Do you live in one of the murder capitals of New York?
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 New York 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 42 cities in the Empire State with over 5,000 residents.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Cities With Highest Murder Rates In New York
- Rochester
- Buffalo
- Malone Village
- Liberty Village
- Geneva
- Poughkeepsie
- Stony Point Town
- Schenectady
- Syracuse
- Auburn
What city has the highest murder rate in New York? The city with the highest murder rate in New York is Rochester with 31.4 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in New York with highest number of murders? The city in New York with the highest number of murders is New York with 438 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in New York ranked. There were ‘only’ 42 cities in New York where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 175 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Empire State check out:
- Best Places To Live In New York
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The 10 Murder Capitals Of New York For 2024
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Population: 210,270
Murders: 66 (3rd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 31.4 (Most)
More on Rochester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 275,710
Murders: 67 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 24.3 (2nd Most)
More on Buffalo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
3. Malone Village
Population: 5,274
Murders: 1 (34th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 19.0 (3rd Most)
More on Malone Village:
4. Liberty Village
Population: 5,367
Murders: 1 (34th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 18.6 (4th Most)
More on Liberty Village:
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Population: 12,365
Murders: 2 (20th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 16.2 (5th Most)
More on Geneva: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
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Population: 32,202
Murders: 5 (8th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 15.5 (6th Most)
More on Poughkeepsie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
7. Stony Point Town
Population: 14,749
Murders: 2 (20th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 13.6 (7th Most)
More on Stony Point Town:
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Population: 67,101
Murders: 8 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.9 (8th Most)
More on Schenectady: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 145,179
Murders: 17 (4th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.7 (9th Most)
More on Syracuse: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
/10
Population: 26,531
Murders: 3 (13th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 11.3 (10th Most)
More on Auburn: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of New York
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 New York for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 42 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 Rochester. It is our tenth time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in New York. We updated the list for 2024.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In New York For 2024
If you’re looking at the places in New York 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 New York are Rochester, Buffalo, Malone Village, Liberty Village, Geneva, Poughkeepsie, Stony Point Town, Schenectady, Syracuse, and Auburn.
For more New York reading, check out:
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Murder Rates By City In New York
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester, NY | 210270 | 66 | 31.39 |
| 2 | Buffalo, NY | 275710 | 67 | 24.3 |
| 3 | Malone Village, NY | 5274 | 1 | 18.96 |
| 4 | Liberty Village, NY | 5367 | 1 | 18.63 |
| 5 | Geneva, NY | 12365 | 2 | 16.17 |
| 6 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 32202 | 5 | 15.53 |
| 7 | Stony Point Town, NY | 14749 | 2 | 13.56 |
| 8 | Schenectady, NY | 67101 | 8 | 11.92 |
| 9 | Syracuse, NY | 145179 | 17 | 11.71 |
| 10 | Auburn, NY | 26531 | 3 | 11.31 |
| 11 | Albany, NY | 98104 | 11 | 11.21 |
| 12 | Newburgh, NY | 28819 | 3 | 10.41 |
| 13 | Niagara Falls, NY | 48129 | 5 | 10.39 |
| 14 | Ogdensburg, NY | 9933 | 1 | 10.07 |
| 15 | Troy, NY | 50106 | 5 | 9.98 |
| 16 | Massena Village, NY | 10165 | 1 | 9.84 |
| 17 | Corning, NY | 10900 | 1 | 9.17 |
| 18 | Elmira, NY | 26820 | 2 | 7.46 |
| 19 | Jamestown, NY | 28208 | 2 | 7.09 |
| 20 | Tonawanda Town, NY | 56698 | 4 | 7.05 |
| 21 | Gloversville, NY | 14656 | 1 | 6.82 |
| 22 | Middletown, NY | 30538 | 2 | 6.55 |
| 23 | Lewiston Town and Village, NY | 15781 | 1 | 6.34 |
| 24 | Ithaca, NY | 31576 | 2 | 6.33 |
| 25 | Spring Valley Village, NY | 33044 | 2 | 6.05 |
| 26 | Mount Vernon, NY | 71690 | 4 | 5.58 |
| 27 | Haverstraw Town, NY | 37034 | 2 | 5.4 |
| 28 | New York, NY | 8236567 | 438 | 5.32 |
| 29 | Hempstead Village, NY | 58469 | 3 | 5.13 |
| 30 | Lackawanna, NY | 19692 | 1 | 5.08 |
| 31 | Plattsburgh City, NY | 19904 | 1 | 5.02 |
| 32 | Peekskill, NY | 26178 | 1 | 3.82 |
| 33 | Vestal Town, NY | 29553 | 1 | 3.38 |
| 34 | Colonie Town, NY | 81035 | 2 | 2.47 |
| 35 | Poughkeepsie Town, NY | 40966 | 1 | 2.44 |
| 36 | West Seneca Town, NY | 45119 | 1 | 2.22 |
| 37 | Hamburg Town, NY | 47939 | 1 | 2.09 |
| 38 | Amherst Town, NY | 123527 | 2 | 1.62 |
| 39 | Utica, NY | 63906 | 1 | 1.56 |
| 40 | Cheektowaga Town, NY | 79606 | 1 | 1.26 |
| 41 | Greece Town, NY | 95525 | 1 | 1.05 |
| 42 | Yonkers, NY | 208100 | 2 | 0.96 |