — for example, MPD and research groups report falling homicide counts through mid‑2025 — but none of the supplied sources publishes a final, 2025 annual homicide rate per 100,000 for the District ^{[3] [4]}. Therefore, a direct apples‑to‑apples 2025 vs. 2020–2024 comparison using a single published 2025 rate is not found in current reporting (not found in current reporting).

3. Early 2025 signals: continued decline but partial data

Multiple analyses and MPD year‑to‑date reporting describe continued declines in 2025. The Council on Criminal Justice states the homicide rate fell 19% in January–June 2025 versus January–June 2024 ^[3]. Jeff Asher’s analysis reports 96 murders through July 2025, down 11% from the same period in 2024 ^[4]. These are consistent signals of continued reductions but remain partial snapshots, not a final annual figure ^{[3] [4]}.

4. How 2025 trends compare to 2020–2024 levels in context

From the sources: 2023 was a peak year (274 homicides, rate about 39.4 per 100,000 per some reporting), 2024 showed a substantial correction (187 homicides, 27.3 per 100,000), and 2025 through mid‑year continued the downward trajectory compared with 2024 year‑to‑date figures ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The available evidence therefore places 2025 as lower than 2023 and generally lower than 2024 on a year‑to‑date basis, but comparisons to the entire 2020–2024 period depend on which year you choose as the baseline — the spike was concentrated in 2021–2023 and has eased since ^{[4] [2]}.

5. Competing interpretations and caveats from the sources

Agencies and analysts agree on declines but differ on magnitude and framing. The U.S. Attorney and MPD portray an impressive, historic drop ^[2]. PolitiFact and PBS point out that the high 2023 rate was the basis for earlier claims that D.C. was unusually violent and that 2024’s 27.3 per 100,000 materially reduced that picture ^{[1] [5]}. Independent analysts warn that MPD open data and short‑term year‑to‑date counts can overstate or understate trends until reconciled and that final FBI/DOJ tallies may adjust totals ^[4].

6. What to watch for to make a clean comparison

To answer your original question definitively you need: (a) an official final count of 2025 homicides for the full calendar year, (b) an agreed population denominator for D.C. in 2025, and (c) the same methodology used for the 2020–2024 rates. None of the supplied sources publishes a finalized 2025 per‑100,000 annual rate; the best available material shows declines in 2025 relative to 2024 on a year‑to‑date basis ^{[3] [4]}.

7. Bottom line — concise, sourced judgment

Available reporting shows a clear reversal after the 2023 spike: 2024’s homicide rate was 27.3 per 100,000 with 187 deaths (down from 274 in 2023), and 2025 year‑to‑date figures and analyses indicate further declines compared with 2024 partial‑year counts ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. A final, official 2025 annual homicide rate per 100,000 is not published in the supplied sources and therefore cannot be cited here (not found in current reporting).