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Who commits homicide in the US, by the offender's sex, age and race, as recorded by police, since 1980?

In 2025, police agencies sending Supplementary Homicide Reports to the FBI recorded 17,422 homicide offender records; 17.33% had no race recorded. Of the 14,403 offenders with race recorded, 55.08% were recorded as Black or African American and 41.96% as White, against 13.53% and 72.34% of residents; per 100,000 residents of the same race that is 17.15 and 2.44. Males were 88.25% of offenders with sex recorded (7.77 per 100,000 males, 1.0 per 100,000 females). BJS estimates for 2008, which impute unidentified offenders, were 24.7 (Black) and 3.4 (White) per 100,000, against 49.8 and 6.4 in 1980.

Black or African American: homicide offenders per 100,000 residents, 2025

17.15

homicide offenders per 100,000 Black or African American residents, 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only FBI SHR counts: BJS republishes it, so there is nothing independent to check it against.

Each source by year: homicide offenders per 100,000 Black or African American residents
  • FBI SHR
  • BJS
02040601980199020002010202020252021: FBI SHR: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021.2017: FBI SHR: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group.2000: FBI SHR: From 2000 the estimates follow the 1997 OMB race standard: people may report more than one race ("Two or More Races"), and Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are separate. RealStats uses "alone" counts from 2000 and adds Asian alone and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; before 2000 the four races add up to the total.2020: FBI SHR: Vintage 2025 estimates start from the 2020 Census via the Modified Age and Race Census file, with "Some Other Race" redistributed to the OMB race categories. 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates.1980: BJS: BJS imputed the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders from homicides with a known offender that match on victim age, sex and race, circumstance, region and urban location, gun use and year, and assumed one offender where the number was unknown (30.8% of homicides). The report says its figures may differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods, and it uses 1980-2008 only, partly to reflect revisions in the 1980 SHR.FBI SHRBJS

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table
YearFBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsBJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), spreadsheet data
1980–49.8
1981–45.8
1982–41.2
1983–36.3
1984–33.1
198523.2834
198625.9437.9
198723.4236.6
198825.1841.3
198926.3842.1
199028.546.5
199130.7151.1
199230.346.5
199332.0548.5
199430.3544.5
199525.338.4
199621.6434.9
199719.6131.2
199816.5926.9
19991524.5
200015.425.2
200115.8425.4
200215.5624.8
200315.6225.2
200415.2324
200517.0426.6
200618.0128.4
200717.0227.4
200815.3524.7
200914.95–
201014.78–
201113.8–
201213.87–
201313.19–
201412.88–
201513.9–
201614.87–
201715.5–
201815.32–
201915.87–
202021.3–
202121.76–
202224.31–
202322.51–
202420.38–
202517.15–
What this number counts
Counts
Homicide offenders recorded by police as Black or African American, per 100,000 residents recorded as Black or African American by the Census Bureau
Where
United States
When
Calendar year 2025; population on 1 July 2025 (one year, not an average)

The figure from FBI SHR, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (2 sources)
SourceFigure and yearDefinitionQualityCounts for
FBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reporting Program · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (API)
17.152025
7,933 homicide offenders recorded as Black or African American in the SHR for 2025 (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter), divided by 46,248,715 residents (Black or African American alone, Census Bureau, 1 July 2025).

Rate computed by RealStats from the FBI's published counts; the FBI does not publish offending rates. It counts only offenders police described: race was not recorded for 3,019 of 17,422 offender records (17.33%), mostly where no suspect was identified, and those are in no group. Offenders reported by agencies that sent no SHR are in no group either. From 2000 the population base is the Census "race alone" count (see reporting history). Offenders, not people convicted.

Raw files: fbi-cde/totals_<year>.json, 1985-2025, one call per year to https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/shr/national?from=01-<year>&to=12-<year>&type=totals (the endpoint the CDE Expanded Homicide page uses; no key needed). The CDE has no SHR data before 1985. SHR victims as % of the FBI's estimated murders (CIUS Table 1): 2006 87.9, 2007 87.03, 2008 87.3, 2009 89.23, 2010 89.73, 2011 87.18, 2012 86.88, 2013 87.03, 2014 86.74, 2015 87.07, 2016 88.47, 2017 88.64, 2018 89.48, 2019 89.39, 2020 87.94, 2021 78.86, 2022 93.13, 2023 94.43, 2024 96.34, 2025 98.31. CDE offender totals are higher than the FBI's published Crime in the United States Expanded Homicide Data Table 3 for the same year (2009: 15,916 in the CDE against 15,760 in CIUS Table 3 (+1.0%); 2019: 17,538 in the CDE against 16,245 in CIUS Table 3 (+8.0%); raw files fbi-cius/t3_<year>.html). The CDE says its Expanded Homicide data come from "the SRS and NIBRS (summarized)" and gives no reconciliation with the published tables.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The FBI publishes SHR definitions and the CDE Expanded Homicide methodology notes; the CIUS methodology describes collection.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A count of every homicide report that participating agencies sent, not a sample; SHR victims were 98.31% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2025 and 78.86% in 2021.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly national totals of victims and offenders by age, sex, race and ethnicity are downloadable as JSON from the Crime Data Explorer.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Offender details are missing when no suspect is identified (race not recorded for 17.33% of offender records in 2025, 31.83% in 2016); collection moved to NIBRS in 2021; agencies that do not report are not estimated.
100%
BJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), spreadsheet dataBureau of Justice Statistics (U.S. Department of Justice) · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (zip file)
24.72008
BJS estimate of homicide offenders recorded as black per 100,000 black residents in 2008.

Victims weighted to the FBI's national estimate, and the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders imputed from similar solved cases; divided by bridged-race population estimates (Census Bureau and NCHS). The FBI-line rate for 2008, from reported counts only, is 15.35. Built from the same FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports as the FBI line, so it is not counted again.

Raw file: htus8008.zip, htus8008f18.csv (figure 18, homicide offending rates by race). Report: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. BJS describes its weighting and offender imputation in the report (pages 34-35).
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Victims weighted to the FBI's national and state murder estimates, so every year represents all U.S. homicides.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. The figure and table data are downloadable as CSV files.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Offender characteristics are imputed for homicides with no offender information, from similar cases with a known offender; BJS states that results differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods.
Not counted

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

  • FBI SHR100%

Shown but not counted: BJS (republishes FBI SHR).

How the trust score was worked out
Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

No source of these kinds: death and health registers, independent count.

  • Single source: nothing to check it against
  • BJS: no figure here after 2008, while others reach 2025
  • FBI SHR, 2021: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021. source
  • FBI SHR, 2017: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group. source
  • FBI SHR, 2000: From 2000 the estimates follow the 1997 OMB race standard: people may report more than one race ("Two or More Races"), and Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are separate. RealStats uses "alone" counts from 2000 and adds Asian alone and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; before 2000 the four races add up to the total. source
  • FBI SHR, 2020: Vintage 2025 estimates start from the 2020 Census via the Modified Age and Race Census file, with "Some Other Race" redistributed to the OMB race categories. 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates. source
  • BJS, 1980: BJS imputed the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders from homicides with a known offender that match on victim age, sex and race, circumstance, region and urban location, gun use and year, and assumed one offender where the number was unknown (30.8% of homicides). The report says its figures may differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods, and it uses 1980-2008 only, partly to reflect revisions in the 1980 SHR. source
Years each source has a figure here
'01'05'10'15'20'25FBI SHRBJS

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

White: homicide offenders per 100,000 residents, 2025

2.44

homicide offenders per 100,000 White residents, 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only FBI SHR counts: BJS republishes it, so there is nothing independent to check it against.

Each source by year: homicide offenders per 100,000 White residents
  • FBI SHR
  • BJS
024681980199020002010202020252021: FBI SHR: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021.2017: FBI SHR: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group.2000: FBI SHR: From 2000 the estimates follow the 1997 OMB race standard: people may report more than one race ("Two or More Races"), and Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are separate. RealStats uses "alone" counts from 2000 and adds Asian alone and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; before 2000 the four races add up to the total.2020: FBI SHR: Vintage 2025 estimates start from the 2020 Census via the Modified Age and Race Census file, with "Some Other Race" redistributed to the OMB race categories. 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates.1980: BJS: BJS imputed the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders from homicides with a known offender that match on victim age, sex and race, circumstance, region and urban location, gun use and year, and assumed one offender where the number was unknown (30.8% of homicides). The report says its figures may differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods, and it uses 1980-2008 only, partly to reflect revisions in the 1980 SHR.FBI SHRBJS

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table
YearFBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsBJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), spreadsheet data
1980–6.4
1981–5.9
1982–5.6
1983–5.3
1984–5.3
19853.575.1
19863.795.3
19873.425.2
19883.264.9
19893.395.1
19903.655.6
19913.545.6
19923.525.2
19933.555.2
19943.495.1
19953.294.8
19962.854.4
19972.544.1
19982.564.1
19992.193.5
20002.183.5
20012.343.6
20022.363.6
20032.243.5
20042.313.6
20052.353.5
20062.33.4
20072.243.4
20082.263.4
20092.23–
20102.06–
20112–
20121.95–
20131.84–
20141.87–
20151.96–
20162.08–
20172.15–
20182.12–
20192.12–
20202.69–
20212.47–
20223.04–
20232.92–
20242.71–
20252.44–
What this number counts
Counts
Homicide offenders recorded by police as White, per 100,000 residents recorded as White by the Census Bureau
Where
United States
When
Calendar year 2025; population on 1 July 2025 (one year, not an average)

The figure from FBI SHR, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (2 sources)
SourceFigure and yearDefinitionQualityCounts for
FBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reporting Program · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (API)
2.442025
6,044 homicide offenders recorded as White in the SHR for 2025 (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter), divided by 247,263,993 residents (White alone, Census Bureau, 1 July 2025).

Rate computed by RealStats from the FBI's published counts; the FBI does not publish offending rates. It counts only offenders police described: race was not recorded for 3,019 of 17,422 offender records (17.33%), mostly where no suspect was identified, and those are in no group. Offenders reported by agencies that sent no SHR are in no group either. From 2000 the population base is the Census "race alone" count (see reporting history). Offenders, not people convicted.

Raw files: fbi-cde/totals_<year>.json, 1985-2025, one call per year to https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/shr/national?from=01-<year>&to=12-<year>&type=totals (the endpoint the CDE Expanded Homicide page uses; no key needed). The CDE has no SHR data before 1985. SHR victims as % of the FBI's estimated murders (CIUS Table 1): 2006 87.9, 2007 87.03, 2008 87.3, 2009 89.23, 2010 89.73, 2011 87.18, 2012 86.88, 2013 87.03, 2014 86.74, 2015 87.07, 2016 88.47, 2017 88.64, 2018 89.48, 2019 89.39, 2020 87.94, 2021 78.86, 2022 93.13, 2023 94.43, 2024 96.34, 2025 98.31. CDE offender totals are higher than the FBI's published Crime in the United States Expanded Homicide Data Table 3 for the same year (2009: 15,916 in the CDE against 15,760 in CIUS Table 3 (+1.0%); 2019: 17,538 in the CDE against 16,245 in CIUS Table 3 (+8.0%); raw files fbi-cius/t3_<year>.html). The CDE says its Expanded Homicide data come from "the SRS and NIBRS (summarized)" and gives no reconciliation with the published tables.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The FBI publishes SHR definitions and the CDE Expanded Homicide methodology notes; the CIUS methodology describes collection.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A count of every homicide report that participating agencies sent, not a sample; SHR victims were 98.31% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2025 and 78.86% in 2021.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly national totals of victims and offenders by age, sex, race and ethnicity are downloadable as JSON from the Crime Data Explorer.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Offender details are missing when no suspect is identified (race not recorded for 17.33% of offender records in 2025, 31.83% in 2016); collection moved to NIBRS in 2021; agencies that do not report are not estimated.
100%
BJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), spreadsheet dataBureau of Justice Statistics (U.S. Department of Justice) · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (zip file)
3.42008
BJS estimate of homicide offenders recorded as white per 100,000 white residents in 2008.

Victims weighted to the FBI's national estimate, and the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders imputed from similar solved cases; divided by bridged-race population estimates (Census Bureau and NCHS). The FBI-line rate for 2008, from reported counts only, is 2.26. Built from the same FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports as the FBI line, so it is not counted again.

Raw file: htus8008.zip, htus8008f18.csv (figure 18, homicide offending rates by race). Report: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. BJS describes its weighting and offender imputation in the report (pages 34-35).
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. Victims weighted to the FBI's national and state murder estimates, so every year represents all U.S. homicides.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. The figure and table data are downloadable as CSV files.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Offender characteristics are imputed for homicides with no offender information, from similar cases with a known offender; BJS states that results differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods.
Not counted

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

  • FBI SHR100%

Shown but not counted: BJS (republishes FBI SHR).

How the trust score was worked out
Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

No source of these kinds: death and health registers, independent count.

  • Single source: nothing to check it against
  • BJS: no figure here after 2008, while others reach 2025
  • FBI SHR, 2021: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021. source
  • FBI SHR, 2017: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group. source
  • FBI SHR, 2000: From 2000 the estimates follow the 1997 OMB race standard: people may report more than one race ("Two or More Races"), and Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander are separate. RealStats uses "alone" counts from 2000 and adds Asian alone and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; before 2000 the four races add up to the total. source
  • FBI SHR, 2020: Vintage 2025 estimates start from the 2020 Census via the Modified Age and Race Census file, with "Some Other Race" redistributed to the OMB race categories. 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates. source
  • BJS, 1980: BJS imputed the age, sex and race of unidentified offenders from homicides with a known offender that match on victim age, sex and race, circumstance, region and urban location, gun use and year, and assumed one offender where the number was unknown (30.8% of homicides). The report says its figures may differ from earlier editions because of changes to the imputation methods, and it uses 1980-2008 only, partly to reflect revisions in the 1980 SHR. source
Years each source has a figure here
'01'05'10'15'20'25FBI SHRBJS

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Homicide offender records with race not recorded, 2025

17.33

% of homicide offender records with race not recorded, 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only one source (FBI SHR), so it cannot be checked against another.

Each source by year: % of homicide offender records with race not recorded
0102030401985199020002010202020252021: FBI SHR: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021.2017: FBI SHR: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group.

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table
YearFBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totals
198524.75
198625.01
198727.17
198827.17
198927
199027.35
199130
199231.13
199329.75
199428.85
199529.52
199628.41
199729.55
199827.61
199928.3
200028.38
200128.6
200228.85
200330
200429.31
200528.46
200627.9
200729.2
200828.8
200927.21
201027.37
201127.41
201228.34
201328.5
201428.63
201530.21
201631.83
201729.88
201827.9
201927.69
202028.89
202123.71
202224.49
202323.92
202420.96
202517.33
What this number counts
Counts
Offender records in the Supplementary Homicide Reports where police recorded the offender's race as "Unknown" or "Not Specified"
Where
United States, agencies sending Supplementary Homicide Reports
When
Calendar year 2025 (one year, not an average)

The figure from FBI SHR, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (1 source)
SourceFigure and yearDefinitionQualityCounts for
FBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reporting Program · Police and justice recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (API)
17.332025
3,019 of 17,422 offender records in 2025.

When no suspect is identified, an agency files one offender record with unknown characteristics, so this share mostly tracks homicides with no known offender. The CDE builds each breakdown separately, so totals differ slightly by characteristic. Share computed by RealStats.

Raw files: fbi-cde/totals_<year>.json, 1985-2025, one call per year to https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/shr/national?from=01-<year>&to=12-<year>&type=totals (the endpoint the CDE Expanded Homicide page uses; no key needed). The CDE has no SHR data before 1985. SHR victims as % of the FBI's estimated murders (CIUS Table 1): 2006 87.9, 2007 87.03, 2008 87.3, 2009 89.23, 2010 89.73, 2011 87.18, 2012 86.88, 2013 87.03, 2014 86.74, 2015 87.07, 2016 88.47, 2017 88.64, 2018 89.48, 2019 89.39, 2020 87.94, 2021 78.86, 2022 93.13, 2023 94.43, 2024 96.34, 2025 98.31. CDE offender totals are higher than the FBI's published Crime in the United States Expanded Homicide Data Table 3 for the same year (2009: 15,916 in the CDE against 15,760 in CIUS Table 3 (+1.0%); 2019: 17,538 in the CDE against 16,245 in CIUS Table 3 (+8.0%); raw files fbi-cius/t3_<year>.html). The CDE says its Expanded Homicide data come from "the SRS and NIBRS (summarized)" and gives no reconciliation with the published tables.

4 of 5 checks
  • Yes: Method and definitions published. The FBI publishes SHR definitions and the CDE Expanded Homicide methodology notes; the CIUS methodology describes collection.
  • Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
  • Yes: Full count or representative sample. A count of every homicide report that participating agencies sent, not a sample; SHR victims were 98.31% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2025 and 78.86% in 2021.
  • Yes: Raw data downloadable. Yearly national totals of victims and offenders by age, sex, race and ethnicity are downloadable as JSON from the Crime Data Explorer.
  • No: No known break or quality problem. Offender details are missing when no suspect is identified (race not recorded for 17.33% of offender records in 2025, 31.83% in 2016); collection moved to NIBRS in 2021; agencies that do not report are not estimated.
100%

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

  • FBI SHR100%
How the trust score was worked out
Quality32 / 40

How well the sources are made

Agreement15 / 30

Unknown with one source, so set to half

Independence6 / 20

How many separate ways the number was measured

Freshness10 / 10

How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

No source of these kinds: death and health registers, independent count.

  • Single source: nothing to check it against
  • FBI SHR, 2021: On 1 January 2021 the UCR Program moved to NIBRS-only collection; SHR details for agencies reporting through NIBRS come from their incident reports. The FBI's CIUS Table 1 notes that its 2021 estimates "are below a statistically acceptable level to be nationally representative and are not comparable to other yearly estimates". SHR victims were 87.94% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2020, 78.86% in 2021 and 93.13% in 2022. The share of offender records with race not recorded went from 28.89% in 2020 to 23.71% in 2021. source
  • FBI SHR, 2017: From 2017 the CDE shows a category "Not Specified" for offender sex and race next to "Unknown" (RealStats counts both as not recorded), and lists "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" apart from "Asian". RealStats adds Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander together to keep one group. source
Years each source has a figure here
'01'05'10'15'20'25FBI SHR

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Homicide offenders per 100,000 people in the same group, by race and by sex, 1980-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

  • White
  • Black or African American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian or Pacific Islander
  • Male
  • Female
010203040198519902000201020202025
GroupFigureYearTrust
White2.44202563 Moderate
Black or African American17.15202563 Moderate
American Indian or Alaska Native2.95202563 Moderate
Asian or Pacific Islander0.89202563 Moderate
Male7.77202563 Moderate
Female1202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
YearWhiteBlack or African AmericanAmerican Indian or Alaska NativeAsian or Pacific IslanderMaleFemale
19853.5723.287.13.1410.681.55
19863.7925.948.473.1311.651.64
19873.4223.427.082.1110.51.48
19883.2625.186.341.9810.811.39
19893.3926.386.352.0511.331.42
19903.6528.55.691.8812.411.38
19913.5430.715.642.7612.831.36
19923.5230.35.723.3512.871.31
19933.5532.055.763.1313.351.31
19943.4930.3552.9312.891.27
19953.2925.35.673.0911.521.06
19962.8521.644.582.59.761.03
19972.5419.614.862.388.830.92
19982.5616.594.741.728.060.91
19992.19155.81.717.150.79
20002.1815.43.581.687.130.76
20012.3415.843.681.487.510.78
20022.3615.564.061.337.430.78
20032.2415.623.531.667.250.78
20042.3115.233.481.337.250.78
20052.3517.043.621.47.770.85
20062.318.012.821.477.960.78
20072.2417.022.641.127.560.8
20082.2615.353.111.137.190.77
20092.2314.952.471.056.990.78
20102.0614.782.41.086.760.71
2011213.82.6816.360.74
20121.9513.872.820.846.310.73
20131.8413.192.50.955.980.7
20141.8712.882.490.85.880.77
20151.9613.93.450.866.350.76
20162.0814.873.110.886.750.83
20172.1515.53.990.766.950.91
20182.1215.323.630.916.840.95
20192.1215.874.220.97.020.96
20202.6921.33.691.099.111.21
20212.4721.762.70.748.821.23
20223.0424.313.681.2510.341.4
20232.9222.513.731.179.841.29
20242.7120.383.1918.971.23
20252.4417.152.950.897.771

Homicide offenders per 100,000 people of the same age group, 1985-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

0-9

051015201990200020102025

10-19

051015201990200020102025

20-29

051015201990200020102025

30-39

051015201990200020102025

40-49

051015201990200020102025

50-59

051015201990200020102025

60 or older

051015201990200020102025
GroupFigureYearTrust
0-90.01202563 Moderate
10-197.36202563 Moderate
20-299.59202563 Moderate
30-396.89202563 Moderate
40-494.47202563 Moderate
50-592.39202563 Moderate
60 or older0.82202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
Year0-910-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960 or older
19850.025.9113.188.465.643.331.33
19860.026.8814.719.145.793.211.32
19870.036.6713.028.215.022.871.25
19880.017.7313.477.734.712.681.2
19890.039.2714.267.494.62.381.17
19900.0111.2115.27.714.472.441.08
19910.0212.5416.557.744.072.320.9
19920.0112.9216.867.134.192.420.98
19930.0113.7817.426.853.892.420.98
19940.0113.5716.576.63.821.990.83
19950.0111.3915.316.223.562.060.85
19960.019.5613.645.463.021.760.71
19970.018.1612.64.842.751.680.66
19980.026.8612.044.712.731.550.59
19990.025.8810.674.292.471.380.61
20000.035.2410.934.192.551.380.61
200105.4111.754.482.631.370.53
20020.014.7812.054.772.61.430.51
200304.8311.424.532.681.290.57
20040.014.911.294.482.81.370.64
20050.025.4312.424.92.881.440.6
20060.026.212.315.112.781.40.6
20070.026.0111.474.892.791.550.54
20080.015.411.154.742.761.470.64
20090.015.2710.734.872.711.520.64
20100.014.9110.14.932.671.590.63
20110.014.429.684.782.661.620.58
20120.014.019.784.912.551.520.6
20130.013.759.344.62.531.510.6
20140.023.949.24.82.581.610.58
20150.034.089.975.212.71.70.6
201604.5210.555.522.911.690.67
20170.024.7510.516.213.361.80.63
20180.015.1110.16.413.081.880.7
20190.035.0910.856.183.471.840.67
20200.036.7714.5284.162.260.74
20210.077.0713.78.164.122.220.64
20220.058.9715.039.175.312.960.88
20230.038.7713.358.655.22.880.9
20240.028.0211.638.334.882.670.86
20250.017.369.596.894.472.390.82

Share of homicide offenders by race and by sex, of those with that characteristic recorded (%), 1985-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

  • White
  • Black or African American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian or Pacific Islander
  • Male
  • Female
0255075100198519902000201020202025
GroupFigureYearTrust
White41.96202563 Moderate
Black or African American55.08202563 Moderate
American Indian or Alaska Native1.44202563 Moderate
Asian or Pacific Islander1.51202563 Moderate
Male88.25202563 Moderate
Female11.75202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
YearWhiteBlack or African AmericanAmerican Indian or Alaska NativeAsian or Pacific IslanderMaleFemale
198550.9646.940.861.2486.7213.28
198649.5548.270.971.287.112.9
198749.5348.590.930.9587.0612.94
198846.4851.760.840.9288.0611.94
198946.1152.10.830.9688.3511.65
199045.9552.490.710.8589.5510.45
199143.0255.040.681.2689.9510.05
199242.8254.880.71.690.359.65
199341.5956.230.691.4990.659.35
199442.3555.550.621.4890.669.34
199544.9252.450.81.8291.28.8
199645.1352.350.761.7690.029.98
199744.4452.750.891.9190.119.89
199848.7748.740.961.5489.4410.56
199946.9349.981.331.7789.6410.36
200046.2251.140.891.7490.089.92
200147.1750.420.91.5290.279.73
200247.6949.881.011.4290.249.76
200346.0351.20.921.8589.9910.01
200447.4250.120.931.539010
200544.9652.570.931.5489.8610.14
20064354.640.731.6390.839.17
200743.7454.20.731.3390.129.88
200846.0751.550.931.4590.019.99
200946.3351.480.781.4189.6710.33
201044.4753.180.81.5490.189.82
201145.252.310.951.5389.2610.74
201244.353.361.021.3289.3810.62
201343.953.520.951.6289.2710.73
201444.7752.860.961.4188.1311.87
201543.8153.491.261.4589.0410.96
201643.5753.921.071.4388.8111.19
201743.1954.271.331.2188.0911.91
201842.8954.391.231.4987.4612.54
201941.7855.351.411.4687.6912.31
202039.9357.231.421.4387.8612.14
202137.5960.331.08187.3312.67
202239.4657.791.271.4887.6812.32
202340.0857.011.41.5187.9812.02
202440.5656.631.341.4787.5212.48
202541.9655.081.441.5188.2511.75

Homicides by race and by sex of victim and offender (% of homicides with both recorded), 1980-2019

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

White victim, White offender

02040608020102012201420162019

White victim, Black offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Black victim, White offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Black victim, Black offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Male victim, male offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Male victim, female offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Female victim, male offender

02040608020102012201420162019

Female victim, female offender

02040608020102012201420162019
GroupFigureYearTrust
White victim, White offender41.21201957 Low
White victim, Black offender8.99201957 Low
Black victim, White offender3.91201957 Low
Black victim, Black offender40.9201957 Low
Male victim, male offender64.3201957 Low
Male victim, female offender7.32201957 Low
Female victim, male offender25.27201957 Low
Female victim, female offender3.11201957 Low
Show every year as a table
YearWhite victim, White offenderWhite victim, Black offenderBlack victim, White offenderBlack victim, Black offenderMale victim, male offenderMale victim, female offenderFemale victim, male offenderFemale victim, female offender
200945.857.023.2340.2963.17.4926.62.82
201045.357.33.5640.1663.246.6127.732.42
201244.467.333.2841.0363.367.1627.372.11
2013457.343.3940.2662.867.3527.172.62
201444.98.053.3739.7962.237.627.492.69
201543.158.383.8439.964.476.9426.062.53
201644.098.233.7539.764.147.0926.122.65
201742.998.663.9739.4763.647.7426.042.58
201842.378.143.741.1562.57826.592.83
201941.218.993.9140.964.37.3225.273.11

Gaps in the FBI homicide offender data (% of offender records not recorded; % of estimated murders missing from the SHR), 1985-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

  • Race
  • Sex
  • Age
  • Hispanic origin
  • Murders missing from the SHR
0255075100198519902000201020202025
GroupFigureYearTrust
Race17.33202563 Moderate
Sex15.27202563 Moderate
Age9.7202563 Moderate
Hispanic origin41.49202563 Moderate
Murders missing from the SHR1.69202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
YearRaceSexAgeHispanic originMurders missing from the SHR
198524.7524.3527.4338.59–
198625.0124.6427.5237.63–
198727.1726.729.88100–
198827.1726.3630.2387.2–
19892726.2530.3868.2–
199027.3526.3631.4866.93–
19913029.3433.4771.59–
199231.1330.1834.4274.04–
199329.7529.0534.9774.21–
199428.8527.9935.0274.92–
199529.5228.4734.5478.19–
199628.4127.4733.2776.8–
199729.5528.5535.1177.65–
199827.6126.4432.8975.9–
199928.327.2133.5177.74–
200028.3827.2933.8379.29–
200128.627.0634.0177.02–
200228.8527.6834.1275.26–
20033028.9135.9275.04–
200429.3128.1734.8575.67–
200528.4627.0533.2575.51–
200627.926.8732.3876.2212.1
200729.228.0433.6177.0912.97
200828.827.5432.8174.3612.7
200927.2126.1331.2172.810.77
201027.3726.1731.3573.7410.27
201127.4126.3931.374.1412.82
201228.3427.1632.5773.713.12
201328.527.4932.4573.3112.97
201428.6327.3631.0768.6813.26
201530.2128.9632.8969.6412.93
201631.8330.5734.568.5111.53
201729.8828.5829.5854.4511.36
201827.926.5527.0250.8310.52
201927.6926.1925.7749.8910.61
202028.8927.2325.5849.1112.06
202123.7121.7712.7647.4521.14
202224.4922.6814.3144.46.87
202323.9221.521445.955.57
202420.9618.1612.144.023.66
202517.3315.279.741.491.69

Homicide offenders recorded in the SHR, by race, sex and age group (count), 1985-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

White

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Black or African American

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

American Indian or Alaska Native

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Asian or Pacific Islander

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Race not recorded

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Male

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Female

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Sex not recorded

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 0-9

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 10-19

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 20-29

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 30-39

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 40-49

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 50-59

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age 60 or older

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025

Age not recorded

05,00010K15K20K1990200020102025
GroupFigureYearTrust
White6,044202563 Moderate
Black or African American7,933202563 Moderate
American Indian or Alaska Native208202563 Moderate
Asian or Pacific Islander218202563 Moderate
Race not recorded3,019202563 Moderate
Male13,027202563 Moderate
Female1,735202563 Moderate
Sex not recorded2,660202563 Moderate
Age 0-95202563 Moderate
Age 10-193,146202563 Moderate
Age 20-294,437202563 Moderate
Age 30-393,196202563 Moderate
Age 40-491,900202563 Moderate
Age 50-59955202563 Moderate
Age 60 or older703202563 Moderate
Age not recorded1,540202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
YearWhiteBlack or African AmericanAmerican Indian or Alaska NativeAsian or Pacific IslanderRace not recordedMaleFemaleSex not recordedAge 0-9Age 10-19Age 20-29Age 30-39Age 40-49Age 50-59Age 60 or olderAge not recorded
19857,2216,6521221764,66212,3561,8924,58572,1125,6593,1831,4497355225,166
19867,7077,5081511875,18613,6132,0165,11082,4286,2723,5731,5227035255,708
19877,0006,8671311345,27212,3841,8405,180112,3385,4753,2521,4006255055,798
19886,7207,4841221335,39412,8731,7465,23442,7065,5773,1211,3735814896,002
19897,0387,9511271465,64513,6221,7965,489113,2395,8213,0821,3995174866,352
19907,6438,7301181426,26215,0981,7626,03543,9196,1373,2321,4125334507,208
19917,4759,5631192197,44615,7781,7627,28264,3796,5983,3021,3385113818,307
19927,4899,5991232797,90516,0191,7117,66524,5606,6063,0901,4315454198,742
19937,63110,3171262737,77116,7981,7327,58824,9466,6803,0011,3685674219,133
19947,5609,9161112657,23916,3791,6887,02444,9466,2132,9111,3914813598,786
19957,1758,3781282916,69114,7841,4266,45344,2205,6492,7441,3415093697,827
19966,2557,2561052445,49912,6411,4015,31733,6064,9702,3971,1854443136,441
19975,6156,6651132415,30011,5461,2675,12133,1224,5742,0981,0964512936,297
19985,7135,7101121804,46810,6481,2574,27872,6614,3642,0161,1144362635,322
19994,9115,2301391854,1319,5241,1013,97182,3103,8661,8151,0284042744,891
20004,9865,517961884,2759,8661,0864,110112,1454,1981,8091,0904322825,095
20015,3755,7451021734,56410,5081,1324,31902,2404,5321,9221,1434472475,428
20025,4575,7071161624,64010,4961,1354,45132,0034,6932,0241,1474832425,487
20035,2035,7881042094,84410,3301,1494,66912,0394,4961,8911,1954492765,801
20045,4055,7121061744,72510,4221,1584,54242,0854,5111,8371,2594963115,619
20055,5336,4701141904,89711,2781,2734,65372,3175,0311,9861,3005423015,720
20065,4496,923922074,90411,6751,1784,72282,6545,0662,0561,2525443045,691
20075,3486,628891635,04311,2001,2284,84382,5784,7721,9641,2476122865,804
20085,4086,0521091704,74810,7541,1934,54062,3164,6921,9021,2195953485,409
20095,3685,965901634,33010,5431,2144,15942,2584,5561,9571,1876293574,968
20104,9875,964901734,22610,2801,1204,04042,0954,3291,9781,1616713614,841
20114,8645,6291021654,0639,7391,1723,91241,8734,2041,9171,1516943414,639
20124,7525,7231091424,2419,7441,1584,06531,6884,3021,9851,0916583654,875
20134,5095,497981664,0949,2981,1183,94831,5674,1501,8821,0656613754,661
20144,5985,429991454,1219,2141,2413,93781,6444,1281,9851,0677103784,472
20154,8495,9211391604,79210,0321,2354,594111,7004,4972,1841,1047494005,216
20165,1716,3991271705,54110,7331,3535,32221,8884,7822,3541,1817374586,006
20175,3606,7351651505,28911,1341,5065,059101,9904,7732,6811,3597784445,056
20185,2986,7191521844,77911,0061,5784,54842,1434,5812,8021,2468045124,477
20195,2987,0191791854,85711,3511,5944,593122,1314,9032,7331,3997794974,323
20206,5859,4372342356,69914,8262,0496,315112,9456,4513,5481,6779655735,558
20216,0349,6851731614,98814,3752,0864,580273,0356,1013,6411,6589385082,326
20227,44810,9072402806,12316,9472,3825,669183,8436,7384,1322,1541,2337043,142
20237,17710,2092502715,62916,2512,2205,065103,7606,0483,9382,1401,1807442,902
20246,6989,3512212424,37814,9632,1343,79383,4405,3493,8462,0451,0797262,270
20256,0447,9332082183,01913,0271,7352,66053,1464,4373,1961,9009557031,540

Share of the US resident population by race and by sex, 1980-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

  • White
  • Black or African American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian or Pacific Islander
  • Male
  • Female
0255075100198019902000201020202025
GroupFigureYearTrust
White72.34202563 Moderate
Black or African American13.53202563 Moderate
American Indian or Alaska Native2.06202563 Moderate
Asian or Pacific Islander7.21202563 Moderate
Male49.08202563 Moderate
Female50.92202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
YearWhiteBlack or African AmericanAmerican Indian or Alaska NativeAsian or Pacific IslanderMaleFemale
198085.911.780.631.6948.5951.41
198185.6911.820.651.8448.5951.41
198285.4811.870.661.9848.651.4
198385.311.920.682.148.6151.39
198485.1111.960.72.2348.6351.37
198584.9112.010.722.3648.6451.36
198684.7212.050.742.4948.6751.33
198784.5112.10.762.6248.6951.31
198884.3112.160.792.7548.7151.29
198984.0912.210.812.8948.7351.27
199083.8612.280.833.0348.7551.25
199183.6712.350.843.1448.7651.24
199283.4712.420.843.2648.7951.21
199383.2812.490.853.3848.851.2
199483.1212.550.853.4848.851.2
199582.9612.60.863.5848.8251.18
199682.8112.640.863.6848.8351.17
199782.6512.690.873.7848.8451.16
199882.5112.740.873.8848.8651.14
199982.3712.780.883.9748.8751.13
200080.9912.690.953.9649.0750.93
200180.7312.730.974.149.0950.91
200280.4712.750.994.2349.150.9
200380.2212.781.024.3549.150.9
200479.9612.811.044.4749.1250.88
200579.6912.851.074.5949.1350.87
200679.4112.881.094.7149.1550.85
200779.1312.931.124.8349.1550.85
200878.8512.971.154.9449.1650.84
200978.5713.011.195.0549.1650.84
201078.3113.051.215.1549.1650.84
201178.0713.091.225.2849.1750.83
201277.8313.141.235.449.1950.81
201377.5813.191.245.5349.250.8
201477.3313.241.255.6749.2250.78
201577.0713.281.265.8149.2350.77
201676.8313.321.265.9549.2450.76
201776.5813.371.276.0749.2550.75
201876.3713.421.286.1749.2550.75
201976.1613.471.296.2549.2550.75
202073.7913.361.916.5149.0950.91
202173.5813.41.936.5749.0850.92
202273.2813.441.956.7349.0650.94
202372.9513.471.996.949.0750.93
202472.6113.492.047.0849.0850.92
202572.3413.532.067.2149.0850.92

Share of the US resident population by age group, 1980-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

0-9

010203019801990200020102025

10-19

010203019801990200020102025

20-29

010203019801990200020102025

30-39

010203019801990200020102025

40-49

010203019801990200020102025

50-59

010203019801990200020102025

60 or older

010203019801990200020102025
GroupFigureYearTrust
0-911.2202563 Moderate
10-1912.5202563 Moderate
20-2913.54202563 Moderate
30-3913.57202563 Moderate
40-4912.44202563 Moderate
50-5911.67202563 Moderate
60 or older25.07202563 Moderate
Show every year as a table
Year0-910-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960 or older
198014.5517.3218.081410.0210.2615.78
198114.3616.9318.2314.4210.0310.0915.94
198214.3216.4518.314.810.139.8716.12
198314.3715.9418.315.0510.429.6716.26
198414.4315.4318.2315.4210.639.4616.4
198514.515.0318.0515.8210.89.2816.53
198614.614.6917.7616.2810.949.1316.6
198714.6414.4817.3516.3511.528.9916.68
198814.7114.3116.9316.5211.928.8816.73
198914.7614.1516.5416.6612.318.8116.77
199014.814.0216.1816.7912.678.7616.78
199114.8313.8515.8116.9313.038.7516.8
199214.8213.8315.3716.9913.48.8416.76
199314.7913.9214.881713.639.0816.7
199414.7714.0114.416.9413.989.2716.63
199514.714.114.0416.7914.359.4116.62
199614.614.2213.7416.5414.89.5316.57
199714.5114.2813.5616.214.8810.0516.52
199814.414.3513.4115.8315.0710.4116.52
199914.2614.4113.2915.515.2610.7516.52
200014.0514.5113.6115.315.1511.1116.28
200113.8514.5413.5415.0515.2711.4616.29
200213.6614.5613.5414.7415.3511.7816.37
200313.5214.5513.5714.3915.3812.0316.57
200413.414.5213.6414.0115.3712.3516.7
200513.314.4513.713.7115.2712.7216.85
200613.2314.3613.7913.4815.0913.0616.99
200713.2314.2413.8213.3214.8213.1417.43
200813.2214.1113.8413.1914.5313.317.8
200913.1813.9713.8413.0914.2913.4618.17
201013.113.7913.8512.9814.0813.6218.58
201112.9913.613.9412.8713.8613.7418.99
201212.8913.414.0112.8713.6113.8119.42
201312.7913.2414.0512.9313.313.8319.85
201412.6913.1114.091312.9913.8120.32
201512.61314.0713.0812.7513.7120.79
201612.512.9314.0213.1912.5613.5421.25
201712.3712.8813.9713.2712.4513.3121.74
201812.2412.8413.8813.3612.3613.0922.23
201912.1212.7613.7613.4712.2812.922.72
202011.8313.1113.413.3712.1612.8523.28
202111.6712.9313.4113.4312.1112.723.73
202211.5812.8313.4213.4912.1412.4724.08
202311.4712.7313.4513.5212.2212.1824.43
202411.3412.6113.5313.5812.3211.8824.74
202511.212.513.5413.5712.4411.6725.07

About this data

Every source on this page (4)

Who is behind the sources

  • 79% Police or justice agency
  • 21% Statistics office
Each publisher, its funding and its own description
  • FBI · Police or justice agencyFunding: U.S. federal budget, through the Department of Justice. The active-shooter reports are produced with the ALERRT Center at Texas State University. sourceIn its own words: “Our mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States.” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) · Police or justice agencyFunding: U.S. federal budget; BJS is a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice. sourceIn its own words: “The mission of BJS is to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime…” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
  • US Census Bureau · Statistics officeFunding: U.S. federal budget, through the Department of Commerce. sourceIn its own words: “The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy.” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
  • FBI Crime Data Explorer, Expanded Homicide Data (Supplementary Homicide Reports), national totalsFBI (police or justice agency) · Police and justice recordsUsed for 40 numbers; counts toward 40. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's pageData (API)
  • U.S. Census Bureau, national population estimates by sex, race and age (1 July)US Census Bureau (statistics office) · Population registerUsed for 13 numbers; counts toward 13. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (CSV file)
  • FBI, Crime in the United States 2019, Expanded Homicide Data Table 6FBI (police or justice agency) · Police and justice recordsUsed for 8 numbers; counts toward 8. Years 2019. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Data (Excel file)
  • BJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008 (NCJ 236018), spreadsheet dataBureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (police or justice agency) · Police and justice recordsUsed for 16 numbers; counts toward 0 (shown only). Years 2008. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Not counted where: it republishes FBI SHR; it republishes FBI CIUS.Data (zip file)
Why the numbers differ (6)
  • Imputed versus reported offenders. BJS weights SHR victims up to the FBI's national murder estimate and imputes the age, sex and race of offenders in unsolved cases from similar solved cases. The FBI line counts only offenders police described. For 2008, BJS puts the offending rate at 24.7 (Black) and 3.4 (White) per 100,000, while the FBI's reported counts give 15.35 and 2.26. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Unknown offenders. The share of offender records with race not recorded ranged from 17.33% (2025) to 31.83% (2016). Rates and shares built only from known offenders assume nothing about the unknown ones; if unsolved homicides involve different offenders than solved ones, the known shares differ from the true ones in either direction. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Coverage. Agencies that send no Supplementary Homicide Reports are missing from every FBI number here: SHR victims were 98.31% of the FBI's estimated murders in 2025 and 78.86% in 2021. How the offenders behind the missing murders divide by race, sex or age is not known. The data-gaps chart shows, for each year, the share of estimated murders missing from the SHR and the share of offender records with race, sex or age not recorded. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Population base. BJS divides by bridged-race populations that assign everyone one race; the FBI-line rates use Census "race alone" counts from 2000, which leave out the 4.86% of residents reporting Two or More Races (2025). (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • FBI releases. The Crime Data Explorer, used for the FBI line, holds more offender records than the FBI's published Crime in the United States tables for the same year (2009: 15,916 in the CDE against 15,760 in CIUS Table 3 (+1.0%); 2019: 17,538 in the CDE against 16,245 in CIUS Table 3 (+8.0%)). The CDE says its Expanded Homicide data come from "the SRS and NIBRS (summarized)"; it does not explain the difference. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Victim and offender pairs. The FBI table counts only incidents with one victim and one offender; BJS figure 19 does not say which incidents it covers, so the two series are shown side by side, not joined.
Common mistakes (4)
  • Offenders here are people police described in a homicide report, not people convicted. In an unsolved case the description may come from witnesses, and no court has tested it. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Race is the race the reporting agency recorded, not the person's own answer, while the Census population is self-reported. The two need not match for the same person, especially for people of more than one race. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • Hispanic people are not a separate group in the race counts; they are counted in a race, mostly White. The FBI says "not all agencies provide ethnicity data; therefore, the race and ethnicity totals will not be equal". Hispanic origin was not recorded for 41.49% of offender records in 2025, and for most records in 1990-2019. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • A group's share of offenders is not its offending rate. Compare the share with the group's share of the population, or read the rate, which already divides by group size.
Context (3)
Sources considered and not used (4)
  • Supplementary Homicide Reports record-level files on openICPSR: Download requires an account login, which RealStats does not create. The FBI's own national totals on the Crime Data Explorer are used instead.
  • FBI Crime in the United States, Expanded Homicide Data Table 3 (offenders by age, sex and race): The Crime Data Explorer serves the SHR offender counts for every year it holds as one series, so the page uses it instead of splicing yearly tables from different releases.
  • BJS, Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008, figure 4 (offending rates by age): Its age groups (under 14, 14-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-49, 50 or older) cannot be matched to the FBI's ten-year groups, so the page shows the FBI groups only. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
  • FBI Expanded Homicide Data Table 6 for 2011: ucr.fbi.gov shows a bot check to scripts, and the Internet Archive had no copy or was offline when tried on 27 October 2026. The series has a gap for these years. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
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