Homicide rates in major U.S. cities fell by an average of 18 percent in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, continuing a trend that began in the second half of 2022 and pushing crime toward historic lows.
The Council on Criminal Justice updated its analysis of crime trends, reporting that nearly all categories of reported crime decreased through June across a sample of 36 American cities. Among the 30 cities that provided homicide data, there were 215 fewer killings.
The report analyzed yearly and monthly rates for 13 violent, property and drug offenses, using data from January 2018 through June 2026. The cities range in population from Rochester, New York, with about 200,000 residents, to New York City, with roughly 8.5 million.
The current drop builds on a sharp reversal after a 30 percent national increase in homicides from 2019 to 2020. The council's previous estimates projected the 2025 national homicide rate would be the lowest since at least 1900.
Cities including Washington, D.C. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Baltimore and New York all recorded decreases. The sustained decline moves well beyond what researchers previously called a "return to normal" phase following the 2020 spike.
No single explanation accounts for the drop, according to the council. Researchers and practitioners point to multiple factors, including changes in criminal justice operations and strategies, technological advances and broad shifts in society and culture.
The data, drawn from online portals of city police departments, provided monthly incident-level figures. The council used those counts to calculate monthly crime rates per 100,000 residents.
Public safety remains a central issue in national and local elections, with candidates frequently campaigning on their ability to reduce crime. The council said its report does not offer evidence of the success or failure of any specific policy or practice—it documents recent crime trends from its sample of large U.S. cities to provide a factual basis for public debate on criminal justice.
