A new report on crime trends in major U.S. cities says homicides fell sharply in 2025, with the murder rate likely reaching its lowest level since at least 1900.
The analysis, produced by the Council on Criminal Justice found the reported homicide rate dropped 21% in 2025 across 35 large cities that provided murder data, representing thousands fewer killings than the year before.
The report also found broad declines across most other tracked offenses in 2025 compared with 2024. 11 of 13 crime categories fell year over year, including drops in aggravated assault, gun assaults, robbery, and carjackings, while drug offenses were the lone category showing an increase.
City level results varied. Among the cities included, the largest homicide declines cited in coverage included Denver, Washington, D.C., and Omaha, while Little Rock was cited as having the largest increase among the cities
It is important to note that these are city based figures from a sample of large jurisdictions, not the finalized national totals. Any nationwide murder rate figure will ultimately depend on final FBI reporting, which typically comes later.
