Fact check: What are the top 5 us cities with the most reported murders in 2025

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, the top 5 US cities with the highest murder rates in 2025 are:

1. St. Louis, Missouri - 69.4 murders per 100,000 residents ^[1]

2. Baltimore, Maryland - 51.1 murders per 100,000 residents ^[1]

3. New Orleans, Louisiana - 40.6 murders per 100,000 residents ^[1]

4. Detroit, Michigan - 39.7 murders per 100,000 residents ^[1]

5. Cleveland, Ohio - 33.7 murders per 100,000 residents ^[1]

It's important to note that these rankings are based on murder rates per capita rather than absolute numbers of murders, which provides a more accurate comparison between cities of different sizes ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question asks for cities with the "most reported murders" but doesn't specify whether this means absolute numbers or rates per capita. The available data focuses on murder rates per 100,000 residents, which is the standard metric used by criminologists and law enforcement agencies for meaningful city-to-city comparisons.

Key contextual information missing from the simple ranking:

• Overall crime trends are improving: Homicide rates in 30 US cities decreased by 17% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, representing 327 fewer homicides ^[2]
• Significant variation in trends: While overall rates declined, individual cities showed dramatic differences - Denver experienced a 45% decrease while Little Rock, Arkansas saw a 39% increase ^[2]
• Chicago's actual position: Despite frequent media attention, Chicago's violent crime rate is actually lower than major cities like New York and Los Angeles according to FBI data ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself doesn't contain explicit misinformation, but it could perpetuate misleading narratives about urban crime:

• Absolute vs. per capita confusion: Asking for cities with the "most" murders without specifying per capita rates can mislead people into thinking larger cities are inherently more dangerous, when smaller cities may have much higher murder rates per resident
• Missing positive context: The question focuses solely on identifying the "worst" cities without acknowledging the significant overall improvement in homicide rates across US cities in 2025 ^[2]
• Political implications: Crime statistics are frequently used to justify political interventions, as evidenced by President Trump's threats to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago despite Chicago having lower violent crime rates than other major cities ^[3]

The framing of crime statistics can benefit political figures and media organizations who use fear-based narratives to drive engagement and support for tough-on-crime policies, even when overall trends show improvement.