Fact check: Does Chicago have a higher homicide rate than other cities in the United States of America

1. Why Headlines Differ: competing metrics make different cities look worst

Different outlets and officials use different metrics, producing contrasting headlines. Some reports rank cities by raw homicide counts, others by homicides per 100,000 residents, and still others by broader violent‑crime rates; these choices change which city appears worst. Fox News’ recent claim that Chicago had 17.47 murders per 100,000 placed it at the top of “major cities,” but that figure and classification differ from FBI tabulations and local rate calculations ^{[5] [2]}. Comparing a single year’s rate to multi‑year trends or to cities of different sizes skews public perception and can be used to support political arguments about local leadership or policy.

2. Where Chicago stands in federal data and city lists

The FBI’s 2024 figures and recent compilations show Chicago’s violent‑crime rate and homicide rate are lower than several other well‑known high‑crime cities when measured per 100,000 people. Cities like Memphis, Detroit, and Baltimore report higher violent‑crime rates per 100,000 in 2024, and Memphis reported an especially high per‑capita homicide rate of 40.6 per 100,000 in recent coverage, a figure well above Chicago’s reported rate ^{[1] [2]}. These federal and media compilations are dated October 2025 and reflect 2024 data; they are the basis for many “most dangerous” lists used in national comparisons ^[2].

3. Local reporting and politics: contrasting narratives from officials and critics

Local city officials emphasize recent declines to counter narratives of spiraling violence. Chicago’s mayoral office reported a 33% reduction in homicides and a 38% drop in shootings in the first half of 2025, and a homicide clearance rate of 77.4%, the highest in over a decade, framing the story as measurable progress ^[4]. Critics and national commentators highlight that Chicago still has a large absolute number of homicides because of its population size and that certain neighborhoods continue to experience concentrated violence, making it a politically charged statistic that supports differing policy agendas ^{[5] [3]}.

4. Memphis and the ‘homicide capital’ claim: what the numbers say

Memphis has been identified in multiple 2024 and 2025 reports as having the highest per‑capita homicide and violent‑crime rates among peer cities, with reported homicide rates exceeding 40 per 100,000, a level substantially higher than Chicago’s per‑capita rate in the same datasets ^{[1] [2]}. This distinction matters because it shows how a city with a smaller population can register a higher rate while Chicago’s larger population produces larger raw numbers but a more moderate rate per resident. The Memphis ranking is consistent across several recent analyses and was highlighted in October 2025 reporting ^[1].

5. The role of timeframes: short‑term improvements versus long‑term baselines

Shorter windows—such as year‑to‑date or six‑month comparisons—can show dramatic improvements or spikes that differ from multi‑year baselines. Chicago’s notable year‑to‑date reductions in 2025 are larger than the national average decline from 2019 to 2025, according to a July 2025 study, showing the city’s trend is both locally significant and part of a broader national pattern ^[3]. This means that a statement claiming Chicago “has the highest homicide rate” without specifying the timeframe, dataset, or comparator (major cities vs. all cities) is incomplete and potentially misleading.

6. Data limitations, classification choices, and interpretation traps

Crime reporting varies by agency, and methodological choices—such as including suburbs, counting legacy homicides, or using calendar year versus rolling 12‑month periods—affect rankings. News organizations, city press offices, and federal reports each apply different filters and definitions, so cross‑source comparisons require caution ^{[5] [2]}. Political actors may cherry‑pick a dataset that supports their claim; for example, pointing to raw totals to criticize urban policy or to per‑capita rates to highlight smaller cities’ crises. Analysts must always check the denominator and timeframe.

7. Bottom line: nuanced answer for the original question

Chicago does have a high homicide burden in absolute terms and a high violent‑crime profile compared with many large U.S. cities, but it is not universally the highest per capita; cities like Memphis and several smaller jurisdictions have recorded higher homicide rates per 100,000 residents in recent federal and media data. Recent 2025 trends show meaningful declines in Chicago’s homicides and shootings, underscoring the importance of using up‑to‑date timeframes and clearly defined metrics when comparing cities ^{[1] [4] [3]}.