Chicago has a bad reputation for homicides, and Ammo.com wanted to find out the truth. They have a new report comparing it to other cities, while also analyzing trends over the years.
Here are the highlights from our report:
- Of the 11 most populous U.S. cities (over 1 million people), Chicago consistently has the highest homicide rate.
- Chicago’s average homicide rate is 27.1 per 100,000 residents (excluding justifiable homicide and involuntary manslaughter).
- 64% of Chicago’s neighborhoods (49 of 77) had homicide rates above the national average between October 2024 and 2025.
- Chicago’s murder rate declined by 7.95% in 2024, but its peer cities had steeper declines.
We also compared Chicago to smaller cities and analyzed the most dangerous neighborhoods.
Is Chicago More Dangerous Than Other Cities?
Chicago is the most dangerous city among its peer cities. Of the 11 U.S. cities with populations over 1,000,000 people in 2024, Chicago’s homicide rate is two to four times higher than most others. Source 1
Chicago’s homicide rate in 2024 was 17.5 per 100,000 people (including justifiable homicide and involuntary manslaughter), which is more than four times that of New York City and nearly three times more than Los Angeles. Of the 1 million+ population cities, Philadelphia is the only one that comes close to Chicago’s homicide rate (16.9 per 100,000).
Although cities like Houston and Dallas also have double-digit homicide rates, Chicago is an outlier due to the combination of its large population and high homicide rate.
Please read the report and share it with others who may be interested.
Recent crime on Chicago's mass transit:
– Young woman set on fire on train
– Man stabbed on train during robbery
– Disabled woman sexually assaulted at a stationDemocrat JB Pritzker's solution?
Deploy "unarmed staff" to help with "social services." pic.twitter.com/Lo6tI34Mm1
— Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) December 17, 2025
