(NewsNation) — Murders in the United States decreased by nearly 15% last year, according to statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The FBI’s crime statistics estimates, based on reported data, show a violent crime occurred, on average, every 25.9 seconds in 2024,” the agency said in a press release.
“The breakdown shows on average a murder occurred every 31.1 minutes and a rape occurred every 4.1 minutes. National violent crime decreased an estimated 4.5% in 2024 compared to 2023 estimates.”
The country’s murder rate was the lowest recorded in a decade, with 5 per 100,000. In addition, murder declined across every population group at a 19% clip in cities populated at 1 million or more and cities under 10,000.
“The 2024 data adds confidence that 2025 will feature the lowest murder rate ever recorded,” said Jeff Asher, crime data analyst.
Overall violent crime in the U.S. was down 4.5% in 2024 from 2023 and just slightly below the 2015 level.