Violent crime stories from Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City frequently make news headlines but some other cities in the South and Midwest have higher or comparable murder numbers per capita, including New Orleans and Birmingham, Al., Milwaukee; St. Louis; Cleveland; Rochester, and Atlanta, reports Fox News. A compilation of June police data from cities with populations over 200,000 by AH Analytics' Jeff Asher lists the top 31 U.S. cities with the highest murder rates, in order, so far in 2022.
New Orleans has a murder rate of 36.8 per capita so far this year, followed by Baltimore at 29.1; Birmingham at 29.1, St. Louis at 27.8, Milwaukee at 19, Cleveland at 16.9, Rochester at 16.6, Philadelphia at 15.1, Atlanta at 14.9, and Kansas City a 14.6. In 2021, more than a dozen cities reported record homicide after a trend of violence that began in 2020. New Orleans recorded 145 murders as of June 30, putting it on pace for nearly 300 murders this year, which would put the city's homicide rate at 74.12 per 100,000 population by year's end That rate would dwarf Chicago's 18.26 murders per 100,000 population Darrell Basco, president of the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police, said The Big Easy attracts "a lot of tourists" to Louisiana year-round, Basco said, adding that city council members and other elected officials need to partner with community organizations to get a handle on violence before it affects tourism revenue. He blamed a "progressive-leaning" district attorney, difficulty attracting and retaining police officers, and "the demonization of police officers."