UPDATE: We have now posted a similar comparison using the FBI’s 2024 crime data available here.
Original Post: Even Joe Scarborough on MSNBC on August 13th admits: Democrats will apparently privately say there is a crime problem in D.C. and that what Trump is doing should have been done long ago, but they publicly attack Trump. “You know Washington should have gotten involved years ago. This place is dangerous, it is a mess, it is a wreck, and whatever. But then they will go a on Twitter and ‘this is the worst outrage of all time.’ . . . But man, I don’t care what the crime statistics say, crime has been a problem in this city for the 32 years I have been living inside and outside of the city.”
Anyone who has been in a CVS or Walgreens in D.C. knows how everything is behind plexiglass, and given how high the property crime rate in D.C. is 49% higher than the highest state, that isn’t too surprising. The latest final FBI crime data for reported crime is for 2023 (easier to read charts are shown below). (Note that we have frequently pointed out the large recent differences between reported crime and total crime, with only about 43% of violent crime and property crime reported to police (see here and here). And that D.C. has an additional problem with apparently fudging crime data to make things look better than they actually are (see here and here).) D.C.’s crime rates are remarkably high compared to the rest of the country.
While these numbers provide a comparison to the country as a whole, a useful comparison is to compare D.C. to cities and D.C.’s murder rate is well above the rate in the top twenty most populous cities (see at the bottom of the page). Note D.C. is the 24th most populous city. Among the twenty most populous cities, Philadelphia had the highest with 26 murders per 100,000 people, so D.C.’s murder rate is 50% higher than the highest city in the top twenty. Among the 30 most populous cities, D.C. is ranked third. D.C. had the fifth highest murder rate among the 60 most populous city in the U.S. in 2023.
D.C.’s violent crime rate is also extremely high. Again, it is higher than the violent crime rate in any of the 20 most populous cities, the second highest in any of the 25 most populous cities, and fourth highest in any of the 30 most populous cites.
According to ChatGPT, there are 796 cities with over 50,000 people and D.C. has the third highest robbery rate.
Last year, members of D.C.’s business trade association community wrote D.C. mayor and city council about their concerns over crime: “Our organizations are primarily based in the downtown business district, where there have been horrifying acts of violence . . . Innocent people in neighborhoods across the city have been targeted in robberies, carjackings, and seemingly random acts of violence.”
— D.C.’s violent crime rate is 54% higher than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 220% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s murder rate is 169% higher than the highest state, Louisiana. It is 523% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s rape rate is 67% lower than the highest state, Alaska. But it is 191% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s robbery rate is an incredible 370% higher than the highest state, Maryland. It is 955% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s aggravated assault rate is 25% lower than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 140% higher than the average.
— D.C.’s property crime rate is 49% higher than the highest state, New Mexico. It is 134% higher than the average.
While Senator Chuck Schumer claims that crime is not a problem in D.C., apparently his security team disagrees.
While discussing the rampant crime in D.C., Cooper mentioned that it is safer in Baghdad than Washington D.C., Kilmeade looked down at his phone and paraphrased a text message from a member of Schumer’s security detail. The officer said, Schumer’s security is with the Senator all day long. He likely doesn’t go to the bathroom without his detail.
Jim Thompson, “Schumer Gaslights About D.C. Crime, Gets ‘Pantsed’ by Senator Mullin, and His Own Security Detail,” Red State, August 13, 2025.
D.C.’s violent crime rate in 2023 was
| City | Violent Crime Rate in 2023 |
| New York, NY | 699.9 (/100k) |
| Los Angeles, CA | 728.5 (/100k) |
| Chicago, IL | 539.8 (/100k) |
| Houston, TX | 1,148.2 (/100k) |
| Phoenix, AZ | 799.6 (/100k) |
| Philadelphia, PA | 908.7 (/100k) |
| Dallas, TX | 658.2 (/100k) |
| San Antonio, TX | 594.1 (/100k) |
| San Diego, CA | 412.2 (/100k) |
| Jacksonville, FL | (not directly available) |
| Fort Worth, TX | 458.4 (/100k) |
| San Jose, CA | 606.8 (/100k) |
| Austin, TX | 466.9 (/100k) |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC | 733.2 (/100k) |
| Columbus, OH | 434.9 (/100k) |
| Indianapolis, IN | 877.9 (/100k) |
| San Francisco, CA | 596.5 (/100k) |
| Seattle, WA | 775.1 (/100k) |
| Denver, CO | 993.0 (/100k) |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 676.0 (/100k) |
| El Paso, TX | 336.21 |
| Nashville, TN | ~1,102 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 470 |
| Washington, DC | 1,151 |
| Memphis, TN | 2,611.92 |
| Louisville, KY | 766 |
| Detroit, MI | 2,052.15 |
| Portland, OR | 751 |
| Boston, MA | 619 |
| Baltimore, MD | 1,553.1 |
Murder rates by City in 2023, note D.C.’s murder rate was 39.0.
Cities from 1 to 10 in population
New York City, NY — 3.3
Los Angeles, CA — 8.56
Chicago, IL — 18.99
Houston, TX — 14.89
Phoenix, AZ — 11.50
Philadelphia, PA — 25.99
Dallas, TX — 18.54
San Antonio, TX — 10.94
San Diego, CA — 2.90
Jacksonville, FL — 12.8
Cities from 11 to 20 in population
Fort Worth, TX — 8.73
San Jose, CA — 3.6
Austin, TX — 6.74
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC — 9.39
Columbus, OH — 10.45
Indianapolis, IN — 24.5
San Francisco, CA — 5.9
Seattle, WA — 9.02
Denver, CO — 11.93
Oklahoma City, OK — 8.99
Cities from 21 to 30 in population
El Paso, TX — 3.8
Nashville, TN — 15.3 (estimated)
Las Vegas, NV — 8.02
Washington, DC — 39.0
Memphis, TN — 56.98
Louisville, KY — 23.5
Detroit, MI — 39.4
Portland, OR — 11.82
Boston, MA — 5.29
Baltimore, MD — 46.0
Suggest an edit:
Change the following:
“D.C.’s murder rate is 67% lower than the highest state, Alaska”
to read:
“D.C.’s rape rate is 67% lower than the highest state, Alaska”
Thank you very much for the proof reading, Tom! It is greatly appreciated.
I sure don’t understand why any Washington DC crime rate comparison is made vs any State’s crime rate.
WDC is a “city” and all State crime rates are a compilation of crime that happens (almost exclusively) in the individual State’s cities. And guess what, most of those cities, red State or blue State, are run by democrats.
Thanks, JD. We have tried to make it clear that the reason we are making comparison to both states and cities, is that Democrats have wanted to make DC the 51st state, right?