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Social Sciences Active Updated Aug 20, 2026

America's murder rate falls to a record low

FBI data confirms 2025's murder rate tied the lowest ever recorded, and 2026 tracking data shows the decline still accelerating across major cities. The stakes are whether the trend holds, what is actually driving it, and whether it reshapes policy debates over policing and public safety.

The story so far

  1. Aug 20, 2026 Latest

    The FBI confirmed 2025's murder rate came in at 4.1 per 100,000 people, tying 1955 and 1956 for the lowest ever recorded and marking the largest single-year drop in murder and violent crime in the data's history, while 2026 tracking data from big-city police chiefs and the Council on Criminal Justice showed homicides down 31 percent and robbery down 41 percent versus 2019 across 36 major cities.

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