BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide trends in the United States

by James Alan Fox, The Lipman Family Professor 

of Criminal Justice, Northeastern University 

and 

Marianne W. Zawitz, BJS Statistician 

This site contains a series of charts that describe 

homicide patterns and trends in the United 

States since 1976. 

Homicide is of interest not only because of its 

severity but also because it is a fairly reliable 

barometer of all violent crime. At a national 

level, no other crime is measured as accurately 

and precisely. 

The data on this site may differ slightly from 

previously published figures because of updates 

to the data files after publication and the 

imputation methods used. 

The latest updates and additions: 

What's new in Homicide Trends 

The Supplemental Homicide Reports that are the 

primary data source for this presentation are 

available at the: 

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data 

Additional violent crime information: 

z Key Facts at a Glance 

z Crime and Victims 

 Contents

z Overview 

z Long term trends and patterns 

z Demographic trends by 

{ Age 

 - Infanticide

 - Eldercide 

{ Gender 

{ Race 

{ Age, gender, and race 

z Victim/offender relationship

{ Intimate homicide

{ Family homicide 

z Law enforcement officers killed 

z Multiple victims and offenders 

z Circumstances 

z Weapons trends 

z Regional trends 

z Trends by city size 

z Clearances 

z Justifiable homicides 

z About the data 

Print version PDF format (1.1M) 

Production assistance for this website was provided by Timothy Kearley and Priscilla Middleton of 

BJS. Erica Smith, BJS statistician, provided the statistical review. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Overview 

z Long term trends 

z Demographic trends by 

{ Age 

 - Infanticide

 - Eldercide 

{ Gender 

{ Race 

{ Age, gender, and race 

z Victim/offender relationship

{ Intimates 

{ Family 

z Law enforcement officers killed 

z Multiple victims and offenders 

z Circumstances 

z Weapons trends 

z Regional trends 

z Trends by city size 

z Clearances 

z Justifiable homicides 

z Additional information about the data 

Link to full size versions of the graphics, additional findings, and links to the data: 

Long term trends 

Homicide rates recently declined to levels last seen in the 

late 1960's

z Homicide victimization rates, 1950-2005 

z Number of homicides, 1950-2005 

To the top

Demographic trends 

Age

Older teens and young adults have the highest homicide 

victimization and offending rates

z Homicide victimization rates by age, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending rates by age, 1976-2005 

z Average age of homicide victims and offenders, 1976-2005

z Homicide victimization rates by age, 1980-2004, an 

animation 

z Homicide offending rates by age, 1980-2004, an animation

z Percent of homicides in which the offender was known to 

the victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

To the top
- Infanticide 

The number of homicides of children under age 5 

increased through the mid 1990's, but declined recently

z The number of homicides of children under age 5 by race, 

1976-2005 

z Homicide victimization rates for children under age 5 by 

race, 1976-2005 

z The number of homicides of children under age 5 by age of 

victim, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of children under age 5 by relationship to the 

offender, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of children under age 5 by gender of victim and 

offender, 1976-2005 

To the top 

- Eldercide 

For persons age 65 or older, both the number of homicides

and homicide victimization rates declined through 2000 

and then stabilized 

z Homicides of persons age 65 and older by gender of victim, 

1976-2005 

z Homicide victimization and offending rates for persons age 

65 and older, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides committed during a felony by age of 

victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

To the top 

Gender

Most victims and perpetrators in homicides are male 

z Homicide victimization rates by gender, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending rates by gender, 1976-2005 

To the top

Race 

Racial differences exist, with blacks disproportionately 

represented among homicide victims and offenders

z Homicide victimization rates by race, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending rates by race, 1976-2005 

z Homicides by race of victim and offender, 1976-2005 

z Stranger and acquaintance homicides by race of victim and 

offender, 1976-2005 
To the top

Age, gender, and race 

Patterns of victimization and offending vary by age, 

gender, and racial group 

z Homicide victimization rates by age, gender, and race, 

1976-2005 

z Homicide offending rates by age, gender, and race, 1976-

2005 

z Young males as a proportion of the population, homicide 

victims, and homicide offenders by race, 

1976-2005

To the top

Victim/offender relationship

Most homicides with known victim/offender relationships 

involved people who knew each other 

z The number of homicides by victim/offender relationship, 

1976-2005 

z The number of homicides by victim/offender relationship 

and weapon use, 1976-2005 

- Intimates 

There has been a decline in homicide of intimates, 

especially male victims 

z Homicides of intimates by gender of victim, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of intimates by gender and race of victim, 1976-

2005 

z Proportion of all homicides involving intimates by gender of 

victim, 1976-2005 

z Number of homicides of intimates by relationship of the 

victim to the offender, 1976-2005 

z Intimate homicide rates by race, gender and relationship, 

1976-2005 

z Intimate homicides by type of weapon and gender of 

victim, 1976-2005 

To the top 

- Family 

Family homicides most often involve spouses or exspouses although such crimes declined recently

z Family homicides by relationship, 1976-2005 

z Family homicides by relationship and race of victim,, 1976-
2005 

z Number of homicides of parents by gender of victim and 

offender and age of offender, 1976-2005 

z Number of homicides of siblings by gender of victim and 

offender and age of offender, 1976-2005 

To the top 

Law enforcement officers 

The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line 

of duty has declined since the early 1970's

z Law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, 1973-

2005 

z Law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty by 

weapon type, 1973-2005

To the top 

Multiple victims and offenders

Few homicides involve multiple offenders and fewer 

involve multiple victims

z Percent of homicides involving multiple offenders or 

multiple victims, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving multiple victims by number 

of victims, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving multiple offenders by age of 

offender, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving guns by number of victims, 

1976-2005 

To the top

Circumstances

The mix of circumstances surrounding homicides has 

changed over the last two decades

z Number of homicides by circumstance, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving guns by circumstance, 1976-

2005 

To the top

Weapons trends

Homicides are most often committed with guns, 

especially handguns 
z Homicides by weapon type, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending by weapon type and age of offender, 

1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving guns by age of victim, 1976-

2005 aggregate 

To the top 

Regional trends

In recent years, all regions have experienced a decline in 

homicide rates

z Homicide victimization rates by region, 1976-2005 

z Gun homicide victimization rates by region, 1976-2005 

z Teen homicide offending rates by region, 1976-2005 

To the top 

Trends by city size

 

Changes in homicide trends have been driven by changes 

in the number of homicides in large American cities

z Number of homicides in urban, suburban, and rural areas, 

1976-2005 

z Homicide victimization rates by size of city, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending rates by size of city, 1976-2005 

z Percent of all homicides involving intimates by urban, 

suburban, and rural area, 1976-2005 

To the top

Clearances

The percentage of homicides cleared by arrest has been 

declining 

z Percent of homicides cleared by arrest, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides cleared by age of victim, 1976-2005 

aggregate 

To the top

Justifiable homicides

The number of justifiable homicides has been declining 

z Number of justifiable homicides by police and citizens, 

1976-2005 

z Number of justifiable homicides by police and citizens by 

circumstance, 1976-2005 
z Percent of justifiable homicides by police and citizens by 

age of victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

To the top

Additional information about the data 

Data sources, methodology, and related sites 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Long term trends and patterns 

Homicide rates recently declined to 

levels last seen in the late 1960's 

z The homicide rate nearly doubled from the mid 1960's to the late 1970's. 

z In 1980, it peaked at 10.2 per 100,000 population and subsequently fell off to 7.9 per 

100,000 in 1984. 

z It rose again in the late 1980's and early 1990's to another peak in 1991 of 9.8 per 100,000.

z From 1992 to 2000, the rate declined sharply. Since then, the rate has been stable. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1950-2005 

See also Key Facts at a Glance chart on Homicide victimization rates since 1900

based on data from the Vital Statistics of the United States. 

After falling rapidly in the mid to late 1990's, the 

number of homicides began increasing in 1999 

but remain at levels below those experienced in 

the early 1970's 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Long term trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Homicide victimization, 1950-2005 

Year Homicide rate per 100,000 population

Estimated number of 

homicides 

1950 4.6 7,020

1951 4.4 6,820

1952 4.6 7,210

1953 4.5 7,210

1954 4.2 6,850

1955 4.1 6,850

1956 4.1 6,970

1957 4.0 8,060

1958 4.8 8,220

1959 4.9 8,580

1960 5.1 9,110

1961 4.8 8,740

1962 4.6 8,530

1963 4.6 8,640

1964 4.9 9,360

1965 5.1 9,960

1966 5.6 11,040

1967 6.2 12,240

1968 6.9 13,800

1969 7.3 14,760

1970 7.9 16,000

1971 8.6 17,780

1972 9.0 18,670

1973 9.4 19,640

1974 9.8 20,710

1975 9.6 20,510

1976 8.8 18,780

1977 8.8 19,120

1978 9.0 19,560

1979 9.7 21,460

1980 10.2 23,040

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1981 9.8 22,520

1982 9.1 21,010

1983 8.3 19,308

1984 7.9 18,692

1985 7.9 18,976

1986 8.6 20,613

1987 8.3 20,096

1988 8.4 20,675

1989 8.7 21,500

1990 9.4 23,438

1991 9.8 24,703

1992 9.3 23,760

1993 9.5 24,526

1994 9.0 23,326

1995 8.2 21,606

1996 7.4 19,645

1997 6.8 18,208

1998 6.3 16,974

1999 5.7 15,522

2000 5.5 15,586

2001 5.6 16,039

2002 5.6 16,229

2003 5.7 16,582

2004 5.5 16,137

2005 5.6 16,692

Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1950-2005 

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[D] 

Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1950-2005 

The demographic characteristics of homicide 

victims and offenders differ from the general 

population 

Based on data for the years 1976-2005 - 

z Blacks are disproportionately represented as both homicide victims and offenders. The 

victimization rates for blacks were 6 times higher than those for whites. The offending rates 

for blacks were more than 7 times higher the rates for whites. 

z Males represent 77% of homicide victims and nearly 90% of offenders. The victimization 

rates for males were 3 times higher than the rates for females. The offending rates for males 

were 8 times higher than the rates for females. 

z Approximately one-third of murder victims and almost half the offenders are under the age of

25. For both victims and offenders, the rate per 100,000 peaks in the 18-24 year-old age 

group. 

Victims and Offenders by Demographic Group, 1976-2005 

 Percent of -

Rate per 100,000 

population

 Victims Offenders Population Victims Offenders

 Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 7.8 8.7 

Age 

Under 

14 4.8% .5% 20.5% 1.8 .2 

14-17 5.0% 10.4% 6.1% 6.4 14.9 

18-24 23.9% 36.6% 10.8% 17.0 29.3 

25-34 28.8% 28.4% 15.7% 14.2 15.8 

35-49 22.8% 17.3% 20.5% 8.6 7.3 

50-64 9.3% 5.1% 14.2% 5.1 3.1 
Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information about the Data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

65+ 5.3% 1.7% 12.3% 3.4 1.2 

Gender 

Male 76.5% 88.8% 48.8% 12.3 15.8 

Female 23.5% 11.2% 51.2% 3.6 1.9 

Race 

White 50.9% 45.8% 83.7% 4.7 4.8 

Black 46.9% 52.2% 12.3% 29.6 36.9 

Other 2.1% 2.0% 4.0% 4.1 4.4 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide trends in the U.S. 

Age trends 

Young adults have the highest 

homicide victimization and offending

rates 

Homicide victimization rates for teens and young 

adults increased rapidly in the late 1980's while 

rates for older age groups declined; after the 

early 1990's rates declined for all age groups 

z For children under age 14, homicide victimization rates are the lowest of all age groups. Their

homicide victimization rates declined to the lowest level recorded in 2000 and have remained 

stable since then. 

z For young teens (14-17 years old), the homicide victimization rate increased almost 150% 

from 1985 to 1993. Since 1993 the victimization rates for young teens have declined to 

levels similar to those experienced from 1976-85. 

z Older teens and young adults (18-24 years old) experienced the highest homicide 

victimization rates, a change from the late 1970's when 25-34 year-olds had the highest 

rates. Since 1993 their vtimization rates have declined but still remain higher than the levels 

of the mid-1980's. 

z For adults ages 35-49 and 50 and older, homicide victimization rates have remained stable in

recent years. 

z 25-34 year-olds experienced an increase in homicide victimization rates since 1999 when it 

was the lowest ever recorded. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
[D] 

View an animation of homicide victimization rates by age from 1980 to 2004.

Additional detail is available about homicides of children under age 5, infanticide, and 

homicides of persons age 65 and older, eldercide. 

For more information about age patterns in violent victimization see Key Facts at a Glance. 

Homicide offending rates followed a similar 

pattern 

z Offending rates for teens (14-17 years old) and young adults (18-24 years old) increased 

dramatically in the late 1980's while rates for older age groups declined. 

z Offending rates for children under age 14 increased in the late 1980's and early 1990's, but 

fell to the lowest level recorded in 2003. 

z Young adults (18-24 years -old) have historically had the highest offending rates and their 

rates nearly doubled from 1985 to 1993. Since 1993 offending rates for 18-24 year-olds have

declined but remain slightly higher than levels prior to the mid 1980's. 

z Offending rates of teens (14-17 years old) increased rapidly after 1985, surpassing the rates 

of 25-34 year-olds. After 2000, the offending rates for young teens reached the lowest levels 

recorded and fell below those for 25-34 year-olds. 

z Offending rates for 25-34 year-olds fell from 1991 through 1999 but have increased since 

1999. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Victimization Rates per 

100,000 Population by Age 

Under 

14

14-

17

18-

24

25-

34

35-

49 50+

1976 1.8 4.5 13.8 15.4 12.6 6.8

1977 1.9 4.9 14.3 15.5 12.3 6.6

1978 1.9 5.1 14.6 16.1 12.2 6.3

1979 1.8 5.2 16.5 17.5 12.8 6.7

1980 1.8 5.9 17.5 18.5 13.2 6.8

1981 1.9 5.0 16.0 17.5 13.0 6.7

1982 2.0 4.8 15.0 15.7 11.8 6.2

1983 1.8 4.5 13.8 14.6 10.5 5.5

1984 1.7 4.2 13.2 13.8 10.0 5.1

1985 1.8 4.9 13.2 13.9 9.9 5.0

1986 2.0 5.2 15.3 15.2 10.1 5.0

1987 1.8 5.8 15.5 14.7 9.4 4.9

1988 2.0 6.5 16.4 15.3 9.2 4.7

1989 2.1 7.9 18.2 15.6 9.2 4.6

1990 2.0 9.7 21.1 16.7 9.9 4.4

1991 2.1 11.1 23.9 16.7 10.0 4.5

1992 2.0 11.3 23.4 16.1 9.4 4.2

1993 2.2 12.1 24.4 16.1 9.5 4.2

1994 2.0 11.2 23.6 15.4 8.9 3.8

1995 1.9 11.0 21.5 13.8 8.2 3.8

1996 1.9 9.1 19.5 12.4 7.7 3.4

1997 1.7 7.3 19.1 11.4 6.8 3.2

1998 1.7 6.2 17.5 10.7 6.5 2.8

1999 1.6 5.9 15.4 9.9 5.9 2.6

2000 1.4 4.8 15.0 10.3 5.7 2.5

2001 1.5 4.6 15.4 10.7 5.6 2.6

2002 1.5 4.5 15.3 11.0 5.7 2.5

2003 1.4 4.3 15.7 11.3 5.7 2.6

2004 1.4 4.6 14.3 11.1 5.6 2.6

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2005 1.4 4.8 14.9 11.6 5.7 2.6

Homicide Victims by Age 

Under 

14

14-

17

18-

24

25-

34

35-

49 50+

1976 872 757 3,861 4,918 4,390 3,737

1977 885 807 4,064 5,128 4,322 3,672

1978 894 833 4,192 5,449 4,365 3,565

1979 846 844 4,785 6,109 4,648 3,834

1980 863 950 5,146 6,845 4,885 3,957

1981 894 796 4,768 6,802 4,835 4,010

1982 945 743 4,438 6,189 4,625 3,739

1983 858 678 4,043 5,857 4,261 3,311

1984 833 630 3,842 5,634 4,210 3,112

1985 857 716 3,796 5,808 4,302 3,086

1986 961 758 4,335 6,445 4,521 3,105

1987 880 834 4,289 6,289 4,376 3,059

1988 1,003 934 4,438 6,605 4,433 2,933

1989 1,023 1,131 4,834 6,740 4,591 2,889

1990 999 1,296 5,650 7,215 5,085 2,829

1991 1,087 1,487 6,304 7,178 5,314 2,901

1992 1,026 1,537 6,055 6,856 5,217 2,741

1993 1,167 1,674 6,364 6,903 5,292 2,798

1994 1,088 1,575 6,099 6,500 5,092 2,570

1995 1,028 1,595 5,455 5,755 4,827 2,586

1996 1,050 1,354 4,885 5,069 4,658 2,351

1997 943 1,115 4,720 4,619 4,233 2,231

1998 959 967 4,331 4,253 4,074 2,026

1999 882 915 3,901 3,868 3,763 1,936

2000 814 767 3,950 4,009 3,770 1,958

2001 887 753 4,172 4,116 3,750 2,027

2002 838 732 4,232 4,193 3,828 2,047

2003 815 713 4,427 4,292 3,839 2,138

2004 789 773 4,085 4,209 3,757 2,241

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 798 827 4,329 4,389 3,805 2,249

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[D] 

View an animation of homicide offending rates by age from 1980 to 2004. 

For more information about age patterns in violent offending see Key Facts at a Glance. 

After many years of decline, the average age of 

both victims and offenders has leveled off 

The average age of -- 

z victims is greater than that of offenders and fell from 35.2 years in 1976 to 31.3 years in 

1994 

z offenders fell from about 30.3 years in 1976 to 26.4 years in 1994 

z both offenders and victims has increased slightly in recent years yet remains lower than it 

was prior to the mid-1980's 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

Young victims were more likely to know the 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Offending Rates per 100,000 

Population by Age

Under 

14

14-

17

18-

24

25-

34

35-

49 50+

1976 .2 11.4 22.8 19.4 10.7 3.7

1977 .2 10.7 22.8 18.6 10.9 3.7

1978 .3 10.5 24.0 18.9 10.9 3.5

1979 .2 12.4 26.8 20.4 11.3 3.7

1980 .2 13.0 30.0 22.6 12.8 3.6

1981 .2 12.2 26.6 20.2 12.3 3.5

1982 .2 11.1 25.1 19.1 10.8 3.1

1983 .2 10.2 23.0 17.4 9.8 2.7

1984 .2 9.2 22.2 16.9 9.1 2.8

1985 .2 10.5 22.2 16.0 9.1 2.8

1986 .2 12.7 24.4 17.5 9.4 2.7

1987 .2 12.9 25.2 16.2 8.8 2.7

1988 .2 16.8 27.9 16.3 8.6 2.6

1989 .3 18.5 31.6 16.4 8.0 2.3

1990 .2 25.7 36.1 17.4 8.2 2.3

1991 .3 28.1 42.7 18.0 7.5 2.1

1992 .3 28.0 39.6 16.4 7.2 2.1

1993 .3 31.3 42.8 15.6 7.0 2.2

1994 .4 31.2 40.8 14.9 6.8 1.8

1995 .3 25.1 37.8 13.9 6.4 1.8

1996 .2 21.0 36.9 12.8 5.8 1.7

1997 .2 17.5 34.0 12.3 5.2 1.7

1998 .2 13.7 31.8 12.0 5.3 1.5

1999 .2 11.1 28.5 10.9 4.7 1.5

2000 .1 9.5 28.1 11.5 4.8 1.4

2001 .1 9.3 28.4 12.1 4.8 1.3

2002 .1 9.0 26.9 12.8 4.9 1.3

2003 .1 8.8 26.7 12.7 5.0 1.4

2004 .1 9.1 25.2 12.6 5.0 1.4

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2005 .1 9.3 26.5 13.5 5.1 1.4

Homicide Offenders by Age 

Under 

14

14-

17 18-24 25-34

35-

49 50+

1976 107 1,903 6,379 6,204 3,714 2,045

1977 104 1,771 6,461 6,144 3,830 2,078

1978 125 1,709 6,879 6,389 3,905 1,975

1979 94 1,996 7,752 7,117 4,109 2,117

1980 111 2,087 8,841 8,349 4,722 2,091

1981 86 1,940 7,944 7,839 4,598 2,068

1982 94 1,734 7,432 7,531 4,234 1,854

1983 84 1,557 6,756 7,002 3,979 1,630

1984 73 1,359 6,459 6,927 3,808 1,711

1985 97 1,545 6,386 6,684 3,947 1,713

1986 98 1,851 6,911 7,422 4,229 1,667

1987 118 1,867 6,979 6,957 4,114 1,669

1988 106 2,421 7,550 7,021 4,121 1,613

1989 129 2,638 8,382 7,110 4,002 1,448

1990 100 3,428 9,693 7,521 4,241 1,482

1991 142 3,777 11,250 7,717 4,005 1,377

1992 150 3,827 10,255 6,975 3,954 1,388

1993 168 4,320 11,186 6,656 3,888 1,420

1994 209 4,384 10,525 6,295 3,868 1,208

1995 151 3,653 9,605 5,786 3,762 1,254

1996 99 3,126 9,242 5,259 3,520 1,164

1997 106 2,677 8,403 4,998 3,256 1,164

1998 105 2,133 7,885 4,789 3,322 1,087

1999 91 1,736 7,202 4,259 3,015 1,099

2000 73 1,533 7,416 4,491 3,145 1,083

2001 52 1,512 7,705 4,660 3,192 1,045

2002 66 1,477 7,450 4,880 3,282 1,093

2003 79 1,474 7,523 4,816 3,368 1,155

2004 83 1,546 7,230 4,753 3,380 1,216

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 60 1,612 7,714 5,116 3,410 1,216

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by age 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Mean Age of Victims and 

Offenders

Victims Offenders

1976 35.2 yrs. 30.3 yrs.

1977 34.7 30.5 

1978 34.3 30.2 

1979 34.4 29.9 

1980 34.1 29.6 

1981 34.4 30.0 

1982 34.4 29.9 

1983 34.3 29.9 

1984 34.3 30.3 

1985 34.1 30.2 

1986 33.5 29.8 

1987 33.6 29.8 

1988 33.0 29.1 

1989 32.5 28.3 

1990 32.0 27.7 

1991 31.6 26.9 

1992 31.7 27.0 

1993 31.4 26.6 

1994 31.3 26.4 

1995 31.6 27.0 

1996 31.6 27.0 

1997 31.9 27.3 

1998 31.7 27.7 

1999 32.0 28.1 

2000 32.2 28.2 

2001 32.0 28.0 

2002 32.2 28.4 

2003 32.3 28.5 

2004 32.6 28.8 

2005 32.3 28.5 

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offender than older victims 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

The age distribution of homicide victims and 

offenders differs by type of homicide 

For the years 1976-2005 combined - 

z Almost one-quarter of the victims of gang-related killings were under the age of 18. Juveniles

were also unusually involved as victims of family members, sex-related homicides, and 

homicide by arson or poison. 

z Felony-murder, workplace murder, arson, and poison homicides claimed a relatively large 

percentage of older victims (ages 50 and over). 

Homicide Type by Age, 1976-2005

Victims Offenders

Under 

18 18-34 35-49 50+ 

Under

18 18-34 35-49 50+

All homicides 9.8% 52.7% 22.8% 14.7% 10.9% 65.0% 17.3% 6.8%

Victim/offender 

relationship 

Intimate 1.5% 46.7% 34.3% 17.5% 1.0% 46.2% 34.9% 17.9%

Family 19.6% 31.9% 26.4% 22.1% 6.0% 49.1% 28.1% 16.8%

Infanticide 100.0% 7.9% 81.3% 9.7% 1.1%

Eldercide 100.0% 10.3% 49.2% 19.1% 21.4%

Circumstances 

Felony murder 7.6% 46.9% 21.8% 23.8% 14.8% 72.9% 10.3% 2.0%

Sex related 19.6% 45.1% 16.6% 18.7% 10.7% 73.6% 13.7% 2.0%

Drug related 5.4% 71.4% 19.9% 3.3% 10.6% 76.9% 11.3% 1.2%
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Victims who knew the offender by victim age

Known Stranger/Unsolved

Age Number Percent Number Percent 

0 6,405 85.9% 1,051 14.1%

1 3,782 86.5% 588 13.5%

2 2,978 86.1% 479 13.9%

3 1,752 81.4% 402 18.6%

4 1,215 79.6% 311 20.4%

5 871 78.1% 243 21.9%

6 661 73.1% 243 26.9%

7 619 72.6% 233 27.4%

8 572 71.2% 232 28.8%

9 525 67.0% 259 33.0%

10 517 67.1% 254 32.9%

11 517 64.1% 289 35.9%

12 718 63.1% 420 36.9%

13 961 58.3% 686 41.7%

14 1,658 55.1% 1,354 44.9%

15 2,655 50.0% 2,658 50.0%

16 4,007 46.9% 4,531 53.1%

17 5,854 46.4% 6,774 53.6%

18 7,411 45.2% 8,985 54.8%

19 8,932 45.2% 10,845 54.8%

20 9,097 43.6% 11,746 56.4%

21 9,463 45.5% 11,350 54.5%

22 9,696 46.0% 11,393 54.0%

23 9,804 47.4% 10,884 52.6%

24 9,527 47.2% 10,658 52.8%

25 9,818 45.4% 11,788 54.6%

26 9,350 48.4% 9,953 51.6%

27 8,871 48.4% 9,465 51.6%

28 8,622 49.8% 8,700 50.2%

29 8,546 50.3% 8,437 49.7%

30 8,742 48.3% 9,357 51.7%

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31 7,625 51.7% 7,127 48.3%

32 7,800 52.3% 7,117 47.7%

33 7,054 52.2% 6,455 47.8%

34 7,161 53.4% 6,255 46.6%

35 7,026 51.0% 6,746 49.0%

36 6,229 53.0% 5,531 47.0%

37 6,166 55.5% 4,935 44.5%

38 5,914 54.8% 4,886 45.2%

39 5,627 55.1% 4,589 44.9%

40 5,565 52.2% 5,102 47.8%

41 4,859 54.6% 4,041 45.4%

42 4,950 54.4% 4,157 45.6%

43 4,327 54.7% 3,585 45.3%

44 4,076 55.9% 3,211 44.1%

45 4,071 54.0% 3,472 46.0%

46 3,547 53.9% 3,033 46.1%

47 3,445 54.8% 2,845 45.2%

48 3,163 56.2% 2,470 43.8%

49 3,048 55.5% 2,448 44.5%

50 3,137 52.8% 2,804 47.2%

51 2,449 53.0% 2,169 47.0%

52 2,564 53.3% 2,249 46.7%

53 2,277 52.5% 2,059 47.5%

54 2,307 55.6% 1,843 44.4%

55 2,144 53.4% 1,867 46.6%

56 1,932 52.7% 1,733 47.3%

57 1,860 53.5% 1,617 46.5%

58 1,674 54.9% 1,378 45.1%

59 1,543 52.8% 1,379 47.2%

60 1,563 49.5% 1,597 50.5%

61 1,392 51.8% 1,296 48.2%

62 1,452 50.5% 1,423 49.5%

63 1,326 52.7% 1,192 47.3%

64 1,147 52.1% 1,054 47.9%

65 1,328 52.3% 1,210 47.7%

66 965 52.3% 879 47.7%

67 1,039 51.0% 999 49.0%

68 946 51.5% 890 48.5%

69 884 51.7% 825 48.3%

70 914 49.3% 939 50.7%

71 765 50.0% 766 50.0%

72 841 49.1% 872 50.9%

73 726 51.8% 676 48.2%

74 722 51.1% 690 48.9%

75 728 51.7% 681 48.3%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

76 598 48.9% 625 51.1%

77 578 50.8% 561 49.2%

78 534 49.6% 543 50.4%

79 508 47.0% 572 53.0%

80 505 48.5% 537 51.5%

81 379 43.4% 494 56.6%

82 421 49.8% 423 50.2%

83 322 45.2% 390 54.8%

84 293 45.7% 348 54.3%

85 259 43.8% 333 56.2%

86 257 46.2% 299 53.8%

87 180 42.5% 243 57.5%

88 143 39.1% 222 60.9%

89 117 41.7% 164 58.3%

90 113 41.6% 158 58.4%

Bureau of Justice Statistics Homicide Trends in the United States: Offenders known to th... Page 3 of 3

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information about the Data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Related charts on this site

z Percent of homicides committed during a felony by age of victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

z Percent of homicides involving multiple offenders by age of offender, 1976-2005 

z Homicide offending by weapon type and age of offender, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving guns by age of victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

z Teen homicide offending rates by region, 1976-2005 

z Percent of homicides cleared by age of victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

Gang related 24.2% 68.4% 6.1% 1.3% 28.9% 69.2% 1.6% .3%

Argument 5.5% 56.1% 26.3% 12.2% 6.9% 60.2% 23.1% 9.7%

Workplace .5% 28.0% 32.0% 39.5% 3.7% 53.1% 27.6% 15.5%

Weapon 

Gun homicide 7.4% 59.3% 22.4% 10.9% 11.9% 64.8% 15.8% 7.5%

Arson 28.3% 27.0% 19.2% 25.5% 11.5% 57.7% 23.8% 7.0%

Poison 28.0% 23.3% 16.5% 32.2% 4.5% 50.9% 26.2% 18.5%

Multiple victims 

or offenders 

Multiple victims 18.2% 46.3% 19.1% 16.4% 9.5% 66.1% 18.5% 5.9%

Multiple 

offenders 11.3% 55.5% 19.7% 13.5% 18.2% 73.1% 7.5% 1.2%

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

The number of homicides of children 

under age 5 increased through the 

mid 1990's, but declined recently 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D]

The infanticide rates have remained fairly stable 

or declined for all racial groups 

Infanticide rates for -- 

z black children have recently declined, reaching the lowest level recorded in 2004 

z white children have remained relatively stable 

z children of other racial groups have remained relatively stable. 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicides of Children under 

Age 5 by Race of Victim 

White Black Other Total

1976 300 239 6 544

1977 286 242 3 531

1978 310 250 4 564

1979 293 208 9 511

1980 315 231 11 557

1981 328 214 13 556

1982 355 248 18 621

1983 311 254 16 581

1984 328 213 13 554

1985 330 216 10 556

1986 361 308 17 686

1987 350 234 17 601

1988 357 282 10 649

1989 386 263 18 667

1990 379 274 17 671

1991 409 343 26 778

1992 371 304 16 691

1993 371 362 28 761

1994 413 329 21 763

1995 412 288 18 719

1996 424 307 25 756

1997 351 255 25 631

1998 368 259 14 641

1999 338 239 25 601

2000 328 253 12 593

2001 354 260 16 630

2002 325 238 23 586

2003 349 234 15 598

2004 336 209 14 559

2005 328 218 10 555

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[D] 

The younger the child, the greater the risk for 

infanticide 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D]

A parent is the perpetrator in most homicides of 

children under age 5 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Infanticide Rates per 

100,000 Population by 

Race of Victim

White Black Other

1976 2.4 10.2 1.6

1977 2.3 10.4 0.8

1978 2.5 10.7 1.0

1979 2.3 8.8 2.1

1980 2.4 9.4 2.2

1981 2.4 8.4 2.5

1982 2.5 9.6 3.2

1983 2.2 9.7 2.5

1984 2.3 8.1 2.0

1985 2.3 8.1 1.4

1986 2.5 11.5 2.4

1987 2.4 8.6 2.2

1988 2.4 10.2 1.3

1989 2.6 9.2 2.2

1990 2.5 9.3 2.0

1991 2.7 11.3 2.9

1992 2.4 9.8 1.6

1993 2.4 11.3 2.7

1994 2.6 10.2 2.0

1995 2.6 8.9 1.7

1996 2.7 9.5 2.2

1997 2.3 8.0 2.2

1998 2.4 8.1 1.2

1999 2.2 7.4 2.0

2000 2.2 7.9 0.9

2001 2.4 8.0 1.2

2002 2.2 7.4 1.7

2003 2.4 7.2 1.1

2004 2.3 6.4 1.0

2005 2.2 6.6 0.7

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Numbers | Percentages 

Infanticide by Victim Age

Age of Victim

Total

Less 

than 1

1 year

old

2 years

old

3 years

old

4 years

old

1976 206 103 107 72 62 551

1977 184 118 125 67 46 540

1978 216 99 126 79 51 573

1979 170 131 101 61 56 520

1980 222 116 103 66 56 564

1981 204 124 109 69 52 557

1982 246 121 129 73 57 626

1983 228 127 113 62 57 586

1984 199 120 130 61 48 558

1985 206 127 107 75 44 558

1986 280 141 123 90 58 692

1987 261 115 111 70 49 606

1988 275 132 130 74 45 656

1989 288 140 101 78 67 674

1990 305 169 104 54 43 675

1991 354 177 137 71 47 785

1992 268 197 117 61 54 697

1993 286 214 139 87 46 770

1994 272 177 149 105 65 768

1995 273 175 135 76 65 724

1996 307 195 120 96 51 769

1997 278 159 97 67 45 645

1998 268 152 106 85 44 654

1999 260 124 113 76 39 613

2000 266 126 117 55 39 603

2001 260 173 100 64 44 641

2002 210 163 109 65 47 594

2003 258 125 108 74 46 610

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2004 201 174 89 60 54 578

2005 205 157 102 61 50 575

Infanticide by Victim Age 

Age of Victim

Total

Less 

than 1

1 year 

old

2 years

old

3 years

old

4 years

old

1976 37.4% 18.7% 19.5% 13.1% 11.3% 100.0%

1977 34.2% 21.8% 23.2% 12.4% 8.4% 100.0%

1978 37.8% 17.3% 22.1% 13.9% 8.9% 100.0%

1979 32.7% 25.3% 19.4% 11.8% 10.8% 100.0%

1980 39.4% 20.6% 18.3% 11.8% 9.9% 100.0%

1981 36.7% 22.2% 19.6% 12.3% 9.3% 100.0%

1982 39.2% 19.3% 20.7% 11.7% 9.1% 100.0%

1983 38.8% 21.7% 19.2% 10.6% 9.7% 100.0%

1984 35.7% 21.6% 23.3% 10.9% 8.5% 100.0%

1985 36.8% 22.7% 19.2% 13.4% 7.9% 100.0%

1986 40.5% 20.4% 17.8% 13.0% 8.3% 100.0%

1987 43.0% 19.0% 18.3% 11.6% 8.1% 100.0%

1988 41.9% 20.2% 19.8% 11.2% 6.8% 100.0%

1989 42.8% 20.7% 15.0% 11.6% 9.9% 100.0%

1990 45.2% 25.0% 15.4% 8.0% 6.3% 100.0%

1991 45.1% 22.5% 17.4% 9.0% 6.0% 100.0%

1992 38.4% 28.2% 16.8% 8.7% 7.8% 100.0%

1993 37.1% 27.7% 18.0% 11.3% 5.9% 100.0%

1994 35.4% 23.1% 19.4% 13.6% 8.5% 100.0%

1995 37.8% 24.2% 18.6% 10.5% 9.0% 100.0%

1996 39.9% 25.3% 15.7% 12.5% 6.6% 100.0%

1997 43.1% 24.6% 15.0% 10.3% 7.0% 100.0%

1998 40.9% 23.2% 16.2% 13.0% 6.8% 100.0%

1999 42.4% 20.2% 18.5% 12.5% 6.4% 100.0%

2000 44.1% 20.9% 19.3% 9.2% 6.4% 100.0%

2001 40.5% 27.0% 15.6% 9.9% 6.9% 100.0%

2002 35.4% 27.5% 18.4% 10.9% 7.8% 100.0%

2003 42.2% 20.5% 17.6% 12.2% 7.5% 100.0%

2004 34.7% 30.2% 15.4% 10.5% 9.3% 100.0%

2005 35.7% 27.3% 17.7% 10.5% 8.8% 100.0%

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[D] 

Note: Parents includes stepparents. 

Of all children under age 5 murdered from 1976-2005 -- 

z 31% were killed by fathers 

z 29% were killed by mothers 

z 23% were killed by male acquaintances 

z 7% were killed by other relatives 

z 3% were killed by strangers 

Of those children killed by someone other than their parent, 81% were killed by males. 

Most of the children killed are male and most of 

the offenders are male 

To view data, click on the chart.

Relationship, 1976-2005 

Gender 

of 

offender Parent

Other 

family

Friend/ 

Acquaintance Stranger Unknown

Male 5,273 757 3,825 438 328 

Female 4,947 416 728 24 101 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percentages | Numbers

Percent of Homicides of Children under age 5 

by Relationship with the Offender 

Parent

Other 

family

Friend/ 

acquaintance Stranger Unknown Total

1976 57.1% 8.0% 19.5% 3.3% 12.1% 100.0%

1977 59.1% 6.1% 20.2% 4.1% 10.4% 100.0%

1978 56.4% 6.6% 21.9% 4.0% 11.1% 100.0%

1979 47.3% 9.0% 22.8% 3.8% 17.0% 100.0%

1980 54.0% 7.5% 20.7% 2.8% 15.0% 100.0%

1981 56.9% 7.9% 24.0% 1.6% 9.7% 100.0%

1982 57.8% 4.3% 22.4% 2.4% 13.1% 100.0%

1983 58.7% 5.3% 22.9% 2.3% 10.8% 100.0%

1984 52.4% 7.8% 26.0% 2.7% 11.1% 100.0%

1985 61.6% 4.8% 23.6% 1.7% 8.1% 100.0%

1986 56.1% 5.6% 24.0% .9% 13.4% 100.0%

1987 57.7% 6.5% 23.2% 2.2% 10.3% 100.0%

1988 52.8% 5.8% 27.4% 1.1% 13.0% 100.0%

1989 57.1% 6.6% 22.4% 2.0% 12.0% 100.0%

1990 51.9% 6.0% 24.1% 1.5% 16.4% 100.0%

1991 54.3% 6.4% 24.1% 2.6% 12.6% 100.0%

1992 53.0% 4.8% 24.6% 4.1% 13.5% 100.0%

1993 49.7% 4.4% 28.3% 3.0% 14.6% 100.0%

1994 51.9% 5.5% 25.2% 3.0% 14.4% 100.0%

1995 52.9% 6.8% 23.6% 5.9% 10.8% 100.0%

1996 50.2% 6.0% 29.8% 2.4% 11.6% 100.0%

1997 56.9% 6.2% 23.5% 2.3% 11.1% 100.0%

1998 55.5% 4.4% 26.5% 1.3% 12.4% 100.0%

1999 57.0% 7.8% 23.0% 1.9% 10.3% 100.0%

2000 52.1% 8.0% 25.8% 1.2% 12.9% 100.0%

2001 54.0% 5.9% 25.9% 3.6% 10.7% 100.0%

2002 52.4% 6.5% 24.7% 3.6% 12.8% 100.0%

2003 56.3% 7.5% 21.4% 2.1% 12.8% 100.0%

Bureau of Justice Statistics Homicide Trends in the United States: Trends in the victim/of... Page 1 of 3

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2004 53.6% 5.3% 26.4% 1.6% 13.0% 100.0%

2005 51.3% 7.4% 27.1% 2.7% 11.5% 100.0%

Homicides of Children under age 5 by Relationship with the 

Offender 

 

Parent

Other 

family

Friend/ 

Acquaintance Stranger Unknown Total

1976 314 44 107 18 67 551

1977 319 33 109 22 56 540

1978 323 38 125 23 64 573

1979 246 47 119 20 89 520

1980 305 42 117 16 84 564

1981 317 44 134 9 54 557

1982 362 27 140 15 82 626

1983 344 31 134 13 63 586

1984 292 43 145 15 62 558

1985 344 27 132 10 45 558

1986 389 39 166 6 93 692

1987 350 39 141 13 63 606

1988 346 38 180 7 85 656

1989 385 44 151 14 81 674

1990 350 40 163 10 111 675

1991 426 50 189 21 99 785

1992 369 33 172 28 94 697

1993 383 34 218 23 112 770

1994 398 42 193 23 111 768

1995 383 49 171 43 78 724

1996 386 46 229 19 89 769

1997 367 40 152 15 71 645

1998 363 29 173 8 81 654

1999 350 48 141 12 63 613

2000 315 48 156 7 78 603

2001 346 38 166 23 68 641

2002 311 39 146 22 76 594

2003 343 46 131 13 78 610

2004 310 31 153 9 75 578

2005 295 43 156 16 66 575

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[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

For additional statistical information on this topic, see the BJS publication Child Victimizers: Violent 

Offenders and Their Victims. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Infanticide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Infanticide by Gender of Victim and 

Offender 

Male on

Male

Female on

Male

Male on

Female

Female on

Female

1976 153 120 124 87

1977 162 108 124 96

1978 184 112 130 91

1979 146 93 139 75

1980 182 96 122 90

1981 184 91 148 92

1982 193 98 153 106

1983 174 107 132 104

1984 175 86 134 95

1985 180 92 147 89

1986 200 138 153 109

1987 181 105 157 100

1988 205 96 165 104

1989 188 132 143 123

1990 199 124 158 86

1991 235 126 193 130

1992 247 94 164 94

1993 253 122 189 104

1994 261 128 161 119

1995 244 120 171 120

1996 244 105 193 133

1997 183 125 153 115

1998 215 117 156 90

1999 194 89 152 118

2000 205 105 166 75

2001 224 100 170 97

2002 190 100 166 84

2003 196 104 163 87

2004 193 79 156 87

2005 191 100 144 90

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Eldercide

For persons age 65 or older, both the

number of homicides and homicide 

victimization rates declined through 

2000 and then stabilized 

z About 5% of all homicides were of persons age 65 or older. 

z More males age 65 or older were homicide victims than females of the same age. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Eldercide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicides of Persons 

65 and Older by 

Gender of Victim 

Male Female

1976 776 450

1977 763 416

1978 703 441

1979 780 499

1980 850 495

1981 788 487

1982 754 533

1983 690 484

1984 675 456

1985 638 493

1986 712 517

1987 707 585

1988 723 547

1989 649 500

1990 617 510

1991 670 467

1992 620 484

1993 623 514

1994 567 451

1995 545 461

1996 490 384

1997 526 340

1998 435 334

1999 428 317

2000 370 328

2001 396 318

2002 402 302

2003 429 306

2004 434 308

2005 386 331

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[D] 

For additional statistical information on this topic, see the BJS publication Crimes against persons

age 65 or older, 1993-2002. 

Older homicide victims were more likely to have 

been killed during a felony than younger victims 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Eldercide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Homicide Victimization 

and Offending Rates per 

100,000 Population for 

Persons 65 and Older 

Victims Offenders

1976 5.4 2.1

1977 5.1 2.1

1978 4.8 2.0

1979 5.3 2.0

1980 5.3 1.9

1981 4.9 1.9

1982 4.8 1.6

1983 4.3 1.3

1984 4.1 1.6

1985 4.0 1.5

1986 4.2 1.5

1987 4.4 1.6

1988 4.2 1.6

1989 3.7 1.3

1990 3.6 1.3

1991 3.6 1.2

1992 3.4 1.2

1993 3.5 1.2

1994 3.1 1.0

1995 3.0 1.0

1996 2.6 .9

1997 2.5 .9

1998 2.2 .8

1999 2.1 .8

2000 1.9 .8

2001 2.0 .7

2002 1.9 .6

2003 2.0 .8

2004 2.0 .7

2005 1.9 .7

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

Number of Homicide 

Victims and Offenders 

Age 65 and Older 

Victims Offenders

1976 1,226 473

1977 1,179 480

1978 1,145 465

1979 1,279 485

1980 1,345 473

1981 1,276 487

1982 1,286 432

1983 1,174 363

1984 1,132 456

1985 1,133 427

1986 1,229 438

1987 1,292 488

1988 1,269 482

1989 1,149 397

1990 1,127 415

1991 1,137 368

1992 1,105 373

1993 1,138 376

1994 1,019 335

1995 1,006 325

1996 876 300

1997 866 300

1998 769 267

1999 746 289

2000 699 284

2001 714 242

2002 704 232

2003 735 283

2004 743 275

2005 717 261

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Eldercide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Victim age by circumstance

Age 

of 

victim

Felony Other

Number Percent Number Percent

0 712 11.0% 5,759 89.0%

1 482 12.5% 3,386 87.5%

2 476 15.7% 2,558 84.3%

3 362 19.2% 1,518 80.8%

4 294 22.7% 1,004 77.3%

5 249 26.2% 702 73.8%

6 204 27.0% 553 73.0%

7 210 30.0% 489 70.0%

8 208 31.1% 459 68.9%

9 216 34.0% 420 66.0%

10 183 30.1% 425 69.9%

11 220 34.6% 416 65.4%

12 261 28.8% 645 71.2%

13 319 26.3% 895 73.7%

14 479 21.0% 1,799 79.0%

15 816 20.1% 3,237 79.9%

16 1,359 21.1% 5,094 78.9%

17 1,981 20.9% 7,513 79.1%

18 2,791 22.8% 9,424 77.2%

19 3,506 24.0% 11,132 76.0%

20 3,905 25.8% 11,225 74.2%

21 3,879 24.9% 11,677 75.1%

22 3,998 25.6% 11,617 74.4%

23 3,817 24.7% 11,631 75.3%

24 3,818 25.6% 11,100 74.4%

25 3,972 25.8% 11,447 74.2%

26 3,663 25.5% 10,681 74.5%

27 3,411 25.1% 10,174 74.9%

28 3,231 25.0% 9,687 75.0%

29 3,222 25.4% 9,440 74.6%

30 3,439 26.3% 9,635 73.7%

31 2,798 25.3% 8,272 74.7%

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32 2,746 24.4% 8,511 75.6%

33 2,466 24.5% 7,591 75.5%

34 2,454 24.3% 7,631 75.7%

35 2,649 26.0% 7,537 74.0%

36 2,276 25.7% 6,582 74.3%

37 2,025 24.0% 6,424 76.0%

38 1,946 23.7% 6,259 76.3%

39 1,877 24.4% 5,828 75.6%

40 2,077 26.2% 5,854 73.8%

41 1,731 25.6% 5,025 74.4%

42 1,805 26.0% 5,147 74.0%

43 1,547 25.6% 4,488 74.4%

44 1,436 25.7% 4,160 74.3%

45 1,505 26.4% 4,196 73.6%

46 1,359 26.9% 3,695 73.1%

47 1,354 28.0% 3,490 72.0%

48 1,173 27.1% 3,160 72.9%

49 1,219 28.6% 3,047 71.4%

50 1,364 30.2% 3,158 69.8%

51 1,093 30.5% 2,488 69.5%

52 1,192 31.9% 2,545 68.1%

53 1,068 31.6% 2,312 68.4%

54 1,018 31.4% 2,218 68.6%

55 1,077 34.8% 2,014 65.2%

56 948 33.7% 1,866 66.3%

57 973 36.0% 1,731 64.0%

58 881 36.7% 1,522 63.3%

59 879 38.1% 1,429 61.9%

60 990 41.0% 1,423 59.0%

61 833 38.9% 1,308 61.1%

62 926 41.0% 1,332 59.0%

63 801 40.9% 1,160 59.1%

64 750 42.8% 1,003 57.2%

65 849 41.8% 1,184 58.2%

66 624 43.1% 823 56.9%

67 689 44.1% 875 55.9%

68 693 47.2% 776 52.8%

69 669 49.4% 687 50.6%

70 721 49.6% 733 50.4%

71 593 49.7% 601 50.3%

72 675 50.1% 672 49.9%

73 574 51.2% 548 48.8%

74 572 51.7% 534 48.3%

75 588 52.6% 528 47.4%

76 519 54.1% 440 45.9%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

77 478 53.7% 412 46.3%

78 483 55.7% 384 44.3%

79 490 57.2% 366 42.8%

80 442 54.7% 366 45.3%

81 405 59.8% 272 40.2%

82 396 58.6% 279 41.4%

83 333 58.7% 234 41.3%

84 290 56.5% 223 43.5%

85 287 61.0% 184 39.0%

86 284 63.5% 163 36.5%

87 248 70.0% 106 30.0%

88 187 65.1% 100 34.9%

89 130 59.9% 87 40.1%

90 131 62.5% 79 37.5%

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by gender 

Most victims and perpetrators in 

homicides are male 

Both male and female offenders are more likely to target male victims than female victims. 

Victimization rates for both males and females 

have declined in recent years 

z Males were almost 4 times more likely than females to be murdered in 2005. 

z In 2005 rates for females reached their lowest point recorded; rates for males increased 

slightly from the low point recorded in 2000. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

For more information about gender patterns in violent victimization see Key Facts at a 

Glance. 

Offending rates for both males and females 

 Male offender/Male victim 65.3%

 Male offender/Female victim 22.7%

 Female offender/Male victim 9.6%

 Female offender/Female victim 2.4%
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by gender 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers 

Homicide Victimization

Rates per 100,000 

Population by Gender 

Male Female

1976 13.6 4.2

1977 13.7 4.2

1978 14.0 4.1

1979 15.4 4.4

1980 16.2 4.5

1981 15.6 4.3

1982 14.1 4.3

1983 12.8 3.9

1984 12.1 3.9

1985 12.2 4.0

1986 13.2 4.1

1987 12.6 4.2

1988 12.9 4.2

1989 13.6 4.0

1990 15.0 4.0

1991 15.7 4.2

1992 14.9 4.0

1993 15.0 4.2

1994 14.4 3.8

1995 12.9 3.7

1996 11.7 3.3

1997 10.7 3.0

1998 9.7 3.0

1999 8.8 2.7

2000 8.6 2.6

2001 8.8 2.6

2002 8.8 2.6

2003 9.0 2.5

2004 8.7 2.4

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2005 9.0 2.3

Homicide Victims by 

Gender 

Male Female

1976 14,171 4,590

1977 14,397 4,710

1978 14,895 4,642

1979 16,428 5,017

1980 17,788 5,232

1981 17,405 5,096

1982 15,902 5,093

1983 14,588 4,703

1984 13,910 4,741

1985 14,079 4,880

1986 15,471 5,109

1987 14,811 5,268

1988 15,414 5,238

1989 16,407 5,085

1990 18,304 5,115

1991 19,270 5,394

1992 18,513 5,217

1993 18,937 5,550

1994 18,294 5,007

1995 16,552 5,022

1996 15,153 4,469

1997 14,057 4,125

1998 12,753 4,139

1999 11,704 3,800

2000 11,818 3,733

2001 12,232 3,775

2002 12,410 3,764

2003 12,804 3,693

2004 12,565 3,543

2005 13,122 3,545

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

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followed the same pattern as victimization rates 

z Males were almost 10 times more likely than females to commit murder in 2005. 

z The offending rates for females declined since the early 1980's but stablized after 1999. 

Offending rates for males peaked in the early 1990's, fell to record lows,and stablized in 

recent years. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

The gender distribution of homicide victims and 

offenders differs by type of homicide 

For the years 1976-2005 combined, among all homicide victims, females are particularly at risk for 

intimate killings and sex-related homicides. 

Homicide Type by Gender, 1976-2005

Victims Offenders

Male Female Male Female

All homicides 76.5% 23.5% 88.8% 11.2%

Victim/offender relationship 

Intimate 35.2% 64.8% 65.5% 34.5%

Family 51.5% 48.5% 70.8% 29.2%

Infanticide 54.6% 45.4% 61.8% 38.2%

Eldercide 58.1% 41.9% 85.2% 14.8%

Circumstances 

Felony murder 78.4% 21.6% 93.2% 6.8%

Sex related 18.8% 81.2% 93.6% 6.4%

Drug related 90.2% 9.8% 95.5% 4.5%

Gang related 94.7% 5.3% 98.3% 1.7%

Argument 77.8% 22.2% 85.6% 14.4%

Workplace 79.1% 20.9% 91.3% 8.7%

Weapon 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by gender 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers 

Homicide Offending 

Rates per 100,000 

Population by 

Gender

 Male Female

1976 16.3 3.0

1977 16.3 2.9

1978 16.9 2.7

1979 18.6 2.9

1980 20.6 3.1

1981 19.0 2.8

1982 17.6 2.6

1983 16.0 2.4

1984 15.4 2.2

1985 15.3 2.1

1986 16.7 2.2

1987 16.2 2.1

1988 17.0 2.0

1989 17.6 2.0

1990 19.6 2.0

1991 20.8 2.1

1992 19.4 1.8

1993 20.0 1.8

1994 19.0 1.8

1995 17.3 1.5

1996 15.6 1.6

1997 14.3 1.4

1998 13.2 1.4

1999 11.8 1.2

2000 11.7 1.2

2001 11.8 1.2

2002 11.7 1.2

2003 11.7 1.2

2004 11.5 1.2

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2005 11.9 1.2

Homicide Offenders by 

Gender

 Male Female

1976 17,057 3,295

1977 17,160 3,228

1978 17,907 3,076

1979 19,955 3,231

1980 22,603 3,598

1981 21,204 3,271

1982 19,764 3,115

1983 18,139 2,869

1984 17,638 2,699

1985 17,757 2,615

1986 19,460 2,718

1987 19,111 2,592

1988 20,285 2,547

1989 21,124 2,584

1990 23,861 2,604

1991 25,617 2,651

1992 24,192 2,356

1993 25,201 2,436

1994 24,148 2,341

1995 22,235 1,976

1996 20,271 2,138

1997 18,660 1,944

1998 17,380 1,941

1999 15,675 1,728

2000 16,035 1,706

2001 16,461 1,705

2002 16,544 1,705

2003 16,643 1,771

2004 16,470 1,739

2005 17,301 1,826

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

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The relationship between the victim and the 

offender differs for female and male victims 

z Female victims are more likely than male victims to be killed by an intimate or family 

member. 

z Male victims are more likely than female victims to be killed by acquaintances or strangers. 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information about the Data. 

Gun homicide 82.7% 17.3% 91.3% 8.7%

Arson 56.4% 43.6% 79.1% 20.9%

Poison 55.3% 44.7% 63.5% 36.5%

Multiple victims or offenders 

Multiple victims 63.3% 36.7% 93.5% 6.5%

 Multiple offenders 85.6% 14.4% 91.6% 8.4%

Victim Offender Relationship by Victim Gender, 1976-2005 

 Percent of homicide victims by gender

Victim/Offender relationship Male Female

 Total 100.0 % 100.0 %

 

Intimate 5.0 % 30.0 %

 Spouse 3.0 18.3 

 Ex-spouse 0.2 1.4 

 Boyfriend/Girlfriend 1.8 10.4 

 

Other family 6.8 % 11.8 %

 Parent 1.3 2.8 

 Child 2.1 5.4 

 Sibling 1.2 0.9 

 Other family 2.2 2.8 

 

Acquaintance/Known 35.3 % 21.8 %

 Neighbor 1.1 1.3 

 Employee/er 0.1 0.1 

 Friend/Acquaintance 29.4 17.0 

 Other Known 4.6 3.4 

 

Stranger 15.5 % 8.7 %

Undetermined 37.4 % 27.6 %
Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Related charts on this site 

z Homicides of children under age 5 by gender of victim and offender, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of persons age 65 and older by gender of victim, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of intimates by gender of victim, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of intimates by gender and race of victim, 1976-2005 

z Proportion of all homicides involving intimates by gender of victim, 1976-2005 

z Intimate homicide rates by race, gender and relationship, 1976-2005 

z Intimate homicides by type of weapon and gender of victim, 1976-2005 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by race 

Racial differences exist, with blacks 

disproportionately represented 

among homicide victims and 

offenders 

In 2005, homicide victimization rates for blacks 

were 6 times higher than the rates for whites. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

For more information about racial patterns in violent victimization 

see Key Facts at a Glance. 

In 2005, offending rates for blacks were more 

than 7 times higher than the rates for whites 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by race 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers 

Homicide Victimization 

Rates per 100,000 

Population by Race

White Black Other

1976 5.1 37.1 4.9

1977 5.4 36.2 4.7

1978 5.6 35.1 4.0

1979 6.1 37.5 4.1

1980 6.3 37.7 5.7

1981 6.2 36.4 6.1

1982 5.9 32.3 6.5

1983 5.3 29.4 6.4

1984 5.2 27.2 5.5

1985 5.2 27.6 5.5

1986 5.4 31.5 6.2

1987 5.1 30.7 5.2

1988 4.9 33.5 4.0

1989 5.0 35.1 4.3

1990 5.4 37.6 4.2

1991 5.5 39.3 6.0

1992 5.3 37.2 5.4

1993 5.3 38.7 5.5

1994 5.0 36.4 4.6

1995 4.8 31.6 4.9

1996 4.3 28.3 4.1

1997 3.9 26.0 4.1

1998 3.8 23.0 2.9

1999 3.5 20.5 3.3

2000 3.3 20.5 2.7

2001 3.4 20.4 2.8

2002 3.3 20.8 2.7

2003 3.4 20.9 2.8

2004 3.3 19.7 2.4

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2005 3.3 20.6 2.5

Homicide Victims by Race 

White Black Other

1976 9,585 8,745 238

1977 10,041 8,669 236

1978 10,568 8,572 207

1979 11,625 9,311 215

1980 12,275 9,767 327

1981 12,163 9,862 348

1982 11,644 8,880 399

1983 10,604 8,201 417

1984 10,490 7,678 377

1985 10,590 7,891 399

1986 10,916 9,107 484

1987 10,526 9,000 424

1988 10,184 9,959 344

1989 10,325 10,566 390

1990 11,279 11,488 400

1991 11,661 12,226 608

1992 11,229 11,777 573

1993 11,278 12,435 601

1994 10,773 11,856 526

1995 10,376 10,444 581

1996 9,483 9,476 512

1997 8,620 8,842 524

1998 8,389 7,931 393

1999 7,777 7,139 458

2000 7,560 7,425 399

2001 7,884 7,522 424

2002 7,784 7,758 437

2003 7,932 7,893 468

2004 7,944 7,562 417

2005 8,017 7,999 437

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

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[D] 

The race distribution of homicide victims and 

offenders differs by type of homicide 

For the years 1976-2005 combined - 

z Black victims are over represented in homicides involving drugs. Compared with the overall 

involvement of blacks as victims, blacks are less often the victims of sex-related homicides, 

workplace killings, and homicide by poison. 

z Race patterns among offenders are similar to those among victims. 

Homicide Type by Race, 1976-2005

Victims Offenders

White Black Other White Black Other

All homicides 50.9% 46.9% 2.1% 45.8% 52.2% 2.0%

Victim/offender relationship 

Intimate 56.6% 41.2% 2.2% 54.4% 43.4% 2.2%

Family 60.7% 36.9% 2.4% 59.2% 38.5% 2.3%

Infanticide 55.9% 41.6% 2.5% 55.4% 42.1% 2.5%

Eldercide 69.2% 29.1% 1.6% 54.5% 43.8% 1.6%

Circumstances 

Felony murder 54.7% 42.7% 2.6% 39.1% 59.3% 1.6%

Sex related 66.9% 30.5% 2.5% 54.7% 43.4% 1.9%

Drug related 37.4% 61.6% .9% 33.9% 65.0% 1.1%

Gang related 57.5% 39.0% 3.5% 54.3% 41.2% 4.4%

Argument 48.6% 49.3% 2.1% 46.8% 51.1% 2.2%

Workplace 84.6% 12.2% 3.2% 70.5% 26.7% 2.8%

Weapon 

Gun homicide 47.2% 50.9% 1.9% 41.9% 56.4% 1.7%

Arson 58.9% 38.1% 2.9% 55.7% 42.0% 2.3%

Poison 80.6% 16.9% 2.5% 79.8% 18.4% 1.8%

Multiple victims or offenders 

Multiple victims 63.4% 33.2% 3.3% 55.7% 40.8% 3.5%
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by race 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Offending 

Rates per 100,000 

Population by Race

White Black Other

1976 4.9 46.6 4.6

1977 5.1 44.4 4.8

1978 5.3 44.6 3.7

1979 5.8 47.7 5.0

1980 6.4 51.5 6.9

1981 6.0 45.9 6.3

1982 5.6 41.2 6.4

1983 5.3 36.3 6.2

1984 5.3 33.1 5.3

1985 5.1 34.0 5.8

1986 5.3 37.9 6.0

1987 5.2 36.6 5.0

1988 4.9 41.2 4.5

1989 5.1 42.0 4.7

1990 5.6 46.6 4.2

1991 5.6 51.4 5.4

1992 5.2 47.0 5.7

1993 5.2 49.2 5.6

1994 5.1 45.4 5.1

1995 4.9 39.3 5.4

1996 4.5 35.9 4.8

1997 4.1 32.2 4.5

1998 4.2 27.8 3.9

1999 3.6 25.4 3.9

2000 3.5 25.6 3.3

2001 3.5 25.6 3.0

2002 3.6 25.0 2.9

2003 3.5 25.3 3.4

2004 3.6 24.1 2.7

2005 3.5 26.5 2.8

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

Homicide Offenders by Race 

White Black Other

1976 9,157 10,969 226

1977 9,523 10,625 240

1978 9,915 10,875 192

1979 11,078 11,843 265

1980 12,487 13,320 394

1981 11,686 12,428 361

1982 11,154 11,333 393

1983 10,499 10,109 401

1984 10,631 9,343 363

1985 10,235 9,712 424

1986 10,740 10,970 468

1987 10,563 10,729 411

1988 10,190 12,257 385

1989 10,606 12,674 427

1990 11,823 14,238 404

1991 11,754 15,970 543

1992 11,078 14,866 605

1993 11,203 15,818 615

1994 11,096 14,807 587

1995 10,577 12,994 640

1996 9,804 12,007 599

1997 9,105 10,922 578

1998 9,230 9,571 519

1999 8,009 8,853 540

2000 8,011 9,240 490

2001 8,276 9,428 462

2002 8,473 9,313 462

2003 8,274 9,579 561

2004 8,522 9,234 453

2005 8,350 10,285 492

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Although slightly less true now than before, most

murders are intraracial 

From 1976 to 2005 -- 

z 86% of white victims were killed by whites 

z 94% of black victims were killed by blacks 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Stranger homicides are more likely to cross racial

lines than those that involve friends or 

acquaintances 

For homicides committed by -- 

z a friend or acquaintance of the victim, less than one-tenth (8%) were interracial 

z a stranger to the victim, one-quarter were interracial 

To view data, click on the chart.

Multiple offenders 54.8% 42.5% 2.7% 44.6% 53.0% 2.4%
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by race 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percentages | Numbers

Percent of All Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White on

White

Black on

White

Other on

White

White 

on Black

Black on

Black

Other 

on Black

White 

on Other

Black on

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 43.5% 6.0% .3% 2.0% 47.5% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1977 44.6% 5.9% .4% 2.4% 45.8% .1% .3% .1% .5%

1978 46.3% 6.1% .3% 1.8% 44.8% .0% .3% .0% .3%

1979 46.0% 6.8% .4% 2.5% 43.7% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1980 46.8% 6.4% .3% 2.2% 43.6% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1981 46.8% 6.8% .2% 2.5% 43.0% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1982 48.1% 6.4% .3% 2.5% 41.7% .0% .3% .1% .5%

1983 48.7% 6.3% .3% 2.3% 41.6% .0% .3% .1% .5%

1984 50.3% 6.2% .3% 2.6% 39.8% .0% .3% .1% .5%

1985 49.7% 6.7% .3% 2.7% 39.8% .0% .2% .1% .5%

1986 47.1% 6.5% .4% 2.6% 42.6% .1% .3% .0% .6%

1987 47.3% 6.3% .4% 2.9% 42.2% .1% .2% .1% .5%

1988 44.9% 6.6% .4% 2.7% 44.5% .1% .3% .0% .4%

1989 43.9% 7.0% .3% 3.1% 44.8% .0% .3% .0% .5%

1990 44.1% 6.9% .3% 3.2% 44.8% .0% .3% .1% .4%

1991 41.5% 7.7% .3% 3.4% 46.3% .0% .3% .1% .4%

1992 41.7% 8.5% .3% 2.7% 46.1% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1993 41.1% 8.9% .3% 2.7% 46.2% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1994 41.1% 8.6% .4% 3.1% 46.1% .0% .3% .1% .3%

1995 43.8% 8.0% .4% 3.3% 43.6% .1% .3% .1% .5%

1996 43.8% 8.4% .4% 3.3% 43.4% .1% .3% .1% .3%

1997 43.4% 8.4% .3% 2.9% 44.0% .0% .2% .1% .6%

1998 46.4% 7.5% .3% 3.2% 41.6% .1% .3% .1% .5%

1999 46.0% 8.1% .4% 2.8% 41.5% .0% .2% .1% .9%

2000 45.5% 8.2% .3% 3.0% 42.1% .0% .2% .1% .6%

2001 46.4% 8.2% .4% 2.8% 41.4% .1% .2% .1% .4%

2002 45.7% 8.1% .4% 3.2% 41.6% .1% .2% .2% .5%

2003 44.7% 8.6% .3% 3.5% 42.0% .1% .2% .1% .5%

2004 46.1% 8.5% .4% 3.5% 40.7% .0% .2% .1% .6%

2005 44.6% 8.8% .3% 3.2% 42.2% .0% .2% .2% .5%

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Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White 

on 

White

Black 

on 

White

Other 

on 

White

White 

on 

Black

Black 

on 

Black

Other 

on 

Black

White 

on 

Other

Black 

on 

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 6,279 862 44 290 6,855 2 29 12 59

1977 6,299 828 52 346 6,469 7 36 10 71

1978 6,776 899 40 269 6,547 5 37 5 48

1979 7,054 1,037 54 390 6,706 4 31 10 64

1980 7,384 1,011 42 343 6,886 7 34 9 67

1981 7,588 1,106 37 402 6,972 8 33 11 71

1982 7,184 960 44 377 6,226 3 44 12 79

1983 6,719 869 41 314 5,738 3 38 8 68

1984 6,664 816 42 341 5,264 3 36 9 63

1985 6,745 913 43 361 5,401 5 27 12 65

1986 6,896 949 54 378 6,235 7 41 6 88

1987 6,574 873 49 408 5,861 8 35 10 70

1988 6,362 939 62 389 6,312 8 40 7 58

1989 6,450 1,029 50 457 6,583 2 42 5 75

1990 6,984 1,089 43 502 7,091 2 42 9 69

1991 6,611 1,220 54 541 7,361 5 51 15 56

1992 6,241 1,272 40 410 6,903 4 35 17 63

1993 6,466 1,393 46 432 7,268 7 32 16 57

1994 6,208 1,306 56 469 6,960 4 42 13 52

1995 6,069 1,109 50 455 6,039 7 38 17 70

1996 5,604 1,077 49 418 5,550 13 32 17 41

1997 5,056 974 34 343 5,118 5 28 17 70

1998 5,210 841 36 363 4,666 8 30 12 56

1999 4,671 820 45 284 4,217 2 23 12 87

2000 4,643 834 34 302 4,298 5 24 12 57

2001 4,813 854 43 286 4,301 7 21 10 42

2002 4,795 847 45 337 4,363 9 26 17 54

2003 4,645 896 35 360 4,367 6 17 9 50

2004 4,761 880 36 358 4,201 1 21 13 62

2005 4,755 934 31 337 4,497 4 19 25 58

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about 

weighting and imputation. 

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[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Related charts on this site

z The number of homicides of children under age 5 by race, 1976-2005 

z Homicide victimization rates for children under age 5 by race, 1976-2005 

z Homicides of intimates by gender and race of victim, 1976-2005 

z Intimate homicide rates by race, gender and relationship, 1976-2005 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by race 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Acquaintance Homicides | Stranger Homicides

Acquaintance Homicides 

Percentages | Numbers

Percent of All Acquaintance Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White on

White

Black on

White

Other on

White

White 

on Black

Black on

Black

Other 

on Black

White 

on Other

Black on

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 39.0% 4.1% .2% 1.5% 54.4% .0% .2% .1% .4%

1977 40.4% 3.7% .3% 2.3% 52.4% .1% .3% .1% .5%

1978 41.4% 3.7% .3% 1.5% 52.5% .1% .1% .0% .4%

1979 41.1% 3.9% .3% 2.1% 51.9% .0% .2% .0% .5%

1980 42.9% 3.7% .2% 1.8% 50.7% .0% .2% .1% .5%

1981 43.7% 3.9% .2% 2.2% 49.5% .0% .2% .0% .3%

1982 45.2% 3.9% .3% 2.1% 47.5% .0% .3% .0% .6%

1983 45.8% 4.1% .2% 2.0% 46.9% .0% .2% .1% .6%

1984 47.3% 4.2% .4% 2.3% 44.8% .0% .3% .1% .6%

1985 47.4% 4.9% .3% 2.7% 44.1% .1% .1% .1% .3%

1986 45.1% 4.6% .5% 2.2% 46.5% .1% .4% .1% .6%

1987 44.2% 4.7% .5% 2.6% 47.0% .1% .3% .1% .6%

1988 42.2% 4.8% .6% 2.4% 49.1% .1% .4% .0% .5%

1989 40.2% 5.4% .4% 2.9% 50.2% .0% .3% .0% .6%

1990 40.1% 4.4% .3% 2.5% 51.8% .0% .4% .0% .5%

1991 38.7% 5.3% .5% 2.9% 51.8% .0% .4% .1% .4%

1992 40.3% 5.8% .3% 2.6% 50.2% .0% .3% .1% .5%

1993 40.2% 6.3% .3% 2.6% 49.8% .0% .3% .1% .4%

1994 40.1% 5.9% .4% 2.9% 50.0% .0% .3% .0% .3%

1995 42.5% 5.8% .4% 3.1% 47.1% .1% .3% .1% .7%

1996 42.2% 6.3% .5% 2.8% 47.2% .1% .3% .1% .4%

1997 43.5% 6.6% .4% 2.8% 45.4% .1% .2% .2% .8%

1998 45.3% 5.7% .3% 3.3% 44.3% .0% .3% .1% .6%

1999 44.4% 6.3% .5% 2.7% 44.6% .0% .4% .1% 1.0%

2000 45.6% 6.5% .4% 2.8% 43.6% .0% .3% .1% .7%

2001 47.8% 6.8% .5% 2.7% 41.4% .1% .2% .1% .5%

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Stranger Homicides 

Percentages | Numbers

2002 47.4% 6.7% .6% 3.2% 40.8% .1% .3% .1% .7%

2003 45.9% 6.8% .3% 3.7% 42.4% .1% .3% .0% .5%

2004 47.6% 6.5% .4% 3.3% 41.2% .0% .3% .1% .6%

2005 46.0% 6.8% .4% 3.4% 42.3% .0% .2% .0% .8%

Acquaintance Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White on

White

Black on

White

Other on

White

White 

on Black

Black 

on 

Black

Other 

on Black

White 

on Other

Black on

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 2,926 311 14 111 4,079 2 17 10 27

1977 3,022 277 25 172 3,923 5 22 4 38

1978 2,946 267 20 103 3,737 4 8 1 25

1979 2,990 280 24 151 3,779 2 16 3 35

1980 3,282 287 18 137 3,880 2 14 4 35

1981 3,580 319 12 176 4,059 3 18 1 25

1982 3,440 298 25 159 3,612 3 25 3 46

1983 3,243 293 18 141 3,318 2 18 5 40

1984 3,269 290 25 162 3,101 3 19 4 41

1985 3,449 355 23 194 3,203 4 11 6 25

1986 3,610 368 39 172 3,717 5 30 5 50

1987 3,340 355 38 195 3,546 7 19 6 45

1988 3,321 375 44 190 3,858 5 33 1 36

1989 3,238 436 28 234 4,041 1 27 3 47

1990 3,366 373 25 208 4,351 2 30 3 39

1991 3,137 432 39 235 4,196 2 30 6 31

1992 3,167 455 20 202 3,944 3 23 5 37

1993 3,269 510 28 213 4,048 3 21 4 32

1994 3,145 460 33 230 3,928 3 26 2 25

1995 2,942 402 26 211 3,260 4 19 5 47

1996 2,885 432 36 189 3,227 9 21 8 25

1997 2,636 397 23 171 2,747 5 15 10 51

1998 2,633 328 19 193 2,576 2 19 6 32

1999 2,287 324 26 138 2,299 2 19 7 51

2000 2,165 310 20 134 2,068 1 13 4 32

2001 2,193 310 23 122 1,901 3 11 5 22

2002 2,253 318 28 153 1,942 7 15 7 32

2003 2,220 330 16 179 2,049 5 13 1 24

2004 2,237 303 19 156 1,935 1 15 6 29

2005 2,129 314 20 159 1,957 2 11 2 36

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Percent of All Stranger Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White on

White

Black on

White

Other on

White

White 

on Black

Black on

Black

Other 

on Black

White 

on Other

Black on

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 44.6% 18.5% .9% 4.7% 30.8% .3% .1% .2%

1977 45.1% 18.9% .6% 5.6% 28.8% .0% .3% .2% .3%

1978 45.4% 19.1% .5% 3.6% 30.6% .6% .0% .2%

1979 43.2% 20.6% .7% 4.9% 29.7% .3% .2% .4%

1980 43.0% 20.7% .5% 5.1% 30.2% .1% .2% .1% .2%

1981 41.9% 20.5% .5% 4.6% 31.9% .1% .2% .2% .1%

1982 42.9% 19.1% .5% 5.0% 31.9% .4% .2% .1%

1983 45.4% 19.0% .7% 4.1% 30.0% .6% .1% .1%

1984 48.9% 17.7% .3% 4.5% 27.6% .5% .1% .3%

1985 43.6% 19.7% .6% 4.9% 30.1% .1% .5% .3% .4%

1986 45.6% 18.3% .3% 5.1% 30.1% .1% .4% .1% .2%

1987 44.9% 18.7% .3% 6.2% 29.5% .2% .2% .1%

1988 42.3% 20.2% .6% 5.1% 31.4% .1% .2% .1%

1989 40.6% 19.0% .4% 5.4% 33.9% .5% .1%

1990 42.6% 18.9% .5% 6.4% 31.0% .2% .2% .1%

1991 35.1% 17.9% .3% 5.4% 40.5% .0% .4% .2% .2%

1992 32.9% 21.1% .5% 4.0% 40.9% .0% .3% .2% .1%

1993 33.6% 20.8% .4% 4.4% 40.2% .1% .2% .1% .1%

1994 33.3% 20.9% .6% 4.9% 39.5% .4% .3% .2%

1995 38.6% 17.1% .6% 5.8% 36.9% .1% .5% .3% .1%

1996 39.2% 18.5% .1% 6.6% 34.7% .1% .4% .2% .1%

1997 38.2% 18.0% .2% 4.9% 37.7% .5% .3% .2%

1998 44.2% 17.5% .6% 5.3% 31.3% .4% .3% .3%

1999 43.8% 19.6% .4% 5.1% 30.5% .2% .1% .1%

2000 41.2% 17.4% .4% 5.0% 35.0% .1% .3% .2% .3%

2001 42.9% 16.4% .6% 5.1% 34.2% .1% .4% .2% .1%

2002 40.7% 15.4% .4% 4.8% 37.6% .1% .4% .5% .1%

2003 39.9% 18.2% .6% 4.8% 35.8% .2% .4% .1%

2004 41.9% 17.7% .6% 6.6% 32.4% .2% .2% .3%

2005 43.7% 17.7% .3% 4.5% 32.3% .1% .2% .8% .4%

Stranger Homicides by Racial Composition of Victims and Offenders

White on

White

Black on

White

Other on

White

White 

on Black

Black 

on 

Black

Other 

on Black

White 

on Other

Black on

Other

Other 

on 

Other

1976 992 413 19 105 685 713

1977 1,001 420 14 125 639 1 7 4 7

1978 1,055 443 10 84 711 15 1 4

1979 1,029 491 18 118 707 648

1980 1,104 531 13 131 775 2 4 2 6

1981 1,201 588 13 133 916 3 6 6 2

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1982 1,128 504 12 133 839 10 5 2

1983 988 414 14 89 654 13 2 2

1984 1,075 389 8 100 606 11 2 6

1985 917 413 13 103 632 1 10 5 8

1986 953 383 5 106 629 1 7 1 4

1987 883 367 6 122 580 431

1988 881 421 12 106 654 252

1989 967 452 10 128 805 12 3

1990 1,201 534 14 182 873 763

1991 1,120 572 9 171 1,293 1 14 7 6

1992 897 574 14 110 1,116 1 7 5 2

1993 1,020 632 13 133 1,220 3 5 3 4

1994 892 559 15 131 1,056 12 8 4

1995 1,077 476 16 162 1,028 2 14 9 3

1996 915 432 3 153 808 2 9 6 2

1997 770 363 5 98 759 965

1998 840 333 12 100 595 866

1999 727 324 7 85 506 422

2000 783 330 8 94 666 2 6 5 6

2001 830 318 13 98 662 2 8 3 2

2002 864 326 9 102 798 1 9 10 2

2003 754 343 11 90 677 372

2004 811 343 13 128 626 536

2005 933 378 6 95 689 2 4 17 9

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and 

imputation. 

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age, gender, and race trends 

Patterns of victimization and offending vary by age, gender, and racial group 

During the late 1990's, homicide victimization rates dropped for all groups. In recent 

years, rates for most groups stabilized.

In 2005 -- 

z Black males 18-24 years old had the highest homicide victimization rates. Their rates were 

more than double the rates for black males age 25 and older and almost 4 times the rates for

black males 14-17 years old. 

z Although much lower than the rates experienced in the late 1980's and early 1990's, rates 

for black males ages 18-24 remain higher in 2005 than in earlier periods. 

z After increases in the early 1990's, both white and black 14-17 year old males experienced 

homicide victimization rates in 2005 that were about the same as those of the early 1970's. 

z Young adults (18-24 years old) have the highest victimization rates in each racial and gender 

group. 

z For white females of all ages, victimization rates have declined. Since 1993, rates for black 

females have also declined in all age groups. 

To view data, click on the chart.
 [D] 

Homicide offending patterns are similar to 

victimization patterns 

z Black males 18-24 years old have the highest homicide offending rates. Their rates are more 

than 3 times the rates of black males 14-17 years old and almost 5 times the rates of black 

males age 25 and older. 

z Young adults (18-24 years old) have the highest offending rates in each racial and gender 

group. 

z For black males 18-24 years old, offending rates declined after 1993 reaching a low in 2004. 

The rate increased in 2005. 

z For black male teens (14-17 years old), offending rates have increased since 2002 but 

remain relatively low compared to earlier periods. 

z For white male young adults (18-24 years old), offending rates fell to an alltime low in 2005.

z For black females of all age groups, offending rates declined since the early 1990's. 

z White females of all age groups experience the lowest offending rates. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age, gender, and race trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers 

Homicide Victimization Rates per 100,000 Population by Age, Race, and Gender 

White Male Black Male White Female Black Female

14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+

1976 3.7 11.3 9.8 24.2 89.8 97.2 2.1 4.2 3.0 6.3 25.1 19.3

1977 4.1 12.5 9.9 22.4 86.9 94.1 2.4 4.4 3.1 8.7 24.5 17.2

1978 4.7 13.3 10.4 21.9 86.4 90.3 2.5 4.4 3.1 7.6 23.7 16.5

1979 4.9 16.0 11.0 23.2 90.9 95.7 2.3 5.2 3.2 7.8 24.0 18.2

1980 5.1 16.2 11.4 26.3 96.7 94.8 2.6 5.3 3.3 6.8 23.5 17.1

1981 4.3 14.9 11.3 23.0 89.7 93.2 2.4 4.9 3.3 6.0 20.4 16.0

1982 4.0 13.9 10.4 22.3 82.6 79.5 1.9 5.2 3.3 7.5 17.7 14.4

1983 3.8 12.7 9.4 21.4 75.0 70.7 2.0 4.2 3.1 5.2 19.4 13.0

1984 3.5 11.9 9.1 18.4 68.0 64.6 2.1 5.1 3.0 6.4 18.2 12.4

1985 3.9 12.1 8.9 23.7 73.3 62.4 1.9 4.2 3.2 7.3 16.5 13.2

1986 4.1 13.3 9.0 26.8 87.9 70.2 2.3 4.7 3.1 6.5 19.7 14.1

1987 3.7 12.3 8.5 36.2 96.4 64.0 2.2 4.6 3.3 7.1 19.6 14.4

1988 3.9 12.3 8.1 43.3 109.5 69.2 2.2 4.5 3.0 7.2 20.8 14.8

1989 5.3 13.4 8.2 54.3 128.3 70.5 2.1 4.4 2.8 8.6 20.0 14.7

1990 7.5 16.7 8.7 59.0 151.0 74.4 2.5 4.0 2.9 10.3 20.5 14.3

1991 8.5 18.2 8.8 71.9 173.7 72.7 2.5 4.6 2.8 9.4 23.4 15.0

1992 9.0 17.4 8.4 67.3 171.8 67.6 2.4 4.4 2.8 12.8 20.8 14.4

1993 9.1 17.2 8.1 76.4 183.5 68.3 2.7 4.3 3.0 12.7 24.1 14.5

1994 8.7 17.8 7.7 71.6 176.2 64.3 2.0 3.8 2.6 10.0 20.7 13.7

1995 8.6 17.3 6.9 63.2 148.9 56.4 2.7 4.2 2.7 11.9 17.1 12.2

1996 7.9 15.4 6.5 52.2 138.2 50.0 2.0 3.3 2.4 8.9 15.4 11.3

1997 5.7 14.5 5.9 42.0 136.5 45.5 1.7 3.5 2.1 7.2 15.4 9.9

1998 5.7 14.5 5.3 32.8 117.4 40.6 1.9 3.4 2.2 5.9 14.3 9.3

1999 5.1 12.5 5.0 31.0 102.4 36.5 1.7 3.4 2.0 5.9 12.9 7.9

2000 4.1 12.1 4.7 25.8 100.6 38.1 1.4 2.9 2.0 4.5 13.5 7.6

2001 3.8 12.9 4.8 26.3 104.0 37.5 1.4 3.2 2.0 3.9 10.1 7.6

2002 3.6 12.7 4.8 22.6 102.5 39.0 1.5 2.9 1.9 6.1 11.8 7.4

2003 3.5 13.0 4.8 24.7 104.8 39.8 1.1 3.2 1.9 3.8 11.9 6.9

2004 4.0 12.0 4.9 25.8 95.6 38.3 1.1 2.9 1.9 3.7 9.7 6.6

2005 4.4 12.2 4.9 26.4 102.0 39.9 1.1 2.5 1.9 4.0 11.3 6.2

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Homicide Victims by Age, Race and Gender 

White Male Black Male White Female Black Female

14-

17 18-24 25+ 14-

17 18-24 25+ 14-

17

18-

24 25+ 14-

17

18-

24 25+

1976 265 1,363 4,974 264 1,471 4,884 147 499 1,718 69 442 1,183

1977 289 1,525 5,114 244 1,468 4,853 161 531 1,809 95 444 1,090

1978 331 1,637 5,458 239 1,496 4,795 167 531 1,804 84 440 1,074

1979 337 1,984 5,926 254 1,608 5,229 152 629 1,897 85 454 1,224

1980 352 2,038 6,306 295 1,780 5,478 170 652 2,037 76 463 1,217

1981 289 1,898 6,381 267 1,735 5,709 153 612 2,051 70 418 1,209

1982 264 1,748 5,977 256 1,601 5,009 123 637 2,136 85 362 1,118

1983 242 1,585 5,486 241 1,457 4,570 124 503 2,025 58 397 1,037

1984 217 1,467 5,401 204 1,320 4,285 126 607 1,947 70 371 1,010

1985 238 1,465 5,384 259 1,421 4,243 113 489 2,167 79 334 1,106

1986 249 1,583 5,525 292 1,701 4,889 132 542 2,093 70 396 1,205

1987 223 1,429 5,284 394 1,845 4,569 128 517 2,257 76 387 1,260

1988 234 1,390 5,131 472 2,068 5,049 125 491 2,112 77 406 1,326

1989 311 1,487 5,251 590 2,388 5,255 116 469 1,986 92 382 1,341

1990 412 1,874 5,672 614 2,827 5,652 131 428 2,051 104 395 1,327

1991 472 1,992 5,796 755 3,225 5,650 131 475 2,026 96 449 1,422

1992 507 1,864 5,556 721 3,185 5,372 128 452 2,051 133 394 1,395

1993 516 1,846 5,411 832 3,440 5,499 144 441 2,192 133 464 1,425

1994 499 1,885 5,204 799 3,287 5,266 107 386 1,926 108 395 1,373

1995 512 1,792 4,754 734 2,765 4,696 151 417 2,036 134 324 1,242

1996 477 1,569 4,489 617 2,561 4,231 111 320 1,788 101 292 1,164

1997 356 1,457 4,101 509 2,509 3,921 100 335 1,610 84 289 1,041

1998 357 1,462 3,732 402 2,169 3,555 111 325 1,716 69 270 992

1999 322 1,285 3,572 379 1,930 3,238 99 332 1,531 69 248 859

2000 269 1,296 3,436 326 1,979 3,505 88 299 1,583 54 271 851

2001 249 1,408 3,550 337 2,100 3,508 85 337 1,598 48 207 871

2002 241 1,422 3,561 295 2,115 3,700 91 312 1,553 76 247 862

2003 237 1,475 3,663 331 2,190 3,833 66 342 1,556 49 253 814

2004 268 1,385 3,770 358 2,033 3,737 73 322 1,533 49 209 795

2005 301 1,432 3,776 378 2,205 3,944 70 278 1,593 55 248 755

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting 

and imputation. 

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 [D] 

Young males, particularly young black males, are 

disproportionately involved in homicide 

compared to their share of the population 

z For young white males, their proportion of the population increased slightly since 2001, while 

their proportion of homicide victims has been stable and their proporation of offenders has 

declined. 

z For young black males, their proportion of the population has remained at about 1%. After 

1993, their proportion of homicide victims declined slightly before stablizing in recent years. 

Their proportion of homicide offenders increased rapidly from the mid 1980's to the early 

1990's and then declined slightly remaining at over one-quarter of all offenders.. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age, gender, and race trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Offending Rates per 100,000 Population by Age, Race and Gender

White Male Black Male White Female Black Female

14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+ 14-17 18-24 25+

1976 10.9 21.0 8.9 80.6 180.9 100.9 1.4 2.5 1.5 11.2 29.5 22.1

1977 11.2 21.7 9.2 73.7 169.9 96.3 1.3 2.6 1.4 7.0 29.9 21.0

1978 10.9 23.6 9.5 70.0 178.5 96.3 1.1 2.6 1.3 7.8 27.4 19.2

1979 13.5 26.8 10.2 78.7 197.7 101.6 1.1 2.8 1.5 9.1 27.0 18.8

1980 13.9 30.1 11.4 83.8 212.6 108.9 1.0 2.9 1.6 8.1 32.6 19.5

1981 11.6 27.1 10.8 82.9 186.0 96.6 1.2 2.5 1.5 8.1 23.9 17.6

1982 11.7 24.5 10.4 69.4 174.9 85.1 1.2 2.6 1.4 5.9 24.1 15.1

1983 10.9 23.9 9.5 57.4 150.3 76.2 1.5 2.3 1.3 7.2 21.9 13.1

1984 10.0 25.2 9.6 52.8 130.1 71.5 1.2 2.7 1.2 6.0 18.5 12.4

1985 10.4 23.2 9.3 69.0 143.5 68.8 .9 2.5 1.2 7.1 18.0 12.0

1986 12.9 25.1 9.5 80.1 162.2 77.1 1.2 2.2 1.2 5.7 20.2 12.7

1987 11.8 24.4 9.3 87.5 177.9 69.3 1.3 2.5 1.2 6.8 16.5 11.1

1988 14.6 23.2 8.8 125.4 219.5 72.6 1.0 2.5 1.1 7.5 20.5 10.2

1989 16.8 26.8 8.6 135.5 250.6 67.8 1.1 2.7 1.1 7.0 18.9 10.8

1990 22.0 30.9 9.2 194.5 290.8 70.3 1.5 2.8 1.1 6.9 19.1 10.1

1991 22.8 32.9 8.8 214.1 365.1 68.8 1.3 2.6 1.0 10.5 21.9 10.2

1992 23.3 31.8 8.0 209.1 326.4 65.5 1.4 2.3 .9 11.1 17.2 8.7

1993 22.8 32.7 7.8 253.1 362.5 60.7 1.3 2.2 1.1 9.2 20.0 8.1

1994 24.9 32.7 7.5 235.5 338.3 55.1 1.6 2.2 1.0 9.6 17.7 7.8

1995 22.0 32.1 7.2 178.6 301.3 51.3 1.3 2.1 .9 7.5 13.0 6.3

1996 18.3 31.7 6.4 143.3 282.5 47.2 1.8 2.7 .9 8.8 15.7 6.2

1997 16.3 29.5 5.9 116.8 252.8 45.0 1.5 2.8 .8 4.5 15.9 5.3

1998 14.2 29.8 6.1 80.7 227.1 39.6 1.2 2.5 .9 5.3 13.2 5.1

1999 10.6 24.9 5.4 68.4 212.9 36.3 1.4 2.4 .8 6.1 10.7 4.3

2000 8.1 24.6 5.3 63.7 211.4 38.0 1.2 2.0 .8 5.2 11.4 4.0

2001 8.2 26.1 5.4 61.0 207.3 38.8 1.0 2.2 .7 5.1 12.6 4.2

2002 9.2 24.9 5.5 54.6 192.2 41.0 .9 2.6 .7 3.6 11.0 3.7

2003 7.7 23.2 5.5 58.3 199.4 39.6 1.3 2.3 .7 3.6 11.9 4.1

2004 8.7 22.9 5.6 59.8 184.9 38.0 .8 2.2 .8 2.7 9.8 3.9

2005 7.9 22.4 5.5 64.1 203.3 41.8 .7 2.0 .8 4.0 11.8 4.0

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Homicide Offenders by Age, Race and Gender

White Male Black Male White Female Black Female

14-

17

18-

24 25+ 14-

17

18-

24 25+ 14-

17

18-

24 25+ 14-

17

18-

24 25+

1976 780 2,525 4,561 877 2,963 5,069 99 294 852 122 520 1,360

1977 795 2,650 4,782 803 2,867 4,969 86 312 834 77 543 1,326

1978 762 2,905 5,011 767 3,091 5,110 75 309 790 85 509 1,254

1979 932 3,312 5,490 863 3,499 5,555 75 339 888 100 511 1,266

1980 948 3,781 6,288 941 3,914 6,289 67 362 987 91 640 1,387

1981 783 3,446 6,107 962 3,595 5,922 81 308 910 94 490 1,330

1982 766 3,078 5,946 796 3,393 5,366 76 322 924 68 495 1,170

1983 698 2,973 5,539 648 2,919 4,930 93 279 871 81 449 1,043

1984 621 3,102 5,687 585 2,526 4,743 70 324 792 66 376 1,011

1985 634 2,811 5,631 753 2,782 4,676 50 289 779 77 364 1,003

1986 787 2,980 5,817 872 3,139 5,369 68 253 782 61 405 1,083

1987 712 2,827 5,805 954 3,407 4,944 76 280 802 73 326 969

1988 871 2,626 5,570 1,367 4,144 5,293 59 268 748 80 400 916

1989 989 2,967 5,510 1,471 4,665 5,050 59 281 740 75 362 988

1990 1,209 3,459 5,939 2,025 5,443 5,342 80 294 789 70 368 943

1991 1,261 3,593 5,786 2,250 6,779 5,347 69 273 736 107 419 968

1992 1,308 3,405 5,314 2,239 6,052 5,208 74 232 678 115 327 845

1993 1,291 3,521 5,254 2,755 6,797 4,890 69 230 774 97 384 797

1994 1,430 3,464 5,097 2,627 6,310 4,513 85 223 727 104 337 780

1995 1,309 3,331 4,941 2,072 5,596 4,268 73 209 654 84 246 639

1996 1,112 3,228 4,399 1,694 5,232 3,996 102 263 651 100 297 638

1997 1,014 2,964 4,112 1,415 4,646 3,883 89 270 623 52 298 553

1998 894 2,991 4,284 990 4,196 3,465 73 238 708 62 250 546

1999 668 2,547 3,838 837 4,015 3,223 83 237 590 72 206 462

2000 525 2,628 3,923 805 4,158 3,499 74 200 621 63 230 453

2001 539 2,856 4,016 783 4,188 3,630 62 230 541 63 259 485

2002 611 2,786 4,118 712 3,966 3,888 57 275 601 45 232 428

2003 518 2,632 4,155 782 4,166 3,811 83 250 597 47 252 480

2004 590 2,641 4,303 828 3,931 3,709 54 247 654 36 212 471

2005 540 2,622 4,213 917 4,395 4,139 44 224 683 55 260 485

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting 

and imputation. 

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[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Age, gender, and race trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Proportion of Population, Victims, and Offenders by Demographic Group

White Males, Ages 14-24 Black Males, Ages 14-24 All Others

 Population Victims Offenders Population Victims Offenders Population Victims Offenders

1976 8.9% 8.7% 16.2% 1.3% 9.2% 18.9% 89.8% 82.1% 64.9%

1977 8.9% 9.5% 16.9% 1.3% 9.0% 18.0% 89.8% 81.6% 65.1%

1978 8.8% 10.1% 17.5% 1.3% 8.9% 18.4% 89.9% 81.1% 64.1%

1979 8.8% 10.8% 18.3% 1.3% 8.7% 18.8% 89.9% 80.5% 62.9%

1980 8.6% 10.4% 18.0% 1.3% 9.0% 18.5% 90.1% 80.6% 63.4%

1981 8.5% 9.7% 17.3% 1.4% 8.9% 18.6% 90.2% 81.4% 64.1%

1982 8.3% 9.6% 16.8% 1.3% 8.8% 18.3% 90.4% 81.6% 64.9%

1983 8.1% 9.5% 17.5% 1.3% 8.8% 17.0% 90.6% 81.7% 65.5%

1984 7.9% 9.0% 18.3% 1.3% 8.2% 15.3% 90.9% 82.8% 66.4%

1985 7.7% 9.0% 16.9% 1.3% 8.9% 17.4% 91.1% 82.2% 65.7%

1986 7.5% 8.9% 17.0% 1.3% 9.7% 18.1% 91.3% 81.4% 64.9%

1987 7.3% 8.2% 16.3% 1.2% 11.1% 20.1% 91.5% 80.6% 63.6%

1988 7.1% 7.9% 15.3% 1.2% 12.3% 24.1% 91.7% 79.9% 60.5%

1989 6.9% 8.4% 16.7% 1.2% 13.9% 25.9% 91.9% 77.8% 57.4%

1990 6.7% 9.8% 17.6% 1.2% 14.7% 28.2% 92.1% 75.6% 54.1%

1991 6.5% 10.0% 17.2% 1.2% 16.1% 31.9% 92.3% 73.9% 50.9%

1992 6.4% 10.0% 17.8% 1.1% 16.4% 31.2% 92.5% 73.6% 51.0%

1993 6.4% 9.6% 17.4% 1.1% 17.4% 34.6% 92.5% 73.0% 48.0%

1994 6.3% 10.2% 18.5% 1.1% 17.5% 33.7% 92.6% 72.3% 47.8%

1995 6.2% 10.7% 19.2% 1.1% 16.2% 31.7% 92.6% 73.1% 49.2%

1996 6.1% 10.4% 19.4% 1.1% 16.2% 30.9% 92.7% 73.4% 49.7%

1997 6.1% 10.0% 19.3% 1.1% 16.6% 29.4% 92.8% 73.5% 51.3%

1998 6.1% 10.7% 20.1% 1.1% 15.2% 26.8% 92.8% 74.1% 53.0%

1999 6.1% 10.4% 18.5% 1.1% 14.9% 27.9% 92.8% 74.8% 53.6%

2000 6.1% 10.0% 17.8% 1.1% 14.8% 28.0% 92.7% 75.2% 54.3%

2001 6.1% 10.3% 18.7% 1.2% 15.2% 27.4% 92.7% 74.5% 53.9%

2002 6.2% 10.3% 18.6% 1.2% 14.9% 25.6% 92.7% 74.9% 55.7%

2003 6.2% 10.4% 17.1% 1.2% 15.3% 26.9% 92.6% 74.4% 56.0%

2004 6.2% 10.2% 17.7% 1.2% 14.8% 26.1% 92.6% 75.0% 56.1%

2005 6.3% 10.4% 16.5% 1.2% 15.5% 27.8% 92.5% 74.1% 55.7%

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide trends in the U.S. 

Victim/offender relationship 

Most homicides with known 

victim/offender relationships 

involved people who knew each 

other 

z The number of homicides where the victim/offender relationship was undetermined has been 

increasing since 1999 but has not reached the levels experienced in the early 1990s. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Note: Intimate includes spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, and same-sex 

relationships. Friend/Acquaintance includes neighbor, employee, employer, and other known. 

These data are grouped from the original categories. For the detailed categories see the following 

tables: 

Weighted | Unweighted

In 14% of all murders, the victim and the 

offender were strangers. 

z Spouses and family members made up about 15% of all victims. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Victim/offender relationship 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

These data are grouped from the original categories. This additional detail is provided in tables: 

Weighted | Unweighted

Relationship of victim to offender, 1976-2005 

Intimate

Other

family

Friend/ 

Acquaintance Stranger Undetermined

1976 2892 1754 7018 2635 4481

1977 2669 1712 7022 2565 5152

1978 2633 1743 6645 2648 5891

1979 2726 1719 6753 2686 7576

1980 2712 1837 7180 3066 8245

1981 2790 1904 7683 3485 6660

1982 2571 1879 7100 3559 5900

1983 2523 1805 6641 2892 5449

1984 2379 1711 6491 3267 4843

1985 2469 1710 6941 2756 5104

1986 2527 1722 7532 2677 6152

1987 2372 1799 7327 2663 5938

1988 2384 1663 7372 2541 6720

1989 2272 1757 7551 2807 7113

1990 2304 1696 7875 3362 8202

1991 2225 1766 7547 3733 9428

1992 2098 1608 7543 3215 9295

1993 2202 1599 7681 3446 9602

1994 2055 1551 7409 3054 9262

1995 1832 1465 6544 3288 8481

1996 1775 1350 6451 2762 7311

1997 1614 1403 5607 2395 7190

1998 1762 1319 5208 2209 6472

1999 1576 1329 4610 1837 6170

2000 1614 1228 4149 2046 6549

2001 1531 1286 4040 2100 7080

2002 1522 1240 4232 2283 6927

2003 1486 1301 4346 2052 7343

2004 1503 1261 4187 2081 7116

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 1510 1242 4082 2319 7540

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z About one-third of the victims were acquaintances of the assailant. 

z The victim/offender relationship was undetermined in over one-third of homicides. 

Homicides committed by friends/acquaintances 

and strangers are more likely to involve guns 

than those committed by initmates or family 

members 

To view data, click on the chart. 

Victim/Offender Relationship, 1976-2005

All homicides, 

1976-2005

 Percent Number

Total 100.0% 594,276

 Stranger 13.9% 82,428

 Nonstranger 

 Spouse 7.0% 41,700

 Other family 8.0% 47,358

 Boyfriend/Girlfriend 3.8% 22,829

 Other Acquaintance 32.1% 190,767

 Relationship undetermined 35.2% 209,194
[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Victim/offender relationship 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Relationship of victim to offender by weapon, 1976-2005 

Intimate Other family

Friend/ 

Acquaintance Stranger Undetermined

Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun

1976 2039 853 1045 709 4671 2347 1751 884 2473 2007

1977 1858 811 927 786 4596 2426 1644 921 2931 2221

1978 1811 822 970 773 4493 2152 1771 877 3403 2488

1979 1950 776 1034 685 4513 2241 1783 903 4311 3265

1980 1877 835 1005 832 4629 2551 2022 1044 4854 3392

1981 1860 930 1078 825 4962 2721 2255 1230 3909 2750

1982 1691 880 983 896 4458 2643 2236 1323 3270 2630

1983 1604 919 923 881 4015 2626 1701 1191 3023 2426

1984 1532 847 898 813 3919 2572 1924 1343 2745 2097

1985 1593 875 886 824 4169 2772 1688 1069 2802 2302

1986 1612 915 832 890 4598 2935 1649 1027 3490 2662

1987 1511 862 901 899 4467 2860 1637 1026 3359 2579

1988 1451 933 802 861 4548 2824 1593 948 4144 2577

1989 1387 885 832 926 4751 2800 1902 904 4549 2564

1990 1411 894 787 909 4994 2881 2249 1113 5631 2571

1991 1315 910 785 981 4901 2646 2745 988 6632 2796

1992 1276 822 746 862 5196 2347 2410 805 6573 2723

1993 1391 812 756 843 5336 2345 2643 802 6951 2652

1994 1282 772 689 862 5224 2185 2440 614 6700 2562

1995 1104 727 628 837 4537 2007 2397 891 6063 2418

1996 1079 696 541 810 4306 2145 2104 658 5234 2078

1997 975 639 593 810 3774 1833 1865 530 5129 2062

1998 1025 737 536 782 3329 1880 1614 596 4509 1963

1999 917 659 544 785 2935 1675 1316 521 4405 1766

2000 906 708 514 714 2596 1553 1444 602 4743 1806

2001 839 691 457 829 2470 1570 1445 655 4927 2153

2002 832 690 503 737 2693 1539 1651 632 5146 1781

2003 816 670 501 799 2720 1626 1447 605 5568 1776

2004 762 741 493 768 2573 1614 1475 605 5358 1758

2005 824 685 463 778 2538 1543 1712 607 5808 1732

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

There has been a decline in homicide

of intimates, especially male victims 

Intimates are defined to include spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends. 

z The number of men murdered by intimates dropped by 75% since 1976. 

z The number of women killed by intimates was stable for nearly two decades. After 1993, the 

number declined reaching the lowest level recorded in 2004. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

In general, the number of intimate victims in 

each race and gender group declined 

Between 1976 and 2005 -- 

z the number of white females killed by intimates rose in the mid-1980's, then declined after 

1993 reaching the lowest recorded in 2002.The number fluctuated slightly after 2002. 

z the number of intimate homicides for all other race and gender groups declined over the 

period; the number of black males killed by intimates dropped by 83%, white males by 61%, 

black females by 52%, and white females by 6%. 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Intimate Homicide 

Victims by Gender 

Male Female

1976 1,304 1,587

1977 1,248 1,421

1978 1,159 1,473

1979 1,229 1,498

1980 1,169 1,543

1981 1,232 1,558

1982 1,093 1,477

1983 1,067 1,456

1984 947 1,432

1985 927 1,542

1986 946 1,581

1987 891 1,482

1988 816 1,568

1989 862 1,410

1990 820 1,485

1991 734 1,492

1992 662 1,436

1993 638 1,563

1994 654 1,401

1995 521 1,311

1996 476 1,299

1997 413 1,202

1998 460 1,302

1999 381 1,195

2000 382 1,232

2001 344 1,187

2002 339 1,182

2003 330 1,156

2004 344 1,155

2005 329 1,181

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[D]

About 11% of murder victims were determined 

to have been killed by an intimate 

For additional detail, see Victim/offender relationship. 

Female murder victims are substantially more 

likely than male murder victims to have been 

killed by an intimate 

In recent years - 

z About one third of female murder victims were killed by an intimate. 

z About 3% of male murder victims were killed by an intimate. 

z Of all female murder victims, the proportion killed by an intimate has been increasing. 

z Of male murder victims, the proportion killed by an intimate has dropped. 

To view data, click on the chart.

Victim/Offender Relationship, 1976-2005 

All homicides, 

1976-2005

 Percent Number

 

Total 100.0% 594,276

 Intimate 10.9% 64,529

 Non-intimate 53.9% 320,554

 Undetermined 35.2% 209,194
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Intimate Homicide Victims by Race and Gender

White Black Other

Male Female Male Female Male Female

1976 467 840 820 709 11 20

1977 452 821 786 565 5 17

1978 462 864 689 577 7 14

1979 513 880 700 590 10 13

1980 466 912 694 584 5 33

1981 528 947 684 582 18 27

1982 476 942 607 504 9 29

1983 476 906 580 511 10 37

1984 417 930 515 463 14 34

1985 406 1,002 512 491 10 48

1986 416 994 522 532 5 52

1987 397 958 482 483 8 35

1988 351 998 448 524 15 36

1989 351 879 499 473 10 42

1990 364 941 436 487 16 44

1991 333 907 393 518 7 55

1992 296 877 352 504 9 48

1993 294 980 331 533 12 43

1994 291 897 351 462 11 35

1995 233 865 281 387 6 50

1996 229 844 241 416 6 27

1997 216 749 187 399 9 40

1998 238 862 209 392 11 38

1999 190 797 181 336 8 57

2000 186 841 180 330 14 49

2001 174 792 161 342 9 50

2002 179 763 150 362 8 49

2003 176 774 144 333 7 45

2004 195 798 138 316 11 33

2005 183 789 138 337 7 44

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[D] 

For every age group female murder victims are 

more likely than male victims to have been killed 

by an intimate 

Most intimate homicides involved spouses, 

although in recent years the number of deaths by

boyfriends and girlfriends was about the same 

To view data, click on the chart.

Percent of all murders by intimates, 1976-

2005 

Male victims Female victims 

12-17 -- 5 % 

18-24 2 % 29 

25-29 4 37 

30-34 6 41 

35-39 8 43 

40-44 9 42 

45-49 10 40 

50-59 10 32 

60+ 6 21 

-- Less than 0.5%
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percentages | Numbers 

Percent Intimate Homicide Victims by Gender 

Male Female

Intimate

Nonintimate 

or 

Unknown Total Intimate

Nonintimate 

or 

Unknown Total

1976 9.2% 90.8% 100.0% 34.6% 65.4% 100.0%

1977 8.7% 91.3% 100.0% 30.2% 69.8% 100.0%

1978 7.8% 92.2% 100.0% 31.7% 68.3% 100.0%

1979 7.5% 92.5% 100.0% 29.9% 70.1% 100.0%

1980 6.6% 93.4% 100.0% 29.5% 70.5% 100.0%

1981 7.1% 92.9% 100.0% 30.6% 69.4% 100.0%

1982 6.9% 93.1% 100.0% 29.0% 71.0% 100.0%

1983 7.3% 92.7% 100.0% 31.0% 69.0% 100.0%

1984 6.8% 93.2% 100.0% 30.2% 69.8% 100.0%

1985 6.6% 93.4% 100.0% 31.6% 68.4% 100.0%

1986 6.1% 93.9% 100.0% 30.9% 69.1% 100.0%

1987 6.0% 94.0% 100.0% 28.1% 71.9% 100.0%

1988 5.3% 94.7% 100.0% 29.9% 70.1% 100.0%

1989 5.3% 94.7% 100.0% 27.7% 72.3% 100.0%

1990 4.5% 95.5% 100.0% 29.0% 71.0% 100.0%

1991 3.8% 96.2% 100.0% 27.7% 72.3% 100.0%

1992 3.6% 96.4% 100.0% 27.5% 72.5% 100.0%

1993 3.4% 96.6% 100.0% 28.2% 71.8% 100.0%

1994 3.6% 96.4% 100.0% 28.0% 72.0% 100.0%

1995 3.1% 96.9% 100.0% 26.1% 73.9% 100.0%

1996 3.1% 96.9% 100.0% 29.1% 70.9% 100.0%

1997 2.9% 97.1% 100.0% 29.1% 70.9% 100.0%

1998 3.6% 96.4% 100.0% 31.4% 68.6% 100.0%

1999 3.3% 96.7% 100.0% 31.5% 68.5% 100.0%

2000 3.2% 96.8% 100.0% 33.0% 67.0% 100.0%

2001 2.8% 97.2% 100.0% 31.4% 68.6% 100.0%

2002 2.7% 97.3% 100.0% 31.4% 68.6% 100.0%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2003 2.6% 97.4% 100.0% 31.3% 68.7% 100.0%

2004 2.7% 97.3% 100.0% 32.6% 67.4% 100.0%

2005 2.5% 97.5% 100.0% 33.3% 66.7% 100.0%

Intimate Homicide Victims by Gender

Male Female

Intimate

Nonintimate 

or 

Unknown Total Intimate

Nonintimate 

or 

Unknown Total

1976 1,304 12,867 14,171 1,587 3,003 4,590

1977 1,248 13,149 14,397 1,421 3,289 4,710

1978 1,159 13,736 14,895 1,473 3,169 4,642

1979 1,229 15,199 16,428 1,498 3,520 5,017

1980 1,169 16,619 17,788 1,543 3,689 5,232

1981 1,232 16,173 17,405 1,558 3,539 5,096

1982 1,093 14,809 15,902 1,477 3,615 5,093

1983 1,067 13,521 14,588 1,456 3,247 4,703

1984 947 12,963 13,910 1,432 3,309 4,741

1985 927 13,152 14,079 1,542 3,338 4,880

1986 946 14,525 15,471 1,581 3,529 5,109

1987 891 13,920 14,811 1,482 3,787 5,268

1988 816 14,598 15,414 1,568 3,670 5,238

1989 862 15,545 16,407 1,410 3,674 5,085

1990 820 17,484 18,304 1,485 3,631 5,115

1991 734 18,536 19,270 1,492 3,903 5,394

1992 662 17,851 18,513 1,436 3,781 5,217

1993 638 18,299 18,937 1,563 3,987 5,550

1994 654 17,640 18,294 1,401 3,607 5,007

1995 521 16,031 16,552 1,311 3,712 5,022

1996 476 14,677 15,153 1,299 3,170 4,469

1997 413 13,644 14,057 1,202 2,923 4,125

1998 460 12,293 12,753 1,302 2,838 4,139

1999 381 11,324 11,704 1,195 2,604 3,800

2000 382 11,437 11,818 1,232 2,501 3,733

2001 344 11,888 12,232 1,187 2,588 3,775

2002 339 12,071 12,410 1,182 2,583 3,764

2003 330 12,474 12,804 1,156 2,537 3,693

2004 344 12,220 12,565 1,155 2,388 3,543

2005 329 12,793 13,122 1,181 2,363 3,545

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[D] 

The intimate homicide rate has fallen for blacks 

in every gender and relationship category while 

the rate for whites has not declined for all 

categories 

The intimate homicide rate -- 

z for white girlfriends was higher in 2005 than it was in 1976 

z for white wives and ex-wives has declined but not as much as that for white husbands and 

ex-husbands 

z for black husbands and ex-husbands was 20 times greater in 1976 than it was in 2005 

z is higher for black girlfriends than any other group in 2005, although it has declined 66% 

since 1976. 

To view data, click on the chart.
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Intimate Homicide Victims by 

Relationship

Spouse Ex-Spouse

Boyfriend/

Girlfriend

1976 2,134 112 646

1977 1,967 108 594

1978 1,909 114 610

1979 1,915 139 673

1980 1,874 111 727

1981 1,908 128 754

1982 1,697 124 749

1983 1,647 119 757

1984 1,475 93 811

1985 1,561 108 799

1986 1,514 123 889

1987 1,450 91 831

1988 1,435 94 855

1989 1,306 73 894

1990 1,335 104 865

1991 1,243 76 906

1992 1,214 75 809

1993 1,186 86 930

1994 1,122 82 850

1995 1,002 57 773

1996 974 66 735

1997 842 67 706

1998 929 73 760

1999 798 60 718

2000 851 66 697

2001 793 50 688

2002 770 53 699

2003 716 55 716

2004 764 54 685

2005 757 53 700

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[D]

Note: This chart refers to persons ages 20-44. The number of married or divorced persons is the 

population base used to calculate spouse and ex-spouse rates and the number of never married or 

widowed persons is the population base used to calculate boyfriend/girlfriend rates. 

The number of male and female intimate victims 

killed with guns has fallen. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Intimate homicide 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Intimate Homicide Victims by 

Weapon and Gender

Gun Nongun

Male Female Male Female

1976 929 1,109 375 477

1977 878 980 370 441

1978 802 1,010 357 463

1979 884 1,066 345 431

1980 805 1,072 364 471

1981 809 1,051 423 506

1982 688 1,003 405 474

1983 666 938 401 518

1984 584 949 364 483

1985 574 1,019 353 523

1986 598 1,014 348 567

1987 526 985 365 497

1988 448 1,003 368 565

1989 482 905 380 505

1990 453 957 367 527

1991 386 929 348 563

1992 349 927 313 509

1993 361 1,030 277 533

1994 370 913 284 488

1995 292 813 230 498

1996 251 828 225 471

1997 230 745 183 457

1998 228 797 232 505

1999 190 728 191 468

2000 181 725 200 508

2001 164 675 180 511

2002 142 689 198 493

2003 155 662 175 495

2004 154 608 190 547

2005 147 678 182 504

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In general, guns are most often used in intimate homicide but weapon type varies by relationship. 

From 1990 to 2005 -- 

z Over two-thirds of the spouse and ex-spouse victims were killed by guns. 

z Boyfriends were more likely to be killed by knives than any other group of intimates. 

z Girlfriends were more likely to be killed by force than any other group of intimates. 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. Due to 

refinements in the analysis, the data presented may differ from previous editions. 

See also: Intimate Partner Violence

Related charts on this site 

z Percent of all homicides involving intimates by urban, suburban, and rural area, 1976-2005 

z Victim offender relationship by victim gender, 1976-2005 

Homicides by relationship and weapon type, 1990-2005 

Relationship of 

victim to 

offender Total Gun Knife Blunt object Force Other weapon

Husband 100 % 69 % 26 % 2 % 1 % 3 %

Ex-husband 100 86 10 1 0 3

Wife 100 68 14 5 10 4

Ex-wife 100 77 12 3 5 3

Boyfriend 100 45 47 3 3 3

Girlfriend 100 56 20 5 14 5

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Family homicides

Family homicides most often involve 

spouses or ex-spouses although 

such crimes declined recently 

z After spousal killing, children killed by their parents are the most frequent type of family 

homicide. 

z Siblings are murder victims less often than other family members. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

For additional detail on spousal homicides, see Intimate homicides. 

For blacks and whites, homicides involving all 

family relationships have been declining. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Family homicides 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

 Relationship of victim to offender

Spouse/ 

Ex-spouse Parent Sibling Child

Other 

family

Friend/ 

Acquaintance Stranger Unknown

1976 2,246 378 265 551 561 7,663 2,635 4,481

1977 2,075 369 241 558 545 7,615 2,565 5,152

1978 2,022 377 225 579 562 7,256 2,648 5,891

1979 2,053 371 245 538 565 7,426 2,686 7,576

1980 1,985 372 300 573 591 7,907 3,066 8,245

1981 2,036 411 328 576 588 8,436 3,485 6,660

1982 1,821 380 278 637 584 7,851 3,559 5,900

1983 1,766 365 293 587 559 7,398 2,892 5,449

1984 1,568 366 308 520 518 7,301 3,267 4,843

1985 1,669 350 253 614 492 7,741 2,756 5,104

1986 1,637 346 250 613 513 8,422 2,677 6,152

1987 1,541 327 288 602 583 8,158 2,663 5,938

1988 1,529 342 257 586 479 8,226 2,541 6,720

1989 1,378 346 258 631 523 8,445 2,807 7,113

1990 1,439 316 280 606 495 8,740 3,362 8,202

1991 1,320 362 247 645 512 8,455 3,733 9,428

1992 1,290 313 221 604 471 8,352 3,215 9,295

1993 1,272 329 223 608 438 8,611 3,446 9,602

1994 1,204 324 223 567 436 8,258 3,054 9,262

1995 1,058 297 160 573 436 7,316 3,288 8,481

1996 1,040 274 142 549 384 7,186 2,762 7,311

1997 908 268 174 584 377 6,312 2,395 7,190

1998 1,002 273 142 546 357 5,967 2,209 6,472

1999 858 288 124 557 360 5,328 1,837 6,170

2000 917 269 140 471 348 4,848 2,046 6,549

2001 843 241 118 560 366 4,729 2,100 7,080

2002 823 260 127 503 350 4,931 2,283 6,927

2003 771 271 131 528 371 5,061 2,052 7,343

2004 817 269 130 506 356 4,873 2,081 7,116

2005 810 271 136 479 356 4,783 2,319 7,540

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[D] 

Fathers are more likely than mothers to be killed 

by their children 

Teenage sons are most often the perpetrator in parental killings. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Brothers are more likely than sisters to kill a 

sibling 

Older teen and young adult males are most often the perpetrator in killings of brothers. Males who 

kill their sisters tend to be younger than males who kill their brothers. 

Sisters rarely kill their siblings. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Family homicides 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Relationship of victim to offender by race of victim, 1976-2005 

White Black

Spouse/ 

Ex-spouse Parent Sibling Child

Other

family

Spouse/

Ex-spouse Parent Sibling Child

Other

family

1976 1100 247 128 335 282 1106 126 129 202 259

1977 1067 251 107 324 298 973 112 126 225 232

1978 1083 268 98 318 311 909 105 115 249 242

1979 1140 247 127 344 335 886 114 114 177 218

1980 1076 271 138 348 340 871 93 155 207 230

1981 1193 273 177 346 311 806 135 138 216 263

1982 1101 268 144 369 345 691 104 124 253 230

1983 1059 250 163 346 296 680 103 121 229 252

1984 982 262 169 322 298 558 100 131 182 207

1985 1074 254 136 378 278 554 88 103 219 201

1986 1010 231 113 342 274 584 103 127 249 223

1987 977 233 159 332 335 530 86 122 251 224

1988 963 237 120 339 250 517 97 125 238 208

1989 844 235 135 385 275 500 102 116 220 229

1990 931 228 140 363 250 452 82 133 223 228

1991 839 239 124 370 279 431 113 116 248 217

1992 828 201 116 325 264 423 107 92 244 190

1993 834 229 103 337 217 400 94 113 247 205

1994 818 224 118 340 250 356 97 100 207 171

1995 725 203 85 366 238 295 81 68 182 181

1996 737 186 68 338 233 274 79 71 196 133

1997 614 194 86 348 201 256 71 83 206 161

1998 707 214 76 345 191 259 56 63 179 145

1999 608 211 73 332 194 205 64 45 198 140

2000 669 192 81 291 197 198 65 55 168 139

2001 600 187 65 369 230 203 48 42 177 118

2002 581 185 72 304 219 199 61 54 168 112

2003 547 197 72 330 211 187 69 49 177 136

2004 612 197 82 319 186 177 59 46 170 144

2005 593 211 84 299 210 187 48 45 155 135

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Family homicides 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Number of homicide offenders who killed a parent by gender of victim and 

offender and age of offender, 1976-2005 

 Fathers killed by children Mothers killed by children

Age of 

offender

Male offender

(son)

Female offender

(daughter)

Male offender

(son)

Female offender

(daughter)

7 1 

8 1 1 

9 1 1 

10 9 1 

11 11 1 3 1

12 20 9 10 2

13 74 9 31 14

14 129 36 71 19

15 259 47 113 22

16 347 61 130 31

17 353 51 149 17

18 259 43 149 19

19 287 42 131 15

20 241 26 122 13

21 249 32 111 7

22 208 15 122 14

23 230 28 102 12

24 199 17 116 11

25 174 16 104 11

26 126 16 106 13

27 140 23 109 17

28 147 14 92 8

29 130 13 104 11

30 109 23 89 14

31 104 12 87 14

32 98 18 79 4

33 101 17 75 8

34 96 27 76 7

35 79 7 90 12

36 83 11 74 9

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

37 61 10 74 10

38 60 9 63 13

39 51 11 50 13

40 50 7 69 8

41 66 4 45 10

42 51 6 50 12

43 54 11 57 12

44 42 3 49 18

45 26 5 44 11

46 24 6 26 14

47 29 5 33 12

48 36 4 23 7

49 17 2 33 12

50 21 3 30 9

51 21 3 19 6

52 14 30 2

53 8 4 30 5

54 8 7 26 14

55 9 2 17 8

56 1 2 15 11

57 7 1 17 9

58 9 87

59 1 16 4

60 9 14 6

61 2 1 14 2

62 2 12 2

63 1 81

64 2 5 

65 2 23 3

66 12 4

67 1 12

68 23 2

69 1 

70 1 

71 1 

72 21 

74 2 

75 2 

76 1

78 1 

81 1

83 1 1

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[D] 

Note: Includes only single victim homicides. 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Family homicides 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Sibling homicides by gender of victim and offender 

and offender age, 1976-2005 

 Brother victim Sister victim

Age of offender

Killed by 

brother 

Killed by 

Sister 

Killed by 

Brother 

Killed by 

Sister 

6 2 272

7 3

8 7 62

9 7 16

10 9 162

11 13 1 10 1

12 23 5 12 4

13 39 6 18 3

14 69 10 34 9

15 95 14 29 4

16 124 19 31 11

17 127 11 28 8

18 170 21 23 7

19 158 19 23 7

20 159 14 24 6

21 164 24 14 7

22 184 23 29 8

23 178 17 20 5

24 140 22 23 1

25 166 17 25 7

26 150 21 20 4

27 159 12 19 7

28 143 16 18 8

29 162 15 11 6

30 137 16 12 6

31 95 15 12 1

32 132 18 14 8

33 99 17 12 4

34 115 12 10 4

35 106 8 12 8

36 101 11 7 5

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37 96 7 8 6

38 85 7 7 4

39 90 8 8 4

40 94 6 8 1

41 89 2 9 3

42 64 7 2 2

43 50 11 8 1

44 64 5 11 2

45 67 5 9 1

46 49 5 8 7

47 58 6 7 2

48 44 3 8 1

49 41 4 2 1

50 39 1 4 2

51 29 4 1

52 29 10 2

53 31 2 5

54 35 1 6 1

55 32 5 2

56 22 1 4 2

57 15 3 9 1

58 19 3 3

59 20 5 2

60 18 1 1 4

61 14 1 2 3

62 16 1 5 1

63 19 1 4 1

64 3 342

65 10 2 8

66 11 3 3 2

67 10 2 1

68 9 1

69 8 14

70 4 4

71 2 121

72 8 51

73 8 11

74 1 21

75 4 11

76 4 12

77 2 2

78 1 3

79 1 2

80 1 1

81 1

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

82 2 1

83 3 1

84 

85 1 2

86 1

87 1

88 1 11

89 

90

91

92

93 1

Note: Includes only the first victim in cases with more than one victim.

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Law enforcement officers killed 

The number of law enforcement 

officers killed in the line of duty has 

declined since the early 1970's 

Between 1996 and 2005, of the 575 officers killed -- 

z 26% were in arrest situations 

z 18% were in ambush situations 

z 18% were making traffic pursuits/stops 

z 17% were on disturbance calls 

z 12% were investigating suspicious persons/circumstances 

z 10% were in other situations 

Of the 662 assailants identified in the killing of law enforcement officers from 

1996-2005 -- 

z more than half had a prior conviction 

z 2 out of 5 had a prior arrest for a violent crime. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

Most law enforcement officers are killed with 

firearms, particularly handguns 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends in law enforcement officers killed 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Law Enforcement 

Officers Feloniously 

Killed 

Year Total killed*

1973 134 

1974 132 

1975 129 

1976 111 

1977 93 

1978 93 

1979 106 

1980 104 

1981 91 

1982 92 

1983 80 

1984 72 

1985 78 

1986 66 

1987 74 

1988 78 

1989 66 

1990 66 

1991 71 

1992 64 

1993 70 

1994 79 

1995 74 

1996 61 

1997 70 

1998 61 

1999 42 

2000 51 

2001 70 

2002 56 

2003 52 

2004 57 

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* The 72 deaths that resulted from the events of September 11, 2001 are not included in this total

Source: FBI, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1973-2005 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 55 

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The greatest proportion of the recent decline in murders of law enforcement officers is attributable 

to the decline in handgun murders. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Source: FBI, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1973-2005 

Additional information about the data used in Homicide trends in the U.S. 

See also Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of 

Police by Felons 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends in law enforcement officers killed by weapon type 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed 

Year Total killed* With handguns With other guns Other methods*

1973 134 93 34 7

1974 132 95 33 4

1975 129 93 34 2

1976 111 66 28 17

1977 93 59 24 10

1978 93 67 24 2

1979 106 76 24 6

1980 104 69 26 9

1981 91 69 17 5

1982 92 60 22 10

1983 80 54 20 6

1984 72 46 20 6

1985 78 58 12 8

1986 66 51 11 4

1987 74 49 18 7

1988 78 63 13 2

1989 66 40 17 9

1990 66 48 9 9

1991 71 50 18 3

1992 64 44 11 9

1993 70 50 17 3

1994 79 66 12 1

1995 74 43 19 12

1996 61 50 7 4

1997 70 50 18 2

1998 61 40 18 3

1999 42 25 16 1

2000 51 33 14 4

2001 70 46 15 9

2002 56 38 13 5

2003 52 34 11 7

2004 57 36 18 3

2005 55 42 8 5

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* The 72 deaths that resulted from the events of September 11, 2001 are included in these totals 

Source: FBI, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1973-2005 

 See also Additional Information About the Datafor details about weighting and imputation.

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Multiple victims and offenders 

Few homicides involve multiple 

offenders and fewer involve multiple 

victims 

z Homicides are more likely to involve multiple offenders than multiple victims. 

z The proportion of homicides involving multiple offenders rose dramatically in the late 1980's 

and early 1990's and remains high; it was 11.5% in 1976 and 20.3% in 2005. 

z The proportion of homicides involving multiple victims increased gradually during the last two

decades from 3.1% of all homicides in 1976 to 4.4% in 2005. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

About 1 percent of all homicide incidents are known to have both multiple victims and multiple 

offenders 

Offenders 

Victims Single Multiple Unknown

Single 58% 10% 29% 

Multiple 2% 1% 1% 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Multiple victims and offenders 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Percent of Homicides 

with Multiple 

Offenders and Victims

Offenders Victims

1976 11.5 3.1

1977 11.2 3.3

1978 11.6 3.1

1979 12.3 3.0

1980 11.8 3.0

1981 11.9 2.9

1982 12.3 3.2

1983 12.1 3.2

1984 12.0 3.2

1985 12.1 3.6

1986 12.4 3.5

1987 12.6 3.5

1988 15.5 3.3

1989 15.0 3.6

1990 17.4 3.6

1991 18.7 3.1

1992 17.6 3.9

1993 18.0 3.8

1994 18.3 4.2

1995 18.2 4.0

1996 18.9 4.0

1997 18.0 4.3

1998 18.4 4.1

1999 17.6 4.8

2000 19.3 4.3

2001 19.1 4.5

2002 18.8 4.9

2003 17.7 4.9

2004 18.7 4.5

2005 20.3 4.4

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The proportion of homicides involving two or 

more victims has increased 

In 2005, of all homicide incidents-- 

z 4% involved 2 victims 

z .6% involved 3 victims 

z .1% involved 4 victims 

z .05% involved 5 or more victims 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

Homicides committed by younger offenders are 

more likely to involve multiple offenders 

In 2005 homicides involving multiple offenders represented -- 

z 35% of the homicides committed by offenders 14-17 years old 

z 28% of the homicides committed by offenders 18-24 years old 

z 14% of the homicides committed by offenders age 25 or older 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Multiple victims and offenders 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percentages | Numbers 

Victims per Homicide Incident

Number of Victims in Offense

1 2 3 4 5+

1976 96.96% 2.45% .37% .13% .09%

1977 96.59% 2.76% .43% .18% .05%

1978 96.79% 2.56% .47% .11% .07%

1979 96.83% 2.53% .39% .17% .09%

1980 96.80% 2.68% .31% .13% .08%

1981 96.83% 2.68% .33% .08% .08%

1982 96.57% 2.78% .39% .15% .11%

1983 96.75% 2.75% .34% .12% .04%

1984 96.80% 2.72% .30% .07% .11%

1985 96.27% 3.07% .52% .08% .07%

1986 96.70% 2.84% .32% .09% .05%

1987 96.48% 2.92% .47% .05% .07%

1988 96.82% 2.66% .32% .13% .07%

1989 96.66% 2.73% .42% .15% .04%

1990 96.81% 2.62% .38% .12% .07%

1991 96.86% 2.67% .31% .12% .05%

1992 96.17% 3.24% .41% .12% .06%

1993 96.38% 3.00% .43% .13% .05%

1994 95.99% 3.48% .40% .09% .03%

1995 95.99% 3.27% .50% .11% .14%

1996 96.04% 3.38% .46% .09% .04%

1997 95.86% 3.41% .53% .12% .07%

1998 96.06% 3.30% .48% .10% .05%

1999 95.46% 3.77% .50% .15% .11%

2000 95.93% 3.41% .48% .12% .06%

2001 95.55% 3.78% .53% .10% .04%

2002 95.32% 3.84% .62% .16% .07%

2003 95.15% 3.98% .57% .18% .11%

2004 95.62% 3.68% .50% .13% .07%

2005 95.41% 3.81% .60% .12% .05%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

Victims per Homicide Incident

Number of Victims in Offense

1 2 3 4 5+

1976 17,492 442 67 24 16

1977 17,695 505 78 33 8

1978 18,166 481 89 21 13

1979 19,936 521 80 34 18

1980 21,426 593 70 30 17

1981 20,970 579 71 18 18

1982 19,392 557 79 30 22

1983 17,963 511 63 22 8

1984 17,373 488 53 13 19

1985 17,457 556 94 15 12

1986 19,157 562 63 18 11

1987 18,575 563 91 10 13

1988 19,250 528 63 26 14

1989 19,940 564 86 31 8

1990 21,773 590 84 28 15

1991 23,026 634 73 30 11

1992 21,828 735 94 28 13

1993 22,618 705 102 30 13

1994 21,390 776 90 19 7

1995 19,637 669 101 22 29

1996 18,022 635 86 16 7

1997 16,592 591 92 21 13

1998 15,552 535 78 17 8

1999 14,007 554 74 21 17

2000 14,236 505 72 18 9

2001 14,549 576 81 15 6

2002 14,587 587 94 24 11

2003 14,798 619 89 29 17

2004 14,645 564 76 19 11

2005 15,079 602 95 19 8

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[D]

Multiple victim homicides are more likely to 

involve guns than single victim homicides 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 1976-2005 

Additional information about the data used in Homicide trends in the U.S. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Multiple victims and offenders 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percent of Homicides 

with Multiple 

Offenders by Offender 

Age 

Offender Age

14-

17

18-

24 25+

1976 26.4 19.2 6.2

1977 25.0 17.9 6.5

1978 24.5 18.4 6.7

1979 26.6 19.5 7.0

1980 23.9 18.2 7.2

1981 27.1 19.2 6.9

1982 30.6 18.9 7.4

1983 25.3 19.3 7.5

1984 26.3 18.8 7.7

1985 27.3 18.9 7.6

1986 26.5 19.6 7.7

1987 24.5 19.6 7.8

1988 29.1 23.6 9.3

1989 28.5 22.2 8.9

1990 32.2 25.2 9.8

1991 31.5 26.3 10.5

1992 29.6 25.4 9.5

1993 30.9 24.9 9.1

1994 31.8 24.5 9.5

1995 31.9 24.8 9.8

1996 33.8 26.9 9.6

1997 31.9 24.9 10.0

1998 31.1 26.4 10.6

1999 29.6 24.3 10.9

2000 31.6 27.7 11.7

2001 34.8 27.2 11.4

2002 33.8 26.6 11.8

2003 33.8 25.1 10.7

2004 34.7 25.9 12.0

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 35.0 27.7 13.7

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Multiple victims and offenders 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Percent of Homicides by Victim Count 

and Gun Involvement

One Victim Multiple Victims

Gun Nongun Gun Nongun

1976 63.4% 36.6% 68.9% 31.1%

1977 62.2% 37.8% 66.4% 33.6%

1978 63.3% 36.7% 67.9% 32.1%

1979 63.0% 37.0% 67.8% 32.2%

1980 62.2% 37.8% 65.9% 34.1%

1981 61.8% 38.2% 71.2% 28.8%

1982 59.5% 40.5% 68.4% 31.6%

1983 57.7% 42.3% 66.9% 33.1%

1984 58.3% 41.7% 67.6% 32.4%

1985 58.0% 42.0% 66.1% 33.9%

1986 58.6% 41.4% 65.4% 34.6%

1987 58.3% 41.7% 68.7% 31.3%

1988 60.3% 39.7% 65.2% 34.8%

1989 62.0% 38.0% 67.9% 32.1%

1990 64.1% 35.9% 67.4% 32.6%

1991 65.7% 34.3% 74.2% 25.8%

1992 67.6% 32.4% 74.9% 25.1%

1993 68.9% 31.1% 77.9% 22.1%

1994 69.5% 30.5% 75.7% 24.3%

1995 67.9% 32.1% 70.9% 29.1%

1996 66.6% 33.4% 77.4% 22.6%

1997 66.7% 33.3% 78.8% 21.2%

1998 63.6% 36.4% 78.6% 21.4%

1999 64.0% 36.0% 76.5% 23.5%

2000 64.2% 35.8% 79.0% 21.0%

2001 62.0% 38.0% 75.1% 24.9%

2002 65.7% 34.3% 76.3% 23.7%

2003 65.8% 34.2% 76.4% 23.6%

2004 65.2% 34.8% 73.5% 26.5%

2005 67.2% 32.8% 75.3% 24.7%

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide circumstances 

The mix of circumstances 

surrounding homicides has changed 

over the last two decades 

The number of homicides -- 

z in which the circumstances were unknown is greater than any known category of 

circumstances 

z resulting from arguments declined in recent years but remains the most frequently cited 

circumstance of the known circumstances 

z that occurred during the commission of another felony like a robbery or burglary declined 

since 1991 but stablized in recent years 

z involving adult or juvenile gang violence increased almost 8 fold since 1976. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Note: Arguments include brawls due to the influence of narcotics or alcohol, 

disagreements about money or property and other arguments. 

Felony types include homicides committed during a rape, robbery, burglary, theft, motor 

vehicle theft, arson, and violations of prostitution and commercial vice laws, other sex 

offenses, narcotic drug laws, and gambling laws. 

Gang homicides include gangland killings and juvenile gang killings. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide circumstances 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicide Victims by Circumstance 

Felony Argument Gang Other Unknown

1976 3,327 9,106 129 4,630 1,588

1977 3,189 8,929 180 4,112 2,709

1978 3,262 8,950 194 4,447 2,706

1979 3,623 9,237 264 4,534 3,803

1980 4,070 10,299 221 4,963 3,486

1981 3,882 9,519 280 4,835 4,005

1982 3,721 8,613 238 4,322 4,116

1983 3,479 8,469 260 3,058 4,044

1984 3,382 8,211 223 2,708 4,166

1985 3,388 8,284 288 2,690 4,329

1986 3,992 8,602 357 3,015 4,644

1987 3,935 8,087 395 2,678 5,005

1988 3,932 7,872 428 3,010 5,437

1989 4,593 8,433 678 2,709 5,086

1990 4,867 8,988 905 2,867 5,812

1991 5,283 8,806 1,192 3,027 6,393

1992 5,143 7,950 994 3,110 6,563

1993 4,721 8,309 1,362 3,403 6,735

1994 4,303 7,529 1,340 3,622 6,536

1995 3,829 6,753 1,331 3,451 6,246

1996 3,690 6,620 1,091 2,331 5,918

1997 3,413 6,103 999 1,888 5,807

1998 2,998 5,845 834 2,048 5,245

1999 2,642 4,993 837 2,455 4,594

2000 2,626 4,988 846 2,331 4,795

2001 2,694 4,840 1,071 2,246 5,187

2002 2,656 4,752 1,119 2,371 5,305

2003 2,702 4,974 1,069 2,172 5,611

2004 2,390 4,944 1,026 2,144 5,643

2005 2,432 4,787 955 2,223 6,295

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The proportion of homicides involving guns 

differs by circumstance 

Gun involvement -- 

z in gang related homicides increased after 1980 

z in homicides that occurred during the commission of a felony increased from 55% in 1985 to 

77% in 2005. 

z in homicides resulting from arguments declined to the lowest levels recorded recently 

z in homicides resulting from other circumstances remained relatively constant 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D]

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Related charts on this site 

z Percent of homicides committed during a felony by age of victim, 1976-2005 aggregate 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide circumstances 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percentages | Numbers 

Percent Gun Use by Circumstance Type 

Felony Argument Gang Other Unknown

Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun

1976 59.7% 40.3% 70.2% 29.8% 69.1% 30.9% 62.1% 37.9% 61.1% 38.9%

1977 57.9% 42.1% 68.5% 31.5% 73.2% 26.8% 59.9% 40.1% 64.1% 35.9%

1978 61.9% 38.1% 68.7% 31.3% 84.3% 15.7% 61.5% 38.5% 63.5% 36.5%

1979 60.0% 40.0% 69.4% 30.6% 85.9% 14.1% 62.4% 37.6% 60.7% 39.3%

1980 60.2% 39.8% 68.1% 31.9% 73.2% 26.8% 61.4% 38.6% 63.0% 37.0%

1981 58.5% 41.5% 67.5% 32.5% 77.7% 22.3% 62.4% 37.6% 64.5% 35.5%

1982 56.3% 43.7% 65.6% 34.4% 86.9% 13.1% 57.8% 42.2% 62.6% 37.4%

1983 55.0% 45.0% 62.6% 37.4% 83.9% 16.1% 56.0% 44.0% 60.9% 39.1%

1984 56.0% 44.0% 62.9% 37.1% 79.9% 20.1% 57.7% 42.3% 62.4% 37.6%

1985 55.2% 44.8% 63.5% 36.5% 83.4% 16.6% 54.8% 45.2% 62.6% 37.4%

1986 56.1% 43.9% 63.4% 36.6% 85.8% 14.2% 55.9% 44.1% 63.2% 36.8%

1987 57.1% 42.9% 63.1% 36.9% 92.4% 7.6% 57.9% 42.1% 61.6% 38.4%

1988 57.9% 42.1% 62.6% 37.4% 90.3% 9.7% 59.0% 41.0% 66.4% 33.6%

1989 64.3% 35.7% 64.1% 35.9% 92.6% 7.4% 59.3% 40.7% 65.4% 34.6%

1990 68.2% 31.8% 63.3% 36.7% 92.7% 7.3% 60.4% 39.6% 69.7% 30.3%

1991 70.9% 29.1% 65.8% 34.2% 92.4% 7.6% 58.8% 41.2% 72.3% 27.7%

1992 71.7% 28.3% 68.2% 31.8% 94.2% 5.8% 62.6% 37.4% 76.2% 23.8%

1993 74.7% 25.3% 69.5% 30.5% 95.1% 4.9% 65.1% 34.9% 76.7% 23.3%

1994 75.5% 24.5% 69.9% 30.1% 94.8% 5.2% 65.5% 34.5% 76.7% 23.3%

1995 72.1% 27.9% 67.1% 32.9% 96.6% 3.4% 61.6% 38.4% 76.4% 23.6%

1996 72.0% 28.0% 66.8% 33.2% 93.3% 6.7% 62.7% 37.3% 73.3% 26.7%

1997 74.1% 25.9% 66.4% 33.6% 95.3% 4.7% 59.8% 40.2% 74.2% 25.8%

1998 71.6% 28.4% 64.2% 35.8% 94.9% 5.1% 59.4% 40.6% 72.9% 27.1%

1999 70.6% 29.4% 62.8% 37.2% 93.5% 6.5% 62.3% 37.7% 73.2% 26.8%

2000 71.5% 28.5% 62.7% 37.3% 95.8% 4.2% 62.6% 37.4% 74.8% 25.2%

2001 73.9% 26.1% 61.1% 38.9% 95.1% 4.9% 55.9% 44.1% 75.6% 24.4%

2002 75.4% 24.6% 63.2% 36.8% 96.5% 3.5% 59.2% 40.8% 76.1% 23.9%

2003 74.4% 25.6% 62.8% 37.2% 96.8% 3.2% 57.4% 42.6% 76.4% 23.6%

2004 74.5% 25.5% 61.1% 38.9% 94.4% 5.6% 57.7% 42.3% 77.0% 23.0%

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2005 76.9% 23.1% 63.8% 36.2% 94.4% 5.6% 59.5% 40.5% 78.9% 21.1%

Trends in Weapon and Circumstance Type 

Felony Argument Gang Other Unknown

Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun

1976 1,934 1,306 6,354 2,692 86 38 2,709 1,650 897 570

1977 1,807 1,316 6,069 2,789 130 48 2,323 1,552 1,624 911

1978 1,969 1,211 6,103 2,778 163 30 2,590 1,620 1,623 932

1979 2,122 1,417 6,369 2,808 223 36 2,712 1,632 2,165 1,402

1980 2,385 1,579 6,946 3,258 161 59 2,853 1,793 2,042 1,198

1981 2,222 1,577 6,370 3,068 216 62 2,870 1,727 2,385 1,315

1982 2,049 1,587 5,602 2,939 207 31 2,388 1,740 2,393 1,428

1983 1,868 1,527 5,263 3,140 215 41 1,628 1,280 2,294 1,472

1984 1,855 1,455 5,115 3,020 177 44 1,491 1,093 2,380 1,433

1985 1,820 1,476 5,203 2,995 239 48 1,384 1,140 2,492 1,489

1986 2,182 1,709 5,403 3,114 305 50 1,617 1,276 2,674 1,555

1987 2,173 1,636 5,044 2,948 365 30 1,473 1,072 2,820 1,759

1988 2,230 1,620 4,881 2,910 385 41 1,689 1,175 3,351 1,698

1989 2,876 1,598 5,342 2,995 621 50 1,511 1,037 3,072 1,626

1990 3,236 1,510 5,604 3,254 836 66 1,633 1,070 3,762 1,634

1991 3,638 1,494 5,709 2,970 1,094 90 1,657 1,162 4,280 1,641

1992 3,581 1,416 5,336 2,490 934 58 1,827 1,090 4,522 1,414

1993 3,410 1,155 5,661 2,486 1,288 67 2,043 1,093 4,674 1,418

1994 3,175 1,029 5,178 2,230 1,262 69 2,191 1,151 4,530 1,375

1995 2,670 1,034 4,453 2,186 1,283 45 2,000 1,249 4,324 1,333

1996 2,586 1,006 4,336 2,156 1,012 73 1,360 810 3,970 1,448

1997 2,468 862 3,968 2,004 950 47 1,046 704 3,904 1,357

1998 2,066 820 3,649 2,034 786 42 1,117 764 3,394 1,260

1999 1,801 749 3,061 1,812 772 54 1,413 853 3,070 1,121

2000 1,806 719 3,028 1,799 796 35 1,338 799 3,235 1,090

2001 1,744 617 2,828 1,804 908 47 1,091 861 3,568 1,150

2002 1,892 616 2,908 1,697 1,067 39 1,278 881 3,678 1,155

2003 1,923 663 3,018 1,785 1,033 34 1,139 844 3,940 1,214

2004 1,709 585 2,927 1,863 963 57 1,141 836 3,921 1,169

2005 1,784 536 2,943 1,671 896 53 1,191 811 4,532 1,210

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and 

imputation. 

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Homicide trends in the U.S. 

Weapons used 

Homicides are most often committed

with guns, 

especially handguns 

Like the homicide rate generally, gun-involved 

incidents increased sharply in the late 1980's and

early 1990's before falling to a low in 1999. The 

number of gun-involved homicides increased 

thereafter to levels experienced in the mid 

1980's. 

During this same time period, homicides involving weapons other than firearms have declined 

slightly. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Gun homicides by teens and young adults rose 

sharply 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Weapons used 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicides by Weapon Type

Handgun

Other 

gun Knife

Blunt 

object

Other 

weapon

1976 8,651 3,328 3,343 912 2,546

1977 8,563 3,391 3,648 900 2,618

1978 8,879 3,569 3,685 937 2,490

1979 9,858 3,732 4,121 1,039 2,710

1980 10,552 3,834 4,439 1,153 3,061

1981 10,324 3,740 4,364 1,166 2,927

1982 9,137 3,501 4,383 1,032 2,957

1983 8,472 2,794 4,214 1,098 2,731

1984 8,183 2,835 3,956 1,090 2,626

1985 8,165 2,973 3,996 1,051 2,794

1986 9,054 3,126 4,235 1,176 3,018

1987 8,781 3,094 4,076 1,169 2,980

1988 9,375 3,162 3,978 1,296 2,869

1989 10,225 3,197 3,923 1,279 2,877

1990 11,677 3,395 4,077 1,254 3,037

1991 13,101 3,277 3,909 1,252 3,161

1992 13,158 3,043 3,447 1,088 3,024

1993 13,981 3,094 3,140 1,082 3,233

1994 13,496 2,840 2,960 963 3,071

1995 12,050 2,679 2,731 981 3,169

1996 10,731 2,533 2,691 917 2,777

1997 9,705 2,631 2,363 833 2,678

1998 8,844 2,168 2,257 896 2,805

1999 7,943 2,174 2,042 902 2,461

2000 7,985 2,218 2,099 727 2,556

2001 7,900 2,239 2,090 776 3,032

2002 8,286 2,538 2,018 773 2,588

2003 8,830 2,223 2,085 745 2,645

2004 8,304 2,357 2,133 759 2,595

2005 8,478 2,868 2,147 671 2,528

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beginning with the mid-1980's and fell after the 

early 1990's 

z Gun homicides by persons 18-24 years old declined after the peak in 1993 but have not 

returned to the levels seen prior to the mid 1980's. 

z The trend in nongun homicides shows little change, declining or fluctuating slightly for all age

groups. 

z Gun homicides by adults 25 and older declined through 1999, but have increased since then.

z The sharp increase in homicides from the mid-1980's through the early 1990's and much of 

the subsequent decline is attributable to gun violence by juveniles and young adults. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Homicides of teens and young adults are more 

likely to be committed with a gun than homicides

of persons of other ages 

The percentage of homicide victims killed with a gun increases with age up to age 17 and declines 

thereafter. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Weapons used 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicides by Weapon and Age of Offender 

Under 14 14-17 18-24 25+

Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun Gun Nongun

1976 55 49 1,071 832 3,771 2,608 8,271 3,692

1977 52 51 1,097 674 3,700 2,760 8,010 4,042

1978 77 37 936 773 4,230 2,649 8,340 3,930

1979 47 44 1,155 841 4,716 3,036 9,072 4,272

1980 55 53 1,209 878 5,213 3,628 10,024 5,138

1981 51 33 1,180 761 4,636 3,308 9,660 4,846

1982 35 59 964 770 4,076 3,356 8,691 4,928

1983 42 41 863 695 3,671 3,085 7,870 4,741

1984 37 34 795 564 3,549 2,910 7,664 4,782

1985 54 40 955 590 3,652 2,733 7,644 4,700

1986 64 34 1,104 747 4,034 2,877 8,209 5,109

1987 56 60 1,214 653 4,197 2,781 7,614 5,125

1988 55 47 1,679 742 4,825 2,724 7,712 5,043

1989 81 46 1,976 661 5,658 2,725 7,439 5,120

1990 57 42 2,617 811 6,740 2,953 7,817 5,426

1991 101 41 2,949 827 8,253 2,998 7,740 5,358

1992 97 53 3,115 712 7,868 2,387 7,469 4,848

1993 123 44 3,543 777 8,569 2,617 7,244 4,720

1994 159 50 3,632 752 8,287 2,239 6,870 4,501

1995 108 43 2,907 746 7,406 2,199 6,301 4,501

1996 65 35 2,347 779 6,976 2,266 5,702 4,241

1997 49 57 2,093 584 6,341 2,062 5,493 3,924

1998 62 41 1,554 578 5,638 2,247 5,051 4,147

1999 41 42 1,236 500 5,252 1,950 4,651 3,722

2000 30 40 1,088 445 5,380 2,037 4,845 3,874

2001 19 33 1,020 492 5,452 2,252 4,787 4,109

2002 37 26 1,023 453 5,431 2,019 5,336 3,919

2003 42 35 1,086 387 5,370 2,153 5,187 4,151

2004 41 39 1,062 485 5,268 1,962 5,177 4,173

2005 24 35 1,193 418 5,790 1,924 5,665 4,077

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To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Related charts on this site 

z Intimate homicides by type of weapon and gender of victim, 1976-2005 

z Law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty by weapon type, 1973-2005 

z Percent of homicides involving guns by circumstance, 1976-2005 

z Gun homicide victimization rates by region, 1976-2005 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Weapons used 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percent of Homicides 

Involving Guns by 

Victim Age

Age of

Victim Gun Nongun

0 4.0% 96.0%

1 7.6% 92.4%

2 11.5% 88.5%

3 16.8% 83.2%

4 22.9% 77.1%

5 27.9% 72.1%

6 34.1% 65.9%

7 34.9% 65.1%

8 36.9% 63.1%

9 40.4% 59.6%

10 45.4% 54.6%

11 48.1% 51.9%

12 54.4% 45.6%

13 61.0% 39.0%

14 69.6% 30.4%

15 73.6% 26.4%

16 76.3% 23.7%

17 77.2% 22.8%

18 77.0% 23.0%

19 77.0% 23.0%

20 75.0% 25.0%

21 75.4% 24.6%

22 74.8% 25.2%

23 73.7% 26.3%

24 73.6% 26.4%

25 72.7% 27.3%

26 72.0% 28.0%

27 71.5% 28.5%

28 71.0% 29.0%

29 69.7% 30.3%

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30 68.2% 31.8%

31 69.8% 30.2%

32 68.8% 31.2%

33 68.3% 31.7%

34 67.0% 33.0%

35 65.5% 34.5%

36 65.8% 34.2%

37 65.2% 34.8%

38 65.2% 34.8%

39 64.4% 35.6%

40 62.2% 37.8%

41 63.2% 36.8%

42 62.9% 37.1%

43 63.2% 36.8%

44 62.2% 37.8%

45 61.4% 38.6%

46 61.4% 38.6%

47 59.8% 40.2%

48 60.1% 39.9%

49 59.0% 41.0%

50 57.3% 42.7%

51 57.6% 42.4%

52 57.0% 43.0%

53 56.6% 43.4%

54 55.9% 44.1%

55 55.2% 44.8%

56 54.2% 45.8%

57 55.4% 44.6%

58 52.7% 47.3%

59 53.3% 46.7%

60 52.3% 47.7%

61 51.3% 48.7%

62 51.0% 49.0%

63 49.0% 51.0%

64 47.7% 52.3%

65 45.0% 55.0%

66 47.7% 52.3%

67 47.2% 52.8%

68 44.8% 55.2%

69 44.4% 55.6%

70 40.6% 59.4%

71 40.3% 59.7%

72 38.8% 61.2%

73 38.1% 61.9%

74 35.3% 64.7%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

75 32.4% 67.6%

76 36.0% 64.0%

77 32.5% 67.5%

78 30.9% 69.1%

79 31.0% 69.0%

80 25.1% 74.9%

81 25.8% 74.2%

82 25.8% 74.2%

83 24.9% 75.1%

84 22.8% 77.2%

85 21.1% 78.9%

86 21.5% 78.5%

87 18.6% 81.4%

88 15.6% 84.4%

89 24.1% 75.9%

90 17.2% 82.8%

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Regional trends 

In recent years, all regions have 

experienced a decline in homicide 

rates 

z Rates of murder, and especially those involving guns, are higher in southern regions of the 

United States--in the East South Central, West South Central, and the South Atlantic regions.

z For over 20 years, the rates in the Pacific region were above average; in 1998 they fell below

the national norm. 

z The rates of the Middle Atlantic and East North Central regions were closest to the national 

average of all regions. 

z Relatively low rates exist in the New England, Mountain, and West North Central regions. 

Rates in the mountain region have moved from below the national average to slightly above 

in recent years. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
[D]

Note: The solid area (in blue) represents the trend for the entire United States while the lines (in 

red) are the trends for each region. 

Trends in gun homicides follow patterns similar 

to those for all homicides 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Regional trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicide Victimization Rates per 100,000 Population 

by Region

NE MA ENC WNC SA ESC WSC MT PA US Total

1976 3.2 8.2 8.5 4.6 10.9 12.2 11.3 7.1 8.9 8.7

1977 3.3 8.0 7.8 5.1 10.3 11.9 12.6 7.4 9.9 8.8

1978 3.6 8.0 7.9 5.1 10.9 10.9 13.2 7.8 10.1 9.0

1979 3.5 9.0 8.5 5.4 11.7 11.1 15.1 7.9 11.0 9.8

1980 3.9 9.6 8.8 5.6 11.9 11.6 15.2 8.5 12.3 10.2

1981 4.1 9.3 8.2 5.2 12.2 10.5 14.8 7.3 11.0 9.8

1982 3.8 8.6 7.3 4.8 10.9 10.7 14.7 7.3 9.7 9.1

1983 3.3 7.9 7.3 4.3 9.1 9.6 12.8 6.5 9.1 8.3

1984 3.2 7.4 7.0 3.8 9.4 8.5 11.9 6.3 9.1 7.9

1985 3.3 7.1 7.1 4.3 9.3 9.1 11.6 6.6 9.2 8.0

1986 3.5 8.0 7.5 4.7 9.8 9.7 12.4 7.7 9.9 8.6

1987 3.4 8.1 7.7 4.5 10.0 9.1 10.9 6.3 9.4 8.3

1988 3.8 8.8 7.4 4.3 10.0 9.6 11.3 6.6 9.1 8.5

1989 4.4 9.0 7.7 4.3 11.0 9.1 11.7 5.3 9.4 8.7

1990 3.9 10.2 8.0 4.4 11.6 10.2 13.5 6.0 10.1 9.4

1991 4.4 9.9 8.8 6.0 12.2 10.4 14.2 6.5 10.7 9.8

1992 3.7 9.3 8.6 5.4 10.6 9.7 12.5 6.6 10.8 9.3

1993 4.1 9.6 8.3 5.8 10.9 10.3 12.7 6.7 11.1 9.5

1994 3.9 8.2 8.4 5.2 10.1 10.3 12.0 7.6 10.1 9.0

1995 3.5 7.1 7.6 4.9 9.1 10.4 10.8 7.3 9.5 8.2

1996 3.0 6.2 7.0 4.6 8.2 9.2 9.3 7.4 7.8 7.4

1997 2.5 5.6 6.8 4.2 8.6 9.4 8.5 6.3 6.8 6.8

1998 2.6 4.9 6.7 4.0 7.7 8.0 7.8 6.6 5.8 6.3

1999 2.5 4.6 5.9 3.9 7.0 6.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 5.7

2000 2.3 4.7 5.5 4.1 6.7 7.0 6.9 4.9 5.1 5.5

2001 2.4 4.9 5.9 3.5 6.3 7.4 6.9 5.6 5.3 5.6

2002 2.4 4.7 5.8 3.2 6.8 6.7 6.9 5.7 5.5 5.6

2003 2.3 5.0 5.5 3.3 6.9 6.5 7.4 5.8 5.5 5.7

2004 2.5 4.8 5.1 3.5 6.7 6.1 7.0 5.9 5.4 5.5

2005 2.6 5.1 5.4 3.6 7.0 6.8 6.7 5.9 5.5 5.6

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[D] 

Note: The solid area (in blue) represents the trend for the entire United States while the lines (in 

red) are the trends for each region. 

In many regions, trends in firearms-related 

homicide offending rates for teens differ from the

general firearms-related homicide offending 

pattern 

For all regions, teen firearms-related homicide offending rates climbed from the mid-1980's and 

through the early 1990's have subsequently fallen. However, the upswing and subsequent 

downturn occurred at different times in different regions. 

Teen offending rates started their steep ascents after-- 

z 1984 in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific regions 

z 1985 in the East North Central region 

z 1986 in the South Atlantic region 

z 1987 in the New England, East South Central, and West South Central regions 

z 1988 in the West North Central region 

z 1989 in the Mountain region 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Regional trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Gun Homicide Victimization Rates per 100,000 

Population by Region

NE MA ENC WNC SA ESC WSC MT PA US Total

1976 1.6 4.0 5.7 2.9 7.5 9.2 8.3 4.3 4.8 5.6

1977 1.5 4.1 5.1 3.4 6.9 8.9 8.8 4.3 5.5 5.5

1978 1.8 4.2 5.3 3.5 7.3 8.3 9.4 4.9 5.7 5.7

1979 1.5 4.8 5.5 3.6 7.9 8.4 10.7 4.6 6.4 6.2

1980 1.9 5.3 5.5 3.5 7.9 8.6 10.4 4.7 7.2 6.4

1981 1.9 5.1 5.2 3.3 8.1 7.5 10.2 4.3 6.3 6.1

1982 1.7 4.6 4.4 2.9 7.0 7.5 9.7 4.0 5.3 5.5

1983 1.5 4.1 4.4 2.4 5.5 6.5 8.5 3.4 4.9 4.8

1984 1.3 3.9 4.2 2.1 5.9 5.7 7.6 3.1 5.1 4.7

1985 1.5 3.7 4.2 2.6 5.7 5.9 7.5 3.5 5.0 4.7

1986 1.6 4.0 4.6 2.7 6.0 6.7 8.1 4.2 5.4 5.1

1987 1.6 4.5 4.4 2.5 6.2 6.2 6.9 3.4 5.4 4.9

1988 1.8 5.2 4.4 2.3 6.3 6.4 7.3 3.7 5.4 5.1

1989 2.3 5.6 4.6 2.3 7.1 6.3 7.7 2.8 5.9 5.4

1990 2.1 6.3 5.2 2.6 7.5 7.0 9.0 3.4 6.6 6.0

1991 2.4 6.6 5.9 3.5 8.2 7.4 9.7 3.7 7.2 6.5

1992 2.1 6.5 5.8 3.3 7.2 6.2 9.1 3.9 7.6 6.4

1993 2.4 6.7 5.9 3.8 7.4 7.0 9.3 4.2 7.9 6.6

1994 2.6 5.4 5.9 3.2 6.8 7.6 9.1 5.1 7.4 6.3

1995 2.1 4.7 5.3 3.3 6.1 7.3 7.3 4.9 6.7 5.6

1996 1.7 4.0 4.9 2.9 5.5 6.6 6.4 4.7 5.3 5.0

1997 1.4 3.5 4.7 2.6 6.0 6.8 5.9 3.9 4.7 4.6

1998 1.3 2.9 4.7 2.4 5.0 5.1 5.3 4.3 3.8 4.1

1999 1.5 2.8 4.0 2.1 4.9 4.6 4.4 3.9 3.4 3.7

2000 1.3 3.0 3.6 2.5 4.6 4.6 4.5 3.1 3.4 3.6

2001 1.3 3.0 3.2 2.0 4.2 4.9 4.4 3.5 3.6 3.6

2002 1.3 3.0 4.0 1.9 4.7 4.4 4.5 3.7 3.9 3.8

2003 1.1 3.2 3.9 2.0 4.7 4.4 4.9 3.7 3.8 3.8

2004 1.4 3.0 3.5 2.2 4.4 3.9 4.8 3.6 3.8 3.6

2005 1.3 3.3 3.7 2.3 4.9 4.7 4.7 3.8 4.0 3.8

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[D] 

Note: The solid area (in blue) represents the trend for the entire United States while the lines (in 

red) are the trends for each region. 

States in the regions listed above: 

Region States 

New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 

Island, Vermont

Middle Atlantic New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

East North Central Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

West North Central Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, 

South Dakota

South Atlantic Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

East South Central Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee

West South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Mountain Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, 

Wyoming

Pacific Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Regional trends 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Teen Gun Homicide Offending Rates per 100,000 

Population by Region

NE MA ENC WNC SA ESC WSC MT PA US Total

1976 1.3 5.4 9.4 4.4 5.9 5.5 5.5 4.1 7.8 6.4

1977 1.1 5.6 8.2 3.3 7.7 6.8 7.2 3.1 9.0 6.6

1978 1.4 5.0 6.5 3.1 5.7 5.8 7.3 5.0 7.6 5.7

1979 1.8 8.3 8.3 3.7 5.8 5.1 7.2 2.9 11.6 7.1

1980 1.7 7.0 6.3 3.2 5.8 5.4 8.5 6.1 17.1 7.5

1981 1.5 7.5 7.2 2.8 5.3 4.8 7.8 2.6 15.6 7.4

1982 3.3 6.1 6.8 3.7 4.3 2.9 5.8 5.3 10.5 6.2

1983 1.6 7.2 5.8 2.9 3.6 4.6 6.4 2.7 9.5 5.7

1984 1.2 5.4 6.3 2.0 4.2 4.0 7.4 4.5 9.0 5.4

1985 4.3 5.5 6.3 1.7 7.8 6.4 7.9 2.3 9.9 6.5

1986 2.9 7.9 8.6 2.4 7.2 6.6 8.6 6.1 11.4 7.6

1987 2.8 9.0 9.0 3.3 8.4 5.3 7.6 2.7 14.1 8.4

1988 7.1 14.5 10.1 2.6 9.7 8.8 15.2 5.6 16.6 11.7

1989 8.0 14.3 13.4 5.8 15.2 9.9 16.0 4.2 22.5 13.9

1990 11.3 22.3 19.6 6.0 17.0 12.0 25.3 6.7 29.3 19.7

1991 8.3 22.1 23.0 11.4 24.5 21.0 28.9 7.1 29.1 22.0

1992 12.8 22.4 22.8 11.4 24.8 15.0 34.6 9.3 29.8 22.8

1993 12.5 22.2 27.6 17.2 27.6 18.0 37.0 12.5 33.0 25.7

1994 9.4 21.2 29.9 15.0 24.0 21.8 37.8 17.4 31.5 25.8

1995 6.5 14.4 24.2 12.0 19.3 17.1 27.5 13.3 27.3 20.0

1996 6.0 11.6 22.2 7.2 13.4 15.0 20.8 13.9 17.2 15.8

1997 6.2 9.2 18.9 6.5 18.0 14.8 15.5 8.5 14.6 13.7

1998 1.8 8.2 11.5 6.3 9.3 10.6 11.8 9.5 11.9 10.0

1999 4.4 6.8 8.3 2.4 12.3 11.4 8.2 6.9 7.1 7.9

2000 2.2 4.6 8.0 5.2 8.7 4.7 8.4 4.2 7.6 6.8

2001 2.2 3.9 6.2 3.0 9.8 7.4 5.9 4.7 6.9 6.3

2002 2.3 4.6 6.1 2.4 8.9 6.0 4.7 3.9 9.4 6.2

2003 2.8 5.0 7.0 1.6 8.3 7.4 8.3 7.0 6.5 6.5

2004 0.4 5.9 6.7 4.9 6.7 5.4 7.2 4.8 8.2 6.3

2005 1.5 5.4 6.8 5.8 7.4 8.8 9.2 3.9 8.1 6.9

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Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this 

analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by city size 

Changes in homicide trends have 

been driven by changes in the 

number of homicides in large 

American cities 

From 1976-2005 -- 

z over half of the homicides occurred in cities with a population of 100,000 or more 

z almost one-quarter of the homicides occurred in cities with a population of over 1 million. 

To view data, click on the chart.

[D] 

Note: Large cities have a population of 100,000 or more while small cities have a 

population of less than 100,000. 

Until recently, homicide rates for large American 

cities varied by size 

The homicide victimization rates of cities with a population of -- 

z one million or more have plummeted, reaching the lowest level in the past two decades 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by city size 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Homicides by Location Type 

 Large 

city

Small 

city Suburban Rural

1976 9,860 2,297 3,954 2,669

1977 10,398 2,203 3,836 2,683

1978 10,563 2,341 3,963 2,692

1979 11,825 2,469 4,362 2,805

1980 12,605 2,609 4,845 2,982

1981 12,615 2,413 4,866 2,626

1982 11,117 2,492 4,847 2,554

1983 10,855 2,148 4,190 2,117

1984 10,187 2,042 4,350 2,110

1985 10,159 2,141 4,482 2,198

1986 11,622 2,252 4,610 2,127

1987 11,021 2,208 4,725 2,146

1988 12,191 2,213 4,221 2,055

1989 12,913 2,300 4,214 2,073

1990 14,078 2,478 4,597 2,287

1991 15,247 2,748 4,533 2,172

1992 14,402 2,437 5,025 1,896

1993 14,989 2,632 5,030 1,879

1994 14,008 2,882 4,762 1,678

1995 12,975 2,539 4,288 1,807

1996 11,573 2,368 3,940 1,768

1997 10,848 2,123 3,557 1,682

1998 9,594 2,134 3,638 1,604

1999 8,967 1,904 3,173 1,478

2000 9,048 1,974 3,030 1,534

2001 9,399 1,947 3,182 1,509

2002 9,343 1,973 3,419 1,469

2003 9,574 2,009 3,744 1,201

2004 9,130 1,981 3,666 1,370

2005 9,513 2,158 3,722 1,299

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z 100,000 to 249,999 are the lowest rates among large cities. 

Since 2003, homicide rates for cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,999 and 500,000 to 

999,999 have remained stable. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Trends in homicide offending rates of cities show 

patterns similar to their victimization rates 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Certain homicide types vary by size of place 

For the years 1976-2005 combined, large cities are - 

z much more commonly the site of drug-related and gang-related killings 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by city size 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Victimization Rates per 100,000 Population for Cities 

over 100,000 by Population Group 

One Million

and over 500K - 999K 250K - 499K 100K - 249K

1976 20.9 19.5 16.5 11.3

1977 24.1 18.1 16.4 11.6

1978 25.4 19.4 16.7 11.0

1979 28.8 21.7 18.6 12.0

1980 30.9 21.3 22.1 13.0

1981 28.2 22.2 22.0 14.3

1982 26.5 19.4 19.1 12.8

1983 27.0 17.2 16.3 10.7

1984 25.5 18.5 16.1 11.7

1985 24.8 17.9 17.2 11.4

1986 24.1 18.4 19.8 12.7

1987 22.9 20.1 16.3 11.7

1988 28.2 20.3 17.7 12.7

1989 28.8 23.8 18.3 13.2

1990 31.9 24.6 21.7 14.1

1991 35.5 24.1 22.4 14.9

1992 31.1 22.9 20.1 13.2

1993 29.9 22.5 25.1 14.6

1994 26.3 19.7 24.0 15.0

1995 22.3 21.1 24.3 13.2

1996 21.6 15.7 21.1 11.9

1997 19.3 18.1 19.1 12.0

1998 16.2 17.8 16.6 11.2

1999 15.5 16.6 15.3 9.5

2000 14.8 15.0 14.1 9.6

2001 15.1 14.6 15.2 9.7

2002 14.2 14.2 15.6 9.2

2003 14.4 14.1 15.6 9.8

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2004 13.2 14.1 15.0 9.2

2005 13.0 14.8 15.2 10.1

Homicide Victimizations for Cities over 100,000 

Population by Population Group

One 

Million 

and over

500K - 

999K

250K - 

499K

100K - 

249K

1976 3,792 2,415 1,959 1,694

1977 4,382 2,327 1,820 1,868

1978 4,526 2,296 1,957 1,784

1979 5,093 2,691 2,154 1,886

1980 5,386 2,475 2,686 2,058

1981 4,969 2,696 2,617 2,333

1982 4,268 2,392 2,354 2,104

1983 4,827 2,151 2,079 1,798

1984 3,802 2,211 2,172 2,002

1985 3,678 2,154 2,329 1,998

1986 4,826 1,969 2,659 2,168

1987 4,626 2,143 2,200 2,052

1988 5,720 2,360 2,078 2,032

1989 5,554 2,894 2,288 2,177

1990 6,372 2,512 2,843 2,351

1991 7,171 2,630 2,919 2,526

1992 6,342 2,793 2,798 2,470

1993 6,346 2,514 3,346 2,782

1994 5,614 2,435 3,086 2,867

1995 4,475 2,708 3,148 2,645

1996 4,816 1,641 2,768 2,349

1997 4,343 1,878 2,329 2,298

1998 3,498 1,960 2,039 2,097

1999 3,379 2,005 1,822 1,761

2000 3,541 1,881 1,699 1,926

2001 3,676 1,940 1,816 1,968

2002 3,512 1,907 1,929 1,995

2003 3,544 1,959 1,896 2,175

2004 3,277 1,959 1,887 2,008

2005 3,242 2,075 1,822 2,375

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by city size 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Rates | Numbers

Homicide Offending Rates per 100,000 

Population for Cities over 100,000 by 

Population Group

One 

Million 

and over

500K - 

999K

250K -

499K

100K -

249K

1976 23.6 20.7 18.2 13.1

1977 25.3 20.5 16.9 13.5

1978 29.8 21.9 18.8 12.0

1979 35.8 21.6 20.0 13.3

1980 35.7 25.4 25.1 15.7

1981 36.3 22.5 23.2 16.0

1982 37.2 19.6 20.2 13.8

1983 32.7 17.0 18.1 12.0

1984 30.7 19.8 18.2 12.7

1985 30.3 18.8 19.5 12.1

1986 28.6 18.7 21.3 14.2

1987 28.1 20.9 17.4 12.7

1988 36.1 18.9 19.7 14.8

1989 37.4 20.9 20.5 14.5

1990 40.5 22.8 24.1 16.6

1991 45.2 26.5 23.2 18.2

1992 35.5 23.1 22.6 16.5

1993 33.7 24.1 26.7 17.1

1994 28.4 21.1 27.0 18.4

1995 25.8 23.4 25.7 15.0

1996 25.0 19.3 20.9 15.1

1997 21.1 20.7 20.3 13.7

1998 17.9 19.8 16.8 13.2

1999 17.5 15.9 17.0 10.5

2000 16.9 17.3 14.3 12.1

2001 17.4 19.0 13.5 12.0

2002 16.3 15.6 15.3 10.4

2003 14.2 15.7 15.3 11.5

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2004 14.2 14.5 15.4 11.1

2005 13.3 18.9 15.3 13.8

Homicide Offenders for Cities over 100,000 

Population by Population Group 

One 

Million 

and over

500K - 

999K

250K -

499K

100K -

249K

1976 4,286 2,563 2,161 1,956

1977 4,599 2,637 1,875 2,138

1978 5,300 2,599 2,198 1,937

1979 6,334 2,684 2,314 2,091

1980 6,222 2,941 3,049 2,480

1981 6,401 2,732 2,753 2,609

1982 5,986 2,423 2,485 2,243

1983 5,840 2,125 2,304 2,020

1984 4,580 2,367 2,453 2,163

1985 4,497 2,265 2,640 2,093

1986 5,721 1,997 2,850 2,385

1987 5,672 2,226 2,345 2,214

1988 7,331 2,197 2,319 2,327

1989 7,213 2,533 2,568 2,358

1990 8,083 2,325 3,157 2,724

1991 9,118 2,887 3,027 3,001

1992 7,237 2,813 3,137 3,038

1993 7,154 2,694 3,561 3,237

1994 6,059 2,605 3,464 3,502

1995 5,178 3,004 3,339 2,915

1996 5,564 2,014 2,739 2,906

1997 4,737 2,145 2,479 2,506

1998 3,875 2,172 2,062 2,409

1999 3,816 1,924 2,018 1,915

2000 4,066 2,170 1,726 2,335

2001 4,232 2,520 1,611 2,356

2002 4,029 2,097 1,890 2,229

2003 3,500 2,183 1,855 2,533

2004 3,525 2,019 1,932 2,359

2005 3,303 2,644 1,836 3,158

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z relatively less likely to be the location of family-related and work-related homicides. 

The proportion of homicides that are intimate 

homicides differs by type of area 

Intimate homicides (spouses, ex-spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends) made up a larger percentage

of murders in rural areas than in suburban or urban areas. 

Intimate homicides declined in all types of places. From 1976 to 2005, the number of intimate 

murders -- 

z in large cities fell by more than half, while the number of nonintimate murders increased 

slightly 

z in small cities dropped by more than 40%, although the number of nonintimate homicides 

increased slightly 

z in rural areas dropped by 55%, while nonintinmate homicides dropped by 50% 

z in suburban areas declined by 29%, while nonintimate homicides declined by 1%. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

Homicide Type by Urbanicity, 1976-2005

 Percent of all homicides

Large 

city Small city Suburban Rural

All homicides 57.3% 11.5% 21.0% 10.2%

Victim/offender relationship 

 Intimate 40.7% 14.5% 28.0% 16.8%

 Family 38.7% 13.2% 29.1% 19.0%

 Infanticide 47.9% 15.0% 25.5% 11.6%

 Eldercide 46.9% 13.5% 24.2% 15.3%

Circumstance 

 Felony murder 61.0% 11.1% 20.3% 7.7%

 Sex related 48.4% 12.2% 27.2% 12.2%

 Drug related 67.4% 9.9% 18.1% 4.5%

 Gang related 69.3% 13.1% 16.9% 0.7%

 Argument 53.4% 12.7% 21.0% 12.9%

 Workplace 31.4% 13.4% 37.2% 17.9%

Weapon 

 Gun homicide 59.3% 10.6% 19.8% 10.4%

 Arson 54.8% 13.1% 21.7% 10.4%

 Poison 38.9% 15.7% 29.3% 16.0%

Multiple victims or offenders 

 Multiple victims 47.4% 11.9% 27.0% 13.7%

 Multiple offenders 61.7% 10.2% 19.1% 8.9%
[D] 

Note: Large cities have a population of 100,000 or more while small cities have a 

population of less than 100,000. 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends by city size 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percent Intimate Homicide Victims by Location

Large city Small city Suburban Rural

Intimate

Nonintimate

or Unknown Intimate

Nonintimate

or Unknown Intimate

Nonintimate

or Unknown Intimate

Nonintimate

or Unknown

1976 12.9% 87.1% 18.5% 81.5% 17.2% 82.8% 19.4% 80.6%

1977 11.4% 88.6% 17.4% 82.6% 15.8% 84.2% 18.3% 81.7%

1978 11.2% 88.8% 15.7% 84.3% 15.7% 84.3% 17.3% 82.7%

1979 9.8% 90.2% 15.2% 84.8% 15.9% 84.1% 17.8% 82.2%

1980 9.1% 90.9% 15.2% 84.8% 13.7% 86.3% 16.6% 83.4%

1981 9.7% 90.3% 16.1% 83.9% 14.7% 85.3% 17.5% 82.5%

1982 9.6% 90.4% 14.5% 85.5% 14.6% 85.4% 16.9% 83.1%

1983 10.1% 89.9% 16.0% 84.0% 16.3% 83.7% 19.0% 81.0%

1984 10.2% 89.8% 16.9% 83.1% 14.6% 85.4% 17.0% 83.0%

1985 9.4% 90.6% 16.5% 83.5% 16.1% 83.9% 19.9% 80.1%

1986 9.2% 90.8% 15.3% 84.7% 15.5% 84.5% 18.7% 81.3%

1987 8.6% 91.4% 15.5% 84.5% 14.7% 85.3% 17.9% 82.1%

1988 8.3% 91.7% 14.7% 85.3% 16.0% 84.0% 18.4% 81.6%

1989 7.2% 92.8% 14.6% 85.4% 15.5% 84.5% 17.4% 82.6%

1990 6.6% 93.4% 13.8% 86.2% 13.9% 86.1% 17.0% 83.0%

1991 6.0% 94.0% 13.2% 86.8% 12.8% 87.2% 16.7% 83.3%

1992 5.7% 94.3% 12.4% 87.6% 12.6% 87.4% 17.8% 82.2%

1993 5.8% 94.2% 11.7% 88.3% 13.7% 86.3% 18.1% 81.9%

1994 5.6% 94.4% 12.0% 88.0% 13.3% 86.7% 17.2% 82.8%

1995 5.6% 94.4% 11.8% 88.2% 12.4% 87.6% 15.2% 84.8%

1996 5.9% 94.1% 9.9% 90.1% 13.2% 86.8% 19.1% 80.9%

1997 5.6% 94.4% 11.3% 88.7% 12.9% 87.1% 18.2% 81.8%

1998 6.7% 93.3% 11.8% 88.2% 15.2% 84.8% 19.7% 80.3%

1999 6.5% 93.5% 12.3% 87.7% 15.2% 84.8% 18.6% 81.4%

2000 6.8% 93.2% 11.3% 88.7% 15.2% 84.8% 20.5% 79.5%

2001 6.1% 93.9% 12.6% 87.4% 13.9% 86.1% 18.0% 82.0%

2002 6.1% 93.9% 10.6% 89.4% 14.0% 86.0% 18.2% 81.8%

2003 5.9% 94.1% 10.8% 89.2% 14.3% 85.7% 14.0% 86.0%

2004 5.8% 94.2% 10.9% 89.1% 13.5% 86.5% 19.2% 80.8%

2005 5.8% 94.2% 11.3% 88.7% 13.0% 87.0% 17.8% 82.2%

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Clearances 

The percentage of homicides cleared 

by arrest has been declining 

z In 2005, 62% of all homicides were cleared compared to 79% in 1976. 

z Homicide has the highest clearance rate of all serious crimes. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Note: Law enforcement agencies clear or solve an offense when at least one person is arrested, 

charged with the commission of the offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution. Law 

enforcement agencies may also clear a crime by exceptional means such as when an identified 

offender is killed during apprehension or commits suicide. 

Police are more likely to identify a suspect if the 

victim is a child 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Clearances 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percent of 

Homicides 

Cleared by 

Arrest 

Percent

cleared

1976 79%

1977 76%

1978 76%

1979 73%

1980 72%

1981 72%

1982 74%

1983 76%

1984 74%

1985 72%

1986 70%

1987 70%

1988 70%

1989 68%

1990 67%

1991 67%

1992 65%

1993 66%

1994 64%

1995 65%

1996 67%

1997 66%

1998 69%

1999 69%

2000 63%

2001 62%

2002 64%

2003 62%

2004 63%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

2005 62%

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[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Clearances 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Percent Cleared by Victim Age 

Age of

Victim

Suspect identified Suspect unknown

Number Percent Number Percent

0 6,474 86.8% 982 13.2%

1 3,961 90.6% 409 9.4%

2 3,138 90.8% 320 9.2%

3 1,928 89.5% 226 10.5%

4 1,335 87.5% 191 12.5%

5 974 87.4% 140 12.6%

6 784 86.7% 120 13.3%

7 718 84.3% 134 15.7%

8 669 83.2% 135 16.8%

9 648 82.6% 136 17.4%

10 641 83.2% 130 16.8%

11 657 81.6% 148 18.4%

12 926 81.3% 213 18.7%

13 1,249 75.8% 399 24.2%

14 2,260 75.0% 752 25.0%

15 3,808 71.7% 1,505 28.3%

16 5,993 70.2% 2,545 29.8%

17 8,821 69.9% 3,806 30.1%

18 11,224 68.5% 5,173 31.5%

19 13,405 67.8% 6,372 32.2%

20 13,602 65.3% 7,242 34.7%

21 14,106 67.8% 6,707 32.2%

22 14,414 68.4% 6,674 31.6%

23 14,187 68.6% 6,502 31.4%

24 13,695 67.8% 6,490 32.2%

25 14,327 66.3% 7,279 33.7%

26 13,196 68.4% 6,107 31.6%

27 12,512 68.2% 5,825 31.8%

28 11,992 69.2% 5,330 30.8%

29 11,804 69.5% 5,179 30.5%

30 12,181 67.3% 5,918 32.7%

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31 10,375 70.3% 4,377 29.7%

32 10,562 70.8% 4,355 29.2%

33 9,472 70.1% 4,037 29.9%

34 9,625 71.7% 3,790 28.3%

35 9,609 69.8% 4,162 30.2%

36 8,366 71.1% 3,393 28.9%

37 8,086 72.8% 3,015 27.2%

38 7,828 72.5% 2,972 27.5%

39 7,459 73.0% 2,757 27.0%

40 7,530 70.6% 3,137 29.4%

41 6,496 73.0% 2,404 27.0%

42 6,600 72.5% 2,507 27.5%

43 5,765 72.9% 2,147 27.1%

44 5,369 73.7% 1,918 26.3%

45 5,464 72.4% 2,079 27.6%

46 4,775 72.6% 1,805 27.4%

47 4,571 72.7% 1,720 27.3%

48 4,179 74.2% 1,454 25.8%

49 4,051 73.7% 1,445 26.3%

50 4,197 70.7% 1,743 29.3%

51 3,328 72.1% 1,290 27.9%

52 3,464 72.0% 1,349 28.0%

53 3,111 71.7% 1,226 28.3%

54 3,016 72.7% 1,134 27.3%

55 2,871 71.6% 1,141 28.4%

56 2,592 70.7% 1,073 29.3%

57 2,481 71.3% 997 28.7%

58 2,203 72.2% 849 27.8%

59 2,125 72.7% 797 27.3%

60 2,144 67.9% 1,016 32.1%

61 1,923 71.5% 765 28.5%

62 1,994 69.4% 881 30.6%

63 1,791 71.1% 727 28.9%

64 1,583 71.9% 617 28.1%

65 1,792 70.6% 746 29.4%

66 1,297 70.3% 547 29.7%

67 1,406 69.0% 632 31.0%

68 1,285 70.0% 551 30.0%

69 1,208 70.7% 501 29.3%

70 1,266 68.4% 586 31.6%

71 1,051 68.6% 481 31.4%

72 1,189 69.4% 523 30.6%

73 995 71.0% 407 29.0%

74 969 68.6% 443 31.4%

75 966 68.5% 444 31.5%

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

76 830 67.8% 394 32.2%

77 811 71.2% 328 28.8%

78 736 68.4% 340 31.6%

79 746 69.1% 333 30.9%

80 708 68.0% 333 32.0%

81 582 66.7% 291 33.3%

82 592 70.2% 252 29.8%

83 470 66.0% 243 34.0%

84 406 63.3% 235 36.7%

85 399 67.5% 193 32.5%

86 374 67.3% 182 32.7%

87 258 61.0% 165 39.0%

88 241 66.0% 124 34.0%

89 186 65.9% 96 34.1%

90 181 66.8% 90 33.2%

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Justifiable homicides 

The number of justifiable homicides 

has been declining 

z Generally, the number of justifiable homicides committed by police exceeded the number 

committed by citizens. 

z In the last 10 years, the number of justifiable homicides has declined 13%. 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Note: Justifiable homicides are defined as the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the 

line of duty or the killing of a felon during the commission of a felony by a private citizen. 

The circumstances surrounding justifiable 

homicides differ for those committed by police 

and those committed by citizens. 

z Most justifiable homicides by police are the result of attacks on officers. 

z The most frequent circumstances cited for justifiable homicides by citizens is to disrupt a 

crime while in progress or when a citizen was attacked. 

To view data, click on the chart. 
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends in justifiable homicide by police and citizens 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation. 

Number of justifiable 

homicides 

Year

By 

Citizen

By 

Police

1976 381 420

1977 240 314

1978 280 314

1979 383 443

1980 467 459

1981 495 383

1982 423 380

1983 334 419

1984 265 333

1985 265 321

1986 289 303

1987 246 300

1988 233 342

1989 273 363

1990 328 385

1991 331 367

1992 351 418

1993 357 455

1994 353 462

1995 268 389

1996 261 356

1997 277 369

1998 196 367

1999 192 308

2000 164 309

2001 221 378

2002 233 341

2003 245 371

2004 219 368

2005 192 343

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[D] 

Most justifiable homicides are intraracial 

z In incidents involving citizens, three-quarters involved citizens and felons of the same race. 

z In incidents involving police, two-thirds involved police officers and felons of the same race. 

Percent of justifiable homicides 

Race of citizen who killed felon 

Race of 

felon White Black Other Total

White 36 % 3 % 1 % 40 %

Black 17 40 1 59

Other 1 -- 1 1

Total 54 43 3 100

Race of officer who killed felon 

Race of 

felon White Black Other Total

White 55 % 3 % -- 59 %

Black 28 11 -- 39
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Trends in justifiable homicide by justification reason 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

By citizens | By police

Justifiable homicides by citizens

Year 

of 

Offense

Attacked 

cop 

Attacked 

citizen 

Fled or 

resisted 

Disrupted

crime Undetermined

1976 8 101 11 212 49

1977 2 80 4 134 20

1978 2 82 6 182 8

1979 5 111 13 237 17

1980 1 108 17 329 12

1981 6 153 20 300 16

1982 13 87 5 305 13

1983 3 86 6 208 31

1984 9 44 7 178 27

1985 1 52 6 175 31

1986 3 82 5 182 17

1987 7 70 5 152 12

1988 2 54 5 151 21

1989 4 77 4 173 15

1990 5 94 5 206 18

1991 6 78 1 217 29

1992 11 112 5 203 20

1993 2 86 6 232 31

1994 9 100 3 211 30

1995 5 82 4 153 24

1996 6 74 1 159 21

1997 3 66 3 168 37

1998 5 61 4 106 20

1999 6 66 4 92 24

2000 7 46 4 88 19

2001 6 66 2 116 31

2002 5 84 4 115 25

2003 3 68 4 145 25

2004 6 95 3 91 24

2005 3 91 2 77 19

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

Justifiable homicides by police

Year 

of 

Offense

Attacked

cop 

Attacked

citizen 

Fled or 

resisted

Disrupted

crime Undetermined

1976 124 4 108 109 75

1977 128 4 65 95 22

1978 159 9 56 67 23

1979 209 9 77 109 39

1980 183 5 87 133 51

1981 138 7 76 120 42

1982 134 9 55 132 50

1983 171 10 66 120 52

1984 140 8 56 77 52

1985 131 14 62 84 30

1986 144 4 43 64 48

1987 154 8 39 70 29

1988 165 12 43 84 38

1989 186 15 52 82 28

1990 193 10 52 89 41

1991 171 11 53 94 38

1992 237 7 40 92 42

1993 285 4 28 86 52

1994 264 4 36 92 66

1995 220 2 32 84 51

1996 199 5 37 61 54

1997 208 6 28 80 47

1998 207 7 29 80 44

1999 197 6 23 53 29

2000 191 6 15 65 32

2001 229 8 18 74 49

2002 207 6 25 68 35

2003 219 6 27 81 38

2004 250 4 25 43 46

2005 222 8 27 53 33

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-- Less than 0.5% 

The age distribution of the felons killed by police 

is slightly older than that for felons killed by 

citizens 

To view data, click on the chart. 

[D] 

Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional information about the data. 

Note: The victims of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks are not included in this analysis. 

Other 2 -- -- 2

Total 85 14 1 % 100

Previous Contents Next
BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Justifiable homicide age of felon killed 

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version (.csv file) 

Number of justifiable 

homicides 

Age of 

Felon Killed

By 

Citizen

By 

Police

11 0 1

12 2 2

13 11 7

14 31 28

15 89 78

16 158 138

17 279 251

18 348 281

19 386 403

20 441 458

21 402 472

22 409 481

23 408 457

24 388 438

25 418 478

26 383 466

27 351 441

28 306 408

29 301 419

30 321 396

31 271 378

32 241 355

33 261 328

34 215 329

35 198 274

36 179 282

37 174 246

38 167 235

39 151 204

40 152 212

41 127 191

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42 109 155

43 106 154

44 88 133

45 98 126

46 65 101

47 62 98

48 58 108

49 60 87

50 52 85

51 47 50

52 34 62

53 32 60

54 26 44

55 27 51

56 24 44

57 17 48

58 17 30

59 22 37

60 18 35

61 10 24

62 12 30

63 10 27

64 15 22

65 10 27

66 9 19

67 7 19

68 7 10

69 6 14

70 5 12

71 1 13

72 1 14

73 6 10

74 5 10

75 1 6

76 5 6

77 5 1

78 3 5

79 1 8

80 1 3

81 0 7

82 1 4

83 1 3

84 1 3

85 0 4

86 3 1

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Source: FBI, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-2005. 

 See also Additional Information About the Data for details about weighting and imputation.

87 1 0

88 0 1

89 0 1

94 0 1

97 1 0

99 1 0

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BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Homicide Trends in the U.S. 

Additional information about the 

data 

Data sources | Methodology | Related sites

Data Sources 

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) 

Launched over 70 years ago, the Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects and publishes criminal 

offense, arrest, and law enforcement personnel statistics. Under the UCR program, law 

enforcement agencies submit information to the FBI monthly. Offense information is collected on 

the eight Index offenses of homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larcenytheft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Information on the number of persons arrested includes 

many additional crime types such as drug abuse violations and driving under the influence. The FBI

annually publishes data from the UCR in Crime in the United States. The UCR is one of the two 

major national indicators about crime. For more information about these two indicators, see The 

Nation's Two Crime Measures. 

The UCR program collects only those data which come to the attention of law enforcement through 

victim reports or observation. Of all the crimes included in the UCR, homicide is the most complete.

Homicide counts suffer from a minimal level of underreporting. In addition, the number of crimes 

where law enforcement makes an arrest or clears the offense is the highest for homicide compared 

to the other serious offenses collected by the UCR. Other offenses including forcible rape, robbery 

and aggravated assault are currently available only in summary count form without details about 

the incident, victims, or offenders. Homicide information -- through the Supplementary Homicide 

Reports data -- is available in incident form. 

FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) 

Most of the data used here are from the Supplementary Homicide Reports which is a part of the 

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Supplemental data about homicide incidents are 

submitted monthly with detail on location, victim, and offender characteristics. These reports 

include information on the month and year of an offense, on the reporting agency and its 

residential population, county and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) codes, geographic division, 

and population group, on the age, race, and sex of victims and offenders, and on the 

victim/offender relationship, weapon use, and circumstance of the crime. For the years 1976-2005,

contributing agencies provided supplemental data for 538,210 of the estimated 594,277 murders. 

Supplemental data were also reported for 597,359 of the estimated 659,862 offenders. 

Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) 
Also a part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, LEOKA utilizes data from several sources

including the Uniform Crime Reports. Once notified of a line-of-duty death, the FBI contacts the 

employing agency to obtain additional details. LEOKA includes data about Federal, State, and local 

law enforcement officers who were killed feloniously or by accidents or who were assaulted. An 

annual report is published by the FBI. 

To the top 

Methodology 

Homicide as defined here includes murder and nonnegligent manslaughter which is the willful 

killing of one human being by another. The general analyses excluded deaths caused by 

negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder. Justifiable 

homicides based on the reports of law enforcement agencies are analyzed separately. Deaths from 

the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 are not included in any of the analyses although they are available 

on the data file on which the analyses are based. These data are based solely on police 

investigation, as opposed to the determination of a court, medical examiner, coroner, jury, or other

judicial body. 

Not all agencies which report offense information to the FBI also submit supplemental data on 

homicides. About 91% of homicides reported in the UCR are included in the SHR. To account for 

the total number of homicides, this analysis weighted the SHR data to match national and State 

estimates prepared by the FBI. All victim-based analyses are adjusted in this manner. 

While many agencies report supplemental data on homicides, much of the data concerning 

offenders may not be reported because no suspects were identified. The most significant problem 

in using SHR data to analyze offender characteristics is the sizable and growing number of 

unsolved homicides contained in the data file. Ignoring unsolved homicides, of course, would 

seriously understate calculated rates of offending by particular subgroups of the population, distort 

trends over time among these same subgroups, and bias observed patterns of offending to the 

extent that the rate of missing offender data is associated with offender characteristics. 

To adjust for unsolved homicides, a method for offender imputation has been devised, using 

available information about the victims murdered in both solved and unsolved homicides. Through 

this imputation algorithm, the demographic characteristics of unidentified offenders are inferred on 

the basis of similar homicide cases -- similar in terms of the victim's demographic profile, 

circumstances of the homicide such as felony or argument, location of the homicide (region and 

urbaness), gun involvement, and year of the offense -- that had been solved. In other words, 

offender profiles for unsolved crimes are estimated based on the offender profiles in solved cases 

matched on victim age, sex, and race; circumstances of the homicide; location of the homicide; 

and gun involvement; as well as year. All offender-based estimates were imputed using this 

procedure. 

To more detail on the weighting and imputation procedures

The data file analyzed is available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). 

To analyze these data online, go to the NACJD Data Analysis System. 

To the top 

Related sites 
Bureau of Justice Statistics 

z Homicide Trends and Characteristics by State and local agency for jurisdictions with more 

than 250,000 population data is available from Data Online. 

z Crime and Victims Page 

z Key Facts at a Glance 

z Trends in Juvenile Violence including 1997 update by James Alan Fox, Professor of Criminal 

Justice, Northeastern University 

z Bridging Gaps in Police Crime Data a discussion paper on the FBI's UCR program including 

the SHR prepared by Michael D. Maltz, University of Illinois at Chicago under the BJS Visiting 

Fellows Program 

z Policing and Homicide, 1976-98: Justifiable Homicide of Felons by Police and Murder of Police

by Felons presents annual trends from 1976 to 1998 in two types of homicide: justifiable 

homicides of felons by police, and murders of police officers by felons. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Reports 

National Institute of Justice - Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities (Acrobat file) 

Statistical Briefing Book from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data

z Analyze Homicide Data Online 

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)