FBI Data Show Unprecedented Spike In Murders Nationwide In 2020

The number of murders in the United States jumped by nearly 30 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year in the largest single-year increase ever recorded in the country, according to official FBI statistics released Monday.

The data show 21,570 homicides in the U.S. in 2020, which is a staggering 4,901 more than in 2019. The tally makes clear — in concrete terms — just how violent last year was.

The overall violent crime rate, which includes murder, assault, robbery and rape, inched up around 5 percent, while property crimes continued their long-running decline and dropped 8 percent from 2019.

But the spike in murders jumps out in the FBI report because of the sheer scale of the change.

Jeff Asher, a data consultant who studies crime rates, said the increase is the largest since national records began being kept in 1960s.