Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Arizona?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Arizona with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 34 cities in the Grand Canyon State with over 7,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What city has the highest murder rate in Arizona? The city with the highest murder rate in Arizona is Coolidge with 25.0 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Arizona with highest number of murders? The city in Arizona with the highest number of murders is Phoenix with 217 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Arizona ranked. There were ‘only’ 34 cities in Arizona where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 19 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Grand Canyon State check out:
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Arizona For 2024
/10
Population: 16,027
Murders: 4 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 25.0 (Most)
More on Coolidge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 9,298
Murders: 2 (18th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 21.5 (2nd Most)
More on Winslow: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 14,480
Murders: 3 (14th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 20.7 (3rd Most)
More on Somerton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 98,164
Murders: 19 (5th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.4 (4th Most)
More on Yuma: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 36,039
Murders: 5 (10th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.9 (5th Most)
More on El Mirage: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 7,328
Murders: 1 (27th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.6 (6th Most)
More on Page: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 7,351
Murders: 1 (27th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.6 (7th Most)
More on Tolleson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 1,637,902
Murders: 217 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.2 (8th Most)
More on Phoenix: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 550,448
Murders: 61 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.1 (9th Most)
More on Tucson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 41,099
Murders: 4 (12th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 9.7 (10th Most)
More on Apache Junction: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Arizona
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Arizona for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 34 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Coolidge. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Arizona. We updated the list for 2024.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Arizona For 2024
If you’re looking at the places in Arizona with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Arizona are Coolidge, Winslow, Somerton, Yuma, El Mirage, Page, Tolleson, Phoenix, Tucson, and Apache Junction.
For more Arizona reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Arizona
- Fastest Growing Cities In Arizona
- Safest Places In Arizona
- Best Cities For Singles In Arizona
- Worst Places To Live In Arizona
Murder Rates By City In Arizona
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coolidge, AZ | 16027 | 4 | 24.96 |
| 2 | Winslow, AZ | 9298 | 2 | 21.51 |
| 3 | Somerton, AZ | 14480 | 3 | 20.72 |
| 4 | Yuma, AZ | 98164 | 19 | 19.36 |
| 5 | El Mirage, AZ | 36039 | 5 | 13.87 |
| 6 | Page, AZ | 7328 | 1 | 13.65 |
| 7 | Tolleson, AZ | 7351 | 1 | 13.6 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | 1637902 | 217 | 13.25 |
| 9 | Tucson, AZ | 550448 | 61 | 11.08 |
| 10 | Apache Junction, AZ | 41099 | 4 | 9.73 |
| 11 | Snowflake-Taylor, AZ | 10834 | 1 | 9.23 |
| 12 | Casa Grande, AZ | 61271 | 5 | 8.16 |
| 13 | Glendale, AZ | 250466 | 20 | 7.99 |
| 14 | Avondale, AZ | 91467 | 6 | 6.56 |
| 15 | Douglas, AZ | 16529 | 1 | 6.05 |
| 16 | Mesa, AZ | 513116 | 27 | 5.26 |
| 17 | Nogales, AZ | 19725 | 1 | 5.07 |
| 18 | Prescott Valley, AZ | 49422 | 2 | 4.05 |
| 19 | Chandler, AZ | 281373 | 11 | 3.91 |
| 20 | Tempe, AZ | 187473 | 7 | 3.73 |
| 21 | Kingman, AZ | 34803 | 1 | 2.87 |
| 22 | Bullhead City, AZ | 41035 | 1 | 2.44 |
| 23 | Sierra Vista, AZ | 45611 | 1 | 2.19 |
| 24 | Prescott, AZ | 47878 | 1 | 2.09 |
| 25 | Oro Valley, AZ | 48441 | 1 | 2.06 |
| 26 | Scottsdale, AZ | 245886 | 5 | 2.03 |
| 27 | Goodyear, AZ | 107212 | 2 | 1.87 |
| 28 | Marana, AZ | 57119 | 1 | 1.75 |
| 29 | Peoria, AZ | 197894 | 3 | 1.52 |
| 30 | Maricopa, AZ | 66525 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 31 | Flagstaff, AZ | 75013 | 1 | 1.33 |
| 32 | Surprise, AZ | 154128 | 2 | 1.3 |
| 33 | Buckeye, AZ | 110002 | 1 | 0.91 |
| 34 | Gilbert, AZ | 277123 | 2 | 0.72 |