MISSOURI LEADS NATION IN BLACK HOMICIDE RATE, ILLINOIS SECOND

Published Aug 22, 2025 at 11:15 AM EDT

Nearly nine out of 10 of Black homicide victims die by gunfire.

ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri led the nation in 2023 with a Black homicide victimization rate more than twice the national average. Illinois followed closely behind, where Black residents were nearly 10 times more likely to be killed than white residents.

The findings come from the Violence Policy Center’s annual report, which analyzes FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data. The numbers expose what researchers call a deadly and disproportionate toll on Black families across the Midwest.

In 2023 (the most recent year for which data are available), there were 12,276 Black homicide victims in the United States. Of these victims, 10,563 (86.0 percent) died by gunfire.

Black Americans comprised 13.7 percent of the U.S. population that year yet represented 53.8 percent of all homicide victims.

The victimization data presented in the study reveals that homicides claim an average of 236 Black lives every week, nearly 34 every day. Nationwide, the Black homicide victimization rate was 26.6 per 100,000.

In 2023, the 10 states with the highest Black homicide victimization rates were: Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The Black male homicide victimization rate (46.1 per 100,000) was more than four times the overall male victimization rate (11.3 per 100,000) and more than eight times the white male homicide victimization rate (5.7 per 100,000).

This is the 17th year in a row that Missouri has ranked either first or second in the nation for Black homicide victimization.