Crime rate in L.A. is higher than in the rest of the state but lower than in other big places: Report
In 2023, the city of Los Angeles saw more than 300 homicides, making it the state with the highest homicide rate in California along with most other large cities.
However, figures from the Los Angeles Police Department and a recent study from the California Attorney General’s Office reveal that Los Angeles is not near the city with the highest homicide rate in the country.
According to independent news group Crosstown LA, there were 8.4 murders for every 100,000 people in Los Angeles last year. It is slightly higher than the countywide average of 7 murders per 100,000 residents and significantly higher than the statewide rate of 4.8 per 100,000.
According to Crosstown, the Los Angeles murder rate consistently outpaces both state and county statistics, therefore that number is not out of the ordinary for the neighborhood.
Although Los Angeles has a murder rate that is 4 points greater than that of New York City, other big metropolises such as Houston (15.1), Chicago (22.5), and Washington D.C.—which has an alarming 39.7 murders per 100,000 residents—have murder rates that are far lower.
| City | Homicide Rate (per 100,000 residents) |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 8.4 |
| New York City | 4.4 |
| Phoenix | 12.3 |
| Houston | 15.1 |
| Chicago | 22.5 |
| Philadelphia | 23.9 |
| Washington, D.C. | 39.7 |
Despite making up less than 9% of the city’s population, Black Angelenos were among the most disproportionately afflicted by homicide in 2023, making up more than one-third of all murder victims.
In 2023, guns were the most common weapon of choice, being used in over 7 out of 10 homicides in Los Angeles, where men made up 86% of the victims.
Approximately half of all homicides within the boundaries of Los Angeles were thought to be related to gang violence in 2023.
Although 327 murders occurred in the city of Los Angeles last year, according to Crosstown, the city has seen far worse acts of violence in the preceding few decades.
According to Crosstown, “the city was notorious for homicides connected to the drug trade during the late 1980s and early 1990s.” “In just 1992, there were over 1,000 homicides in the city.”
The murder rate dropped and was low until the middle of the 2010s, when the coronavirus epidemic caused it to increase. Crosstown discovered that the rate has decreased in each of the last two years since that time.
At 7 homicides per 100,000 residents, Los Angeles County had a lower rate than the state’s largest metropolis.
Several California counties performed significantly better, such as San Diego County (2.4) and Orange County (1.7).
With 10 homicides per 100,000 residents, Alameda County, which encompasses Oakland and a large portion of the East Bay, has the highest murder rate in the region.
| County | Homicide Rate (per 100,000 residents) |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | 7 |
| Orange County | 1.7 |
| Santa Clara County | 2.1 |
| San Diego County | 2.4 |
| Riverside County | 3.5 |
| San Bernardino County | 4.1 |
| Sacramento County | 5.9 |
| Alameda County | 10 |
In 2023, there were 1,892 homicides in the entire state of California—a 14.2% decrease from the year before.
Similar to Los Angeles, the state saw a notable increase in homicides during the coronavirus pandemic, but in the years that followed, the number of killings decreased.
See Crosstown’s full research here for a more thorough analysis of the 2023 murder statistics in the city, county, and state.