Govargus

Public safety

Murder rate by president

Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per 100,000 people (FBI national estimates). The 2001 figure excludes the deaths of September 11. Estimates from 2021 on are based on the FBI's new incident-based system (NIBRS) and aren't strictly comparable with earlier years.

4.1 per 100k latest, 2025

Jimmy Carter (Democratic)ReaganRonald Reagan (Republican)BushGeorge H. W. Bush (Republican)ClintonBill Clinton (Democratic)BushGeorge W. Bush (Republican)ObamaBarack Obama (Democratic)TrumpDonald Trump (1st term) (Republican)BidenJoe Biden (Democratic)Donald Trump (2nd term) (Republican)Recession (NBER)Recession (NBER)Recession (NBER)Recession (NBER)Recession (NBER)Recession (NBER)345678910111980198519901995200020052010201520202025Nov 30, 1993 · Law: Brady Handgun Violence Prevention ActSep 13, 1994 · Law: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement ActSep 13, 2004 · Law: Federal assault weapons ban expiresMar 11, 2020 · Shock: COVID-19 declared a pandemicMay 25, 2020 · Shock: Murder of George Floyd and nationwide protests

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, via Crime Data Explorer. Annual data, fetched Oct 19, 2026.

Since 1980, the murder rate ranged from 4.1 per 100k in 2025 under Donald Trump (2nd term) to 10.2 per 100k in 1980 under Jimmy Carter. Of the 7 completed terms with data, the murder rate rose fastest under Donald Trump (1st term), at +0.29 per 100k/yr against +0.16 per 100k/yr in the four years before, and fell fastest under Bill Clinton, at −0.47 per 100k/yr against +0.22 per 100k/yr in the four years before. So far under Donald Trump (2nd term), it has gone from 5.1 per 100k in 2024 to 4.1 per 100k in 2025.

By presidential term

Murder rate, term by term: every term lined up from inauguration on one chart.

Value at the last full period before inauguration and at the end of the term, with the yearly rate of change. The second column is the rate of change over the four years before the term: the trend they inherited. Remember the lag: a term's first year mostly reflects the previous one's policies.

PresidentDuring term4 years before
Donald Trump (2nd term)
2025–now		5.1 per 100k → 4.1 per 100k
−0.94 per 100k/yr · through 2025		−0.37 per 100k/yr
Joe Biden
2021–2025		6.5 per 100k → 5.1 per 100k
−0.37 per 100k/yr		+0.29 per 100k/yr
Donald Trump (1st term)
2017–2021		5.4 per 100k → 6.5 per 100k
+0.29 per 100k/yr		+0.16 per 100k/yr
Barack Obama
2009–2017		5.4 per 100k → 5.4 per 100k
0.00 per 100k/yr		−0.02 per 100k/yr
George W. Bush
2001–2009		5.5 per 100k → 5.4 per 100k
−0.02 per 100k/yr		−0.47 per 100k/yr
Bill Clinton
1993–2001		9.3 per 100k → 5.5 per 100k
−0.47 per 100k/yr		+0.22 per 100k/yr
George H. W. Bush
1989–1993		8.5 per 100k → 9.3 per 100k
+0.22 per 100k/yr		+0.13 per 100k/yr
Ronald Reagan
1981–1989		10.2 per 100k → 8.5 per 100k
−0.22 per 100k/yr		—
Jimmy Carter
1977–1981		no datano data

More public safety indicators

Events that bear on this indicator

  1. May 25, 2020 Shock
    Murder of George Floyd and nationwide protests. Followed by the largest one-year rise in murders on record (2020), alongside pandemic disruption.
  2. Mar 11, 2020 Shock
    COVID-19 declared a pandemic. Lockdowns push unemployment to 14.8% in April 2020.
  3. Sep 13, 2004 Law
    Federal assault weapons ban expires. The 1994 ban lapses after Congress declines to renew it.
  4. Sep 13, 1994 Law
    Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The 1994 crime bill: funding for 100,000 police officers and new prisons, tougher sentencing, and a 10-year federal assault weapons ban.
  5. Nov 30, 1993 Law
    Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Requires background checks for handgun purchases from licensed dealers, starting in 1994.