Fact check: What is the current murder rate in New York City compared to Washington DC in 2025?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available data, New York City experienced 112 murders in the first five months of 2025, with 18 murders recorded in May 2025 alone, representing what officials describe as record low shootings and murders for this period ^[1]. The NYPD reported a decline across major crime categories during this timeframe.

For Washington D.C., the murder rate showed a 32% decrease from 2023 to 2024, followed by an additional 12% decrease from 2024 to 2025 ^{[2] [3]}. The 2024 homicide rate in D.C. was approximately 25 per 100,000 residents ^[4]. One source indicates that D.C. currently has a murder rate of 17.0 per 100,000 people, with violent crime reaching a 30-year low in 2024 ^[5].

National context shows homicides fell 17% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 among 30 cities that reported data ^{[6] [7]}, indicating both cities are part of a broader national trend of declining murder rates.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal several critical gaps in providing a direct comparison:

• No direct numerical comparison between the two cities' 2025 murder rates is provided in any source, despite this being the core question asked
• Population-adjusted rates versus raw numbers: New York City's data is presented in raw numbers (112 murders), while D.C.'s is given as a rate per 100,000 residents, making direct comparison impossible without population data
• Different time periods: NYC data covers five months of 2025, while D.C. data includes year-over-year percentage changes but lacks specific 2025 totals

Political controversy surrounds the reliability of crime statistics, with President Trump questioning the accuracy of D.C.'s crime data ^[2]. However, experts like Jeff Asher from AH Datalytics and Thomas Abt from the University of Maryland's Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction defend the reliability of D.C.'s murder statistics, noting they closely match FBI reports and independent sources like the Gun Violence Archive ^{[3] [4]}.

Law enforcement agencies and political figures benefit from presenting favorable crime statistics, as declining crime rates can support narratives about effective policing and governance policies.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself contains no misinformation or bias - it simply requests a factual comparison of current murder rates between two major U.S. cities. However, the question assumes that comprehensive, directly comparable 2025 data exists for both cities, which the analyses reveal is not readily available in the sources examined.

The absence of standardized reporting formats between the two cities creates challenges for accurate comparison, as NYC reports raw numbers while D.C. data is often presented as rates per capita or percentage changes. This discrepancy in data presentation could inadvertently mislead those seeking to make direct comparisons without proper context about population differences between the cities.