FBI Reports 18.1% Murder Drop in 2025, Largest Annual Crime Decline Since 1936
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 15
FBI Reports 18.1% Murder Drop in 2025, Largest Annual Crime Decline Since 1936
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 15
Summary
Violent crime and killings fell sharply from 2024 to 2025, with the FBI calling it the biggest year-over-year nationwide decline since federal tracking began in 1936.
An 18.1% drop in murders and nonnegligent manslaughter pushed the U.S. murder rate to 4.1 per 100,000 in 2025, while overall violent crime fell 9.3%.
The White House cast the decline as a "Trump effect," but the FBI data show crime was already falling before Trump returned to office.
Robbery dropped 18.5% and property crime 12.4%, with the steepest declines recorded in cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 million.
The causes remain unsettled, though criminal-justice changes and broader social shifts have been cited as analysts expect the downward trend to continue.