Which US cities had higher per-capita murder rates than Chicago in 2024?

Executive Summary — Clear answer, muddled data: Multiple analyses in the provided materials conclude that a substantial list of U.S. cities reported higher per‑capita murder rates than Chicago in 2024, but the exact list varies sharply across sources. The Newsweek-derived list identifies 22 cities above Chicago’s 17.5 per 100,000 rate ^[1], while other compilations using different datasets or population cutoffs put Chicago’s 2024 rate nearer to 21–28 per 100,000 and show a much smaller set of cities exceeding it ^{[2] [3] [4]}. The divergence stems from inconsistent data inputs, city definitions and selective samples; readers should treat any single ranked list as conditional on those choices ^{[5] [6]}.

1. A head‑to‑head: Who claims more cities beat Chicago? The Newsweek analysis presents a roster of 22 cities with higher murder rates than Chicago’s reported 17.5 per 100,000 in 2024; it lists Birmingham (58.8), St. Louis (54.1), Memphis (40.6), Baltimore (34.8) and others, down to Hartford and Little Rock at roughly 17.6–17.7 ^[1]. By contrast, Wirepoints and an associated Fox News summary report Chicago’s 2024 rate at 21.5 per 100,000, placing it above most large cities and showing only St. Louis clearly exceeding Chicago in that data view ^{[3] [4]}. Another compilation reports Chicago at 21.7 and lists several cities—St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Indianapolis—above it ^[2]. These are directly inconsistent lists that cannot all be true simultaneously without different inputs.

2. Why the tallies disagree: data, definitions and city samples explained The analyses themselves indicate the core causes of discrepancy: some lists use different baseline years, FBI or local police tallies, or city boundaries and population cutoffs. USAFacts and FBI‑based summaries point to 2023 or partial samples, raising caution about 2024 comparability ^{[5] [7]}. Wirepoints explicitly frames rankings among the largest cities only, which changes Chicago’s relative standing versus smaller jurisdictions with extremely high rates ^[3]. Other aggregations do not disclose whether they used calendar‑year counts, midyear population estimates, or metro vs. municipal borders—choices that shift per‑capita rates meaningfully ^[6]. These methodological differences are the principal reason rankings are not interchangeable ^[5].

3. The repeat offenders: cities that show up above Chicago most often Despite inconsistent totals, several jurisdictions recur across sources as having higher 2024 homicide rates than Chicago: St. Louis, Memphis, Baltimore, Detroit and New Orleans appear repeatedly in multiple compilations that place them above Chicago ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Newsweek’s broader list adds mid‑sized cities such as Birmingham, Cleveland, Kansas City and Washington, D.C., whereas other datasets limit the comparison to the 20–75 largest cities and therefore omit some smaller municipalities with extreme rates ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The overlap suggests a core set of cities where multiple methodologies converge, even if peripheral entries fluctuate by dataset.

4. How big are the gaps? Chicago’s reported rate swings matter Reported numbers for Chicago itself vary in the provided analyses: Newsweek uses ~17.5 per 100,000 ^[1], Wirepoints/Fox uses ~21.5 ^{[4] [3]}, and another compilation lists 21.7 ^[2]. That swing of roughly 4–4.2 points per 100,000 is large enough to flip Chicago above or below numerous marginal cities whose reported rates cluster in the high teens and low twenties ^[1]. Where Chicago is reported lower, many more cities exceed it; where Chicago’s rate is reported higher, only the worst‑off cities remain above it. This underscores that Chicago’s rank is highly sensitive to the specific numerator and denominator choices used by each source ^{[1] [8] [3]}.

5. The bottom line readers need: what to check before trusting a list When comparing per‑capita murder rates, verify four elements: the exact homicide count source (local police, FBI, or third‑party), the year or months covered, the population estimate and the municipal boundary used. Several summaries here explicitly note limitations—USAFacts emphasizes 2023 vs. 2024 mismatches ^[5], while council or think‑tank updates warn about sample selection among large cities ^{[6] [7]}. Watch for potential agendas: Wirepoints and politically framed outlets may emphasize rankings that bolster a narrative about a city’s governance ^{[3] [4]}. Using multiple datasets and checking methodology resolves most apparent contradictions and reveals that the claim “which cities had higher per‑capita murder rates than Chicago in 2024” has no single definitive answer without agreeing on those methodological choices ^{[1] [2] [3]}.