{"id":254197,"date":"2026-07-27T12:53:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=254197"},"modified":"2026-07-27T12:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:57:57","slug":"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\/","title":{"rendered":"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-estimated-reading-time yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-icon=\"clock\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" style=\"display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.1em\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M12 8v4l3 3m6-3a9 9 0 11-18 0 9 9 0 0118 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:1em\"><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time: <\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">1<\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minute<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center argues that America&#8217;s murder problem is far more geographically concentrated than many people realize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to researcher John Lott Jr., more than half of all murders recorded in 2024 occurred in just 63 counties nationwide. At the same time, more than half of all U.S. counties didn&#8217;t record a single murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6971902\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\">report<\/a> is based primarily on the FBI&#8217;s 2024 Supplementary Homicide Report, with Florida data supplemented using the Florida Department of Law Enforcement&#8217;s incident-based reporting system because of incomplete FBI submissions from that state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties.jpg\" alt=\"Map of U.S. counties showing the concentration of murders in 2024 based on FBI homicide data analyzed by the Crime Prevention Research Center.\" class=\"wp-image-254198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties.jpg 900w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A new Crime Prevention Research Center analysis of 2024 FBI homicide data found that just 2% of U.S. counties accounted for 54% of all murders, while more than half of counties recorded none.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>Table of contents<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-murder-remains-heavily-concentrated\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-level=\"2\">Murder remains heavily concentrated<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-concentration-remains-near-historic-highs\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-level=\"2\">Concentration remains near historic highs<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-big-cities-dominate-the-list\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-level=\"2\">Big cities dominate the list<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-policy-implications\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-level=\"2\">Policy implications<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-murder-remains-heavily-concentrated\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Murder remains heavily concentrated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The numbers paint a striking picture.  According to Lott&#8217;s analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>53% of U.S. counties recorded zero murders in 2024.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>69% of counties had one murder or fewer.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The worst <strong>1% of counties accounted for 41% of all murders.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The worst <strong>2% accounted for 54% of murders.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The worst <strong>5% accounted for 71% of murders nationwide.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those figures come despite the highest-crime counties representing a much smaller share of the nation&#8217;s total counties. The report notes that the worst 2% of counties contain about 30% of the U.S. population but account for more than half of all murders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lott argues that even those high-crime counties don&#8217;t tell the entire story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Even within those counties, the murders are very heavily concentrated in small areas,&#8221; he writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-concentration-remains-near-historic-highs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Concentration remains near historic highs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also examines how murder concentration has changed over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between 2010 and 2014, the share of murders occurring in the nation&#8217;s worst 5% of counties dipped slightly from 71% to 69%. That figure then climbed to 73% during the violent crime surge in 2020 before easing back to 71% in 2024. According to the report, the concentration of murders remains close to decade-high levels even as national homicide totals have declined from their pandemic-era peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One chart in the report shows that if the counties with the highest murder totals were excluded, the national murder rate would fall substantially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lott calculates that removing the worst 1% of counties would reduce the U.S. murder rate from 4.49 per 100,000 people to 3.31. Removing the worst 2% would lower it to 2.91, while excluding the worst 5% would reduce it to 2.42 per 100,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-big-cities-dominate-the-list\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Big cities dominate the list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report includes a ranking of counties with the highest number of murders in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Los Angeles County topped the list with 569 murders, followed by Cook County, Illinois (492), Harris County, Texas (457), <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ny-lawmakers-move-ban-child-operated-firearms\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"7299\">New York<\/a> City (325), Shelby County, Tennessee (288), Philadelphia (272), Wayne County, Michigan (266), and Dallas County, Texas (252).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-policy-implications\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Policy implications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/john-lott-bloombergs-lies-bizarre-shot-show-2015\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"7300\">Lott concludes that discussions about violent crime<\/a> should recognize how unevenly murders are distributed across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Few appreciate how most of the counties in the US has no murders each year,&#8221; he writes. <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/cprc-report-murder-isnt-a-nationwide-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"7303\">&#8220;Murder isn&#8217;t a nationwide problem<\/a>. It&#8217;s a problem in a small set of urban areas and even in those counties murders are concentrated in small areas inside them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether policymakers agree with Lott&#8217;s conclusions or not, the report underscores a point that often gets lost in national <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/concealed-carriers-rarely-commit-crimes-finds-illinois-i-team-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"7301\">crime<\/a> debates: homicide is not spread evenly across America. Instead, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/fbi-crime-data-revisions-spark-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"7302\">FBI data analyzed by the Crime<\/a> Prevention Research Center, the overwhelming majority of murders continue to occur in a relatively small number of counties and often in even smaller pockets within those communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><em>*** <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\" title=\"New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a> ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center argues that America&#8217;s murder problem is far more geographically concentrated than many people realize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":254198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"manual","footnotes":""},"categories":[4024],"tags":[132,607,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":["post-254197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-buzz","tag-news","tag-r2kba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.1 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 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FBI Report: 2% of Counties Accounted for 54% of Murders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/fbi-report-2-percent-counties-54-percent-murders\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/US_Map_Murders_Counties.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-27T17:53:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-27T17:57:57+00:00","description":"A new John Lott report analyzing FBI homicide data finds that just 2% of U.S. counties accounted for 54% of all murders in 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