How do rates of unarmed Black people killed by police compare to other racial groups when adjusted for population?
Executive summary
Black Americans are killed by police at roughly twice the rate of White Americans when adjusted for population: studies using Washington Post–based rates report about 6.1 per million for Black people versus roughly 2.4–2.5 per million for White people (rates summarized by Statista and other aggregations) [1] [2]. Multiple nonprofit databases and peer‑reviewed work also report that Black people — and Black males in particular — are disproportionately represented among those killed by police and among unarmed victims [3] [4] [5].
1. Disparity in per‑capita rates: simple, repeated finding
Across several large public databases the headline result is consistent: when deaths are divided by population, Black Americans die from police shootings at more than twice the rate of White Americans. The Washington Post’s aggregated fatal‑shootings data, summarized in Statista’s rate chart, shows about 6.2 (or 6.1 in other aggregations) Black fatalities per million people per year versus about 2.4 per million for White people [1] [2]. Mapping Police Violence and the 2024 Police Violence Report make the same broad claim from independent data collection: Black people are over‑represented among police killings and more likely to be unarmed when killed [6] [5].
2. Unarmed victims: researchers find a racial gap
Peer‑reviewed research and nonprofit compilations both identify that Black victims are more likely than White victims to be unarmed at the time of a police killing. A case‑only statistical analysis of males fatally shot by police finds that Black men are more likely to be killed when unarmed, after adjusting for factors including age, perceived mental illness, region and local demographics [4]. Mapping Police Violence’s 2024 report similarly states that most unarmed people killed by police were people of color and that Black people were more likely to be unarmed and less likely to be threatening when killed [5].
3. Different datasets, different emphases — but the pattern holds
Multiple independent efforts compile these deaths differently: The Washington Post logs on‑duty police shootings since 2015 (used in Statista summaries), Mapping Police Violence compiles media and records for a broader time span and context, and academic teams combine those datasets for statistical modeling [7] [6] [4]. Each uses different inclusion rules and adjustments, but they converge on the core finding: per‑capita Black fatality rates exceed White rates by roughly a factor of two or more [1] [2] [3].
4. Magnitudes, year‑to‑year variation, and limitations of the counts
Annual totals vary (about 900–1,200 police killings per year in recent years), and the number of unarmed victims has fluctuated (e.g., reporting indicates 53 unarmed people killed in one recent year compared with 95 in 2020 per Times‑based analyses cited in reporting) [8]. Data completeness is uneven: some state or municipal agencies do not report comprehensively to official systems, and nonprofit trackers note gaps in official counts that they attempt to fill via media and public records [5] [7]. These reporting differences affect raw counts and the composition of “unarmed” victims; researchers try to adjust but note limitations [4] [5].
5. Competing interpretations in public debate
Analysts disagree about what explains the disparity. Critics argue that heavier policing in communities with greater violent crime accounts for higher Black exposure to lethal force, pointing to crime distribution and policing patterns as alternative explanations [9]. Advocates and many researchers counter that even after adjusting for geography, age and other covariates, Black civilians face higher risks of lethal force and remain disproportionately represented among unarmed victims [4] [5].
6. Broader public‑health and community consequences
Researchers link police killings of unarmed Black persons to wider health impacts: a time‑series analysis using Mapping Police Violence data found increases in suicide among Black youth following spikes in killings of unarmed Black people, suggesting social and mental‑health consequences that extend beyond direct victims [10]. Civil‑rights groups also document population‑level mental‑health burdens and recurring community exposure to such killings [11].
7. What the available sources do not settle
Available sources do not offer a single, definitive causal model that explains the entire disparity nor a fully standardized global dataset that eliminates reporting gaps; different groups use different inclusion rules and definitions of “unarmed” and “police killing,” and researchers warn these choices affect results [7] [5] [4]. Quantities such as the role of crime rates, differential policing practices, or individual officer decisions are discussed but not definitively resolved in the cited material [9] [4].
Conclusion: Multiple independent data projects and peer‑reviewed research consistently show that, after adjusting for population, Black Americans are killed by police at roughly twice the per‑capita rate of White Americans and are disproportionately represented among unarmed victims; explanations vary across sources and scholars, and data‑collection limitations mean ongoing work is required to refine causal understanding [1] [2] [4] [5].